Picture a busy staff with a heavy workload. To get through it, they tackle easy tasks first before jumping onto the hard stuff.

In terms of efficiency and productivity, that’s the wrong way to go, according to new research highlighted online by Kellogg Insight, a publication of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Taking on the easy tasks first creates a false sense of progress. Researchers found that the strategy creates a perception of boosting productivity in the short term. In the end, however, the hard tasks were left unaddressed because they were put aside to deal with the easy ones in their place.

Procrastination reigned.

Even worse, researchers found that those who put aside the tough tasks ended up feeling fatigued, because they felt they completed far less than they should. They never got the rush that can happen from completing a difficult task.

This is where an executive or senior manager can step in.

According to the article, executives or managers should educate their employees about why tackling the hard stuff can help promote professional growth. The idea is that by promoting the completion of hard tasks, employees can learn and grow far more than they do by favoring the easy things. They also gain a sense of completion and a high, while also being challenged to learn more.

The full article – Why You Should Skip the Easy Wins and Tackle the Hard Task First – can be accessed at this link.