task assignment fulfillment

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Setting tasks and how to control their fulfillment

The success of any company depends on the efficient and well-coordinated work of its personnel. That is, the rapid, effective fulfillment of tasks within the established timeframe by each team member. But, often their fulfillment leaves much to be desired. Due to the inattention of employees to details, failure to meet deadlines or uneven distribution of assignments to performers, the work is slowed down and performed poorly.

Control of task fulfillment using LeaderTask

Make to-do lists for each day and assign tasks to your employees directly in the planner LeaderTask to free up your time for more important tasks. Task statuses allow you to quickly see what’s in the works, what’s ready, and which tasks haven’t been started yet.

A common cause of disputes with management is the lack of understanding of what stage each task is at and what adjustments need to be made to meet the deadline. Systematic monitoring of task fulfillment can help to solve this problem. It will help to organize the work of employees, increase their interest and involvement in the work process.

Why do you need task control

Clear, competent personnel control is beneficial for the management and the executors themselves. The company fulfills its goals, works successfully and fruitfully. Employees receive a large salary, the opportunity to quietly do their work without unnecessary workload and fuss.

Rational assigning tasks to employees and monitoring their performance helps:

• timely detect “weaknesses” in the work process and quickly eliminate them;
• to create a favorable environment in the team;
• Improve employee productivity;
• stabilize the company’s financial position;
• prevent possible losses and damages due to failure to meet deadlines, other problems.

Control over employees should not become a totalitarian surveillance with the aim of identifying and punishing the guilty. Any innovations concerning work organization and planning should be perceived as cooperation. Work team members should realize that they will lead to the successful development of the company and the improvement of the well-being of its staff.

By controlling the work of the performers, you can:

• Identify a decrease in motivation in a timely manner, understand the causes of this phenomenon.
• Avoid uneven employee workloads.
• Identify labor violators who demotivate the team.
• Identify outsiders who have infiltrated the company for the purpose of espionage.
• To uncover theft among employees.

For example, when installing GPS or tracking systems, staff should not perceive it as a fact of punishment or humiliation. It is important to explain the necessity of this measure for timely tracking of the results of assigned tasks, as failure to meet their deadlines, poor quality performance can have a negative impact on the company’s reputation.

Types of management control

Management control happens:

• Selective. The supervisor decides when it is necessary to pay attention to an employee.
• Periodic. Monitoring of personnel performance is performed at a certain frequency (e.g., once a week or every day).
• Phased. It is applied as individual tasks are performed within the framework of the overall project. It helps to avoid many mistakes that hinder the realization of the set goals.
• Preliminary. With step-by-step vetting of employees.
• Final. It helps to evaluate an employee’s labor based on the results of the task assigned to him. The use of this method of assessment helps to improve motivation and stimulates personnel to self-development.

Many modern business processes are based on the Agile management methodology, which is based on control while maintaining flexibility in project planning and execution. Agile approach to doing business implies customer orientation. In this case, changes in the course of work execution are considered a natural phenomenon.

Personnel motivation is a key factor in the development of a company. Information is exchanged in the course of natural communication between employees. The result of fruitful and effective work in this case is a quality, working product.

These theses contradict the conservative management method practiced in some companies. However, the use of a flexible, integrated approach allows a business to react quickly and promptly to any changes occurring in the market.

The result of the implementation of this methodology is self-organizing, active teams that perform their tasks qualitatively and efficiently, and the absence of bureaucracy.

What the lack of systematic monitoring will lead to

No matter how well-paid and interesting a job may be, if there is no discipline, it eventually becomes routine. Knowing that no one will control the fulfillment of the task, employees “relax”, perform their duties “after hours”, distracted by personal matters or unimportant problems.

Lack of regular monitoring will result in the following consequences:

• business process degradation;
• of not honoring agreements;
• deteriorating relationships with partners and customers;
• inability to compete in the market with other companies.

Without employee monitoring, it is impossible to find out how well the hired specialists are doing their tasks. Even if an employee performs well at the interview stage, he may lack the skills or knowledge to take on more complex projects.

This also applies to management personnel. It is known that power has a negative effect on some managers, turning them into real “monsters”, unable to adequately assess the work of subordinates due to personal antipathy or other reasons, leading to the loss of valuable personnel by the company.

Controlling the activities of the company’s personnel will help prevent these and other problems. Employees will try to do their work quickly and efficiently, knowing that their actions are controlled and expecting to be rewarded for their labor. And the manager will be interested in getting the best result for the company and retaining valuable personnel.

Basic principles of control

The following control principles can be used to fully analyze the quality of task performance:

• Adherence to deadlines. If an employee fails to meet a deadline, he must notify the manager in a timely manner.
• Process Monitoring. Multi-step processes are divided into checkpoints or risk points where there is a high risk of loss or adverse consequences for the company. Work is monitored until these points occur.
• Analysis of the results obtained. For this purpose, a list of tasks that need regular or periodic monitoring is drawn up, and appropriate conclusions are drawn based on their fulfillment. If it is found that at one and the same stage errors are constantly occurring due to the fault of one of the employees, the manager decides to delegate his authority or make changes in the workflow.
• Automation of controlling processes using modern IT systems.
• Deferred monitoring with data fixation. Allows you to return to the task solution after some time to make changes and adjustments.

Methods of control

Staff performance is monitored in an open manner, with feedback between subordinates and management. Various activities are used for this purpose, including:

• Meetings and meetings. Short meetings of up to an hour, held daily, weekly or monthly, have the best effect.
• Mystery Shopping methodology. It is used in trade and service organizations. Assesses the competence and professionalism of service personnel. Compliance with company standards is checked.
• Technical control through video or audio surveillance systems. Using this method of surveillance, you can find out what the staff is doing at their workplaces. How responsibly employees treat their duties. How they behave towards customers.
• Application of KPIs for employee labor evaluation. The set indicators should be realistic and achievable, motivating development to achieve better results.
• Real-time monitoring. Used to assess the efficiency of working time utilization. Allows you to identify cases of unfair attitude to work. Avoid irrational spending of working time on watching entertainment content or “hanging out” on social networks.

In order to control task fulfillment in teams of 20 or more people, it is important to use special management systems that do not allow individual tasks to get lost in the general flow. Such as the popular LeaderTask scheduler suitable for small teams or creative teams, Asana operational management system and other programs that simplify work with individual and group tasks.

Errors in the organization of control

Even experienced and competent managers are not immune to mistakes in the organization of control of employees’ activities. These include:

• Vague wording of goals and assignments.
• Misunderstanding the nature of the workflow.
• Uneven distribution of responsibilities.
• “Overdoing” the supervisory function, leading to negativity from staff.
• Disregard for intermediate results, devaluation of the labor of ordinary performers.
• Lack of adequate response to identified problems, untimely elimination of detected deficiencies.
• Improper use of the system of rewards and punishments. Constant criticism of personnel, leading to gradual “burnout” of employees.
• A desire to please all subordinates.
• “Hidden” control with sharp remarks when an employee’s mistakes are revealed, causing him to lose confidence and feel uncomfortable.

To prevent these and many other mistakes in company management, implementation of control automation programs will help. The use of these systems allows you to control the fulfillment of tasks in real time. Team members can make timely changes, attach files, documents, reports to tasks, and delegate tasks.

Automation of personnel control simplifies tasking of managers and team members working on joint projects. You should consider using task manager if:

• Task deadlines lengthened for no apparent reason.
• Some of the assignments go unnoticed.
• Employees are overloaded with unnecessary work.
• Most of the time is spent on monitoring their work.
• Remote staff are present in the state.

Using automated tools to control tasks, you can prioritize them, tracking deadlines and the degree of completion. All files, documents and reports will be stored in one place. The executor will clearly see his algorithm of actions. It will be easier for him to understand what, when and how he should perform. And the manager will get an idea of how busy the employee is, whether he can handle the assignment or whether it needs to be redirected to another performer.

LeaderTask, a tool for monitoring employee task fulfillment

The LeaderTask program contains a set of tools that allow you to manage your employees in full. The application includes an assignment control system for assigning tasks. To organize proper teamwork, the task manager provides an electronic organizer.

Using LeaderTask’s electronic scheduler, you can unite your entire staff in one program, viewing each team member’s tasks in a timely manner. The application provides the following functions for the staff:

• transfer overdue tasks to “Today” in automatic mode.
• Tasks labeled with the name of the performer.
• Statuses: “Pending”, “In Progress”, “Canceled”, “Ready for Delivery”.

The supervisor can take advantage of features such as:

• Personal assignment of a task to a specific employee with the impossibility of its adjustment or modification by unauthorized persons. Once an order has been created, only the supervisor can make changes to it.
• Checking of completed tasks with setting of statuses: “Completed” or “Finalization”.
• Providing access to assignments.
• Collaborative meetings with staff in group chat.

With the LeaderTask organizer, it’s easy to keep your tasks in order by categorizing them as “Unfiled”, “Unread”, or “Overdue”. Tasks can be sorted using the built-in filter.

The “task statuses” can be used to track an employee’s task completion. The manager will always be aware of what he is doing at the moment and which tasks have not yet been started.

Using the program simplifies the presence of voice input and synchronization functions on any device. You can create tasks and work in the application offline, without access to the Internet.

LeaderTask is a full-fledged employee management system that includes all the tools for control and functions for self-development of personnel. Each team member will always be aware of the tasks they need to accomplish by a certain deadline. And the manager will be able to easily control the quality of their fulfillment. Completed tasks can be viewed in real time.

Effective company management is impossible without controlling the activities of employees. This process can be simplified by organizing a full-fledged document flow in the company, evenly distributing the workload on the personnel, controlling the extent and quality of assigned tasks with the help of automated programs – schedulers and management systems.

All files, important documents, task data, will be focused in one system. You can open them at the right time. If necessary, make corrections. Using the data on the work performed, analyze it to make new management decisions.

Rational, competent control will give an accurate picture of the work of personnel, their competence, attitude to their duties. Using this information, it is possible to significantly improve the overall performance of the company, bringing it to a qualitatively new level in the future.

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12 Best Practices for Successful Task Assignment and Tracking

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1. What are the top 12 practices for successful task assignment and tracking?

Key practices for effective task assignment.

The assignment of tasks should always be done strategically to ensure successful completion. Here are six key practices for successful task assignment:

• Clear and concise instructions: Always provide clear steps on how to accomplish the task. Vague instructions may lead to misunderstandings and poor results.
• Assign tasks based on skills and experience: Certain tasks require special skills. Assign tasks to those who have the skills and experience needed to perform them efficiently.
• Establish realistic deadlines: Set achievable deadlines to prevent unnecessary pressure and poor quality of work.
• Communicate the task's importance: Explain why the task is necessary and how it contributes to the overall project.
• Availability check: Make sure that the person assigned to the task has the capacity to do it.
• Empower them: Give them the freedom to do the work in their own way, as long as they meet the project’s quality standards.

Efficient Task Tracking Methods

Task tracking not only ensures timely completion but also guarantees that the quality of work is not compromised. Here are six efficient task tracking methods:

• Use of tracking tools: Implementing task tracking tools like Trello or Asana can automate the tracking process.
• Regular follow-ups: Frequent check-ins allow early detection of issues and timely resolution.
• Setting Milestones: Break down the tasks into manageable chunks or stages with set deadlines.
• Encourage self-reporting: Ask team members to provide status updates on assigned tasks. This makes tracking easier and instills a sense of responsibility.
• Document progress: Keep a record of task progression to easily identify bottlenecks and delays.
• Feedback session: Constructive feedback sessions aimed at learning can be helpful for future tasks.

Comparison Table for Task Assignment and Task Tracking

2. how can i effectively use these best practices in my daily work management, utilizing best practices in daily work management.

Deploying the best practices in your daily work management is all about integration and consistency. Whether you are leading a small team or managing a large project, the successful task assignment and tracking methods will boost productivity and keep everyone on the same page. Here's how you can effectively use these practices:

• Clear Communication: Always communicate task details clearly. Specify the project description, important deadlines, and the expected deliverables. Make use of tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams for smooth communication.
• Team Collaboration: Encourage teamwork, brainstorming sessions and ensure everyone contributes their ideas. Collaborative tools like Google Workspace or Monday.com can assist in shared work.
• Prioritization & Scheduling: Prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance. Use scheduling tools, like Asana or Trello, to arrange tasks for all team members, ensuring they are aware of their responsibilities.

Implementing Task Assignment Practices

Assigning tasks effectively involves understanding each team member's strengths and weaknesses. The following steps are recommended:

Successful Task Tracking

Tracking tasks helps in maintaining the project's accuracy ensuring that everything is running smoothly. Adopting effective tracking practices can lead to a drop in missed deadlines, an increase in productivity, and a more efficient workflow. Here are some tracking methods:

• Use a Project Management System that offers real-time tracking.
• Conduct regular progress meetings.
• Encourage team members to provide progress reports.

3. Can these best practices for task assignment and tracking be applied to any industry?

Applicability of best practices across industries.

The best practices for task assignment and tracking are versatile, adaptable and can be beneficial to most, if not all industries. This includes but is not limited to the IT, healthcare, construction, education, and manufacturing industries. The principles of clarity, efficiency, and productivity that underscore these best practices are universal needs across business operations.

List of Industries

• Information Technology
• Construction
• Manufacturing

Each of these industries can make use of the best practices in their own unique way. For instance, in the IT industry, these best practices can be utilized to assign and track different coding or debugging tasks. In healthcare, these practices can be used to efficiently assign patient care tasks to different members of a healthcare team. In education, teachers can assign tasks to students and track their progress more effectively. In short, these practices foster a culture of accountability and efficiency.

Tabular Representation of Application in Different Industries

In conclusion, these best practices provide a standard system that is convenient, effective and that can be customized to any industry’s specifics. The consistent theme across all industries is to enhance productivity and optimize resources.

4. What is the first step one should take to apply these practices effectively?

Understanding the task.

The first step towards effectively applying the practices for successful task assignment and tracking is gaining a thorough understanding of the task at hand. To successfully delegate assignments and oversee their completion, you must grasp the task's specifics, objectives, and requirements. The following goals can guide you:

• Determine the nature and scope of the task: Exactly what does this task entail? What are its dimensions and boundaries?
• Identify the expected outcome: What should the ideal result look like once the task is completed?
• Analyze potential problems: What kind of issues may arise during the execution of the task? How can they be addressed proactively?

Establishing Clear Objective and Goals

Once you've comprehended the task, the next step involves establishing clear objectives and goals. These goals should ideally be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). A well-defined goal gives a clear direction to the entire task assignment process. Consider the following points when mapping out your goals:

Identifying the Right People for the Task

Once each task has been clearly defined and its goals set, the next step is to assign the right people to the task. This requires analyzing your team's strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and workload. Here are some factors to consider:

• Skills and capabilities: Does the person possess the necessary skills and abilities to perform the task effectively?
• Workload: Does the person have the necessary time and bandwidth to take on the task?
• Preference: Does the person show an interest in the task? Are they excited about the work they're assigned?

5. Are there specific tools that help facilitate these best practices for task assignment and tracking?

Top tools for task assignment and tracking.

There are numerous tools designed specifically to facilitate task assignment and tracking. They range from simple to-do list apps to complex project management systems. Here are a few popular options:

• Asana: This tool is designed for both individuals and teams. It allows for task assignment, due dates, priorities, comments, file attachments, and progress tracking.
• JIRA: Popular among software development teams, JIRA provides a detailed view of ongoing tasks, project timelines, and allows for personalized workflows.
• Trello: Trello operates on a board-and-card system, allowing for easy visualization of tasks and assignments. It also supports collaboration and progress tracking.
• Basecamp: This is a project management tool that integrates discussions, tasks, files, and timelines in one place. It offers a clear view of who’s working on what.

Choosing the Right Tool for Your Needs

To choose the right tool for task assignment and tracking, you need to consider the size of your team, the complexity of the tasks, and the specific features you need. Equally important is the user-friendliness and cost of the tool. Here's a simple comparison:

Consistent Use of Tools

Regardless of which tool you choose, consistent use is essential. All team members should be trained on how to use the tool effectively. Regular updates and reviews are also crucial to keep everyone aligned and ensure smooth progression of tasks. Remember, a tool is only as good as how you use it.

6. How does clear communication help in successful task assignment and tracking?

Benefits of clear communication.

Successfully assigning and tracking tasks in any business or organization often hinge on clear and effective communication. With effective communication, team members can understand their responsibilities, tasks can be properly tracked, and project deadlines can be met. There are several benefits that clear communication provides:

• Boosts Team Morale: When everyone understands their role in a project, they feel valued, which increases motivation and productivity.
• Prevents Confusion: Clear instructions prevent misunderstandings, ensuring tasks are done correctly the first time.
• Increases Efficiency: When goals and objectives are clear, teams can work more efficiently, saving time and resources.

How to Communicate Clearly

Implementing the right communication strategies can be crucial for successful task assignment and tracking. Here are a few methods to foster better communication:

Elements of Clear Communication

To ensure your communication is clear and effective, consider the following elements:

• Clarity: Ensure the message is simple, direct and that technical jargon is minimized where possible.
• Conciseness: Too much information can confuse. State only necessary details.
• Feedback: Encourage feedback - it helps affirm the message was understood correctly.

7. Why is it important to define expected outcomes when assigning tasks?

Importance of defining expected outcomes.

Defining expected outcomes is a vital step in task assignment and tracking because it sets the direction and provides a clear vision of what needs to be achieved. It helps in setting the standards, improving performance, and ensuring better accountability. The following points will further elucidate its significance:

• Clarity and direction: defining the expected outcome provides clear instructions to the task performer about what exactly needs to be achieved. It gives them a sense of direction and purpose.
• Performance measurement: With a defined outcome, it becomes easier to measure performance. The actual results can easily be compared against the expected results, simplifying performance appraisal.
• Increased Accountability: If expected outcomes are well-defined, it can help increase accountability. Task performers are more likely to take ownership and responsibility of their work, ensuring that they deliver the expected results.

Best Practices When Defining Expected Outcomes

While defining expected outcomes is important, it is equally crucial to ensure they are well drafted. Following are some best practices to consider when defining the expected outcomes:

Defining expected outcomes when assigning tasks is a fundamental step to ensure smooth progress and successful task completion. It not only provides a clear vision of what needs to be achieved but also facilitates performance measurement, leading to improved productivity and increased accountability. Employing the best practices while defining these outcomes can greatly enhance their effectiveness.

8. How can these best practices improve overall team productivity?

Enhancing team productivity through best practices.

Implementing best practices in task assignment and tracking can significantly improve overall team productivity. Effective task assignment ensures that the right tasks are allocated to the right people based on their skills, capabilities, and availability. This eliminates confusion, reduces the chances of mistakes, and improves efficiency. When tasks are tracked effectively, it's easier to identify bottlenecks, improve workload distribution, and ensure timely completion of tasks.

Key benefits include:

• Better task distribution: When tasks are assigned judiciously taking into consideration individual skills and capabilities, it ensures a better distribution of workload. This leads to improved efficiency and higher productivity.
• Proactive problem-solving: Effective task tracking allows for early detection of problems or issues that might arise during the execution of tasks. This allows for proactive problem-solving, ensuring the smooth continuation of work.
• Effective communication: These practices foster better communication within the team as tasks and responsibilities are clear. This reduces chances of misunderstanding or confusion, promoting a more harmonious and productive work environment.

Illustrating Productivity Improvement Through a Table

Here's a simple table illustrating the difference in overall team productivity before and after implementing these best practices:

9. What are some challenges one might face when implementing these best practices and how can they be overcome?

Challenges faced in implementing best practices.

When initiating the best practices for successful task assignment and tracking, several challenges might pop up which could hinder the effective execution of the process. Firstly, resistance to change is a common obstacle that organizations face. Employees might resist the new strategies brought about by these best practices, partly due to their unfamiliarity or because they feel comfortable with the old systems. Secondly, lack of adequate resources such as software and tools for task assignment and tracking can also pose a significant challenge. Lastly, the lack of appropriate training to equip the workforce with the necessary skills can impede the implementation of these practices.

Overcoming the Challenges

The good news is, these challenges aren't insurmountable. Here are a few solutions:

• Resistance to Change: This can be overcome by fostering a culture of open communication where the benefits of the new practices are clearly articulated. Regular feedback forums where employees' concerns can be addressed can also help ease the transition.
• Lack of Resources: For businesses facing this issue, it could be worth investing in project management software or tools which have proven to enhance task assignment and tracking. There are many budget-friendly options available.
• Inadequate Training: Conduct regular training sessions and workshops. Such initiatives would enhance employees' skills, thus boosting their confidence in using new systems.

Considerations for Successful Implementation

10. can these practices be adjusted for small teams or individuals, or are they only relevant for large organizations, adapting practices for different team sizes.

The beauty of best practices for task assignment and tracking is that they can be adapted to suit any team size, from large organizations to small teams and even individuals. Indeed, achieving productivity and efficiency is not merely the preserve of the big players. A small team or self-employed individual can efficiently manage their tasks by adjusting these practices to their unique needs.

• Small teams: Best practices can be refined to a simpler format for smaller teams. For instance, daily huddles could replace full-blown weekly meetings for status updates. Task tracking might also involve a more shared responsibility, with every team member being able to monitor and update their progress. Prioritization is still key, but it takes on a more immediate, flexible form.
• Individuals: For solo entrepreneurs or self-employed professionals, these practices can be tailored to personal task management. Clear objectives and deadlines are just as crucial and can be self-imposed. Tools such as personal to-do lists, digital diaries, or task management software can replace team boards and project management platforms.

Best Practices Table

To sum up, while these best practices were developed with larger organizations in mind, they are certainly not restricted to them. With some adjustments, they can offer immense benefits to the efficiency and productivity of smaller teams and individuals too. Therefore, it is important to experiment with, and adapt these practices to fit the specific dynamics and requirements of your working arrangement.

Best Practices for Successful Task Assignment and Tracking

Successful task assignment and tracking is often the difference between successful and unsuccessful projects. The following are the 12 best practices that can streamline your working process and ensure successful task tracking:

• Clarity: Make certain that instructions are clear and comprehensible.
• Define Objectives: Clearly state the purpose and outcome of each task.
• Relevant Skills: Assign tasks based on individual competencies.
• Priority Tasks: Highlight priority tasks.
• Transparent Communication: Maintain an open communication line to deal with problems quickly.
• Empowerment: Empower your team members in task management.
• Use of Technology: Utilize technology to track and manage tasks efficiently.
• Time tracking: Employ a software to track time spent on each task.
• Regular Updates: Showcase constant updates to keep the team on track.
• Project progress visualization: Represent the progression of the project visually for better understanding.
• Deadlines: Set realistic and flexible deadlines.
• Feedback: Regularly give feedback to promote constant improvement.

In light of the above-mentioned practices, the role of technology in task assignment and tracking cannot be overstressed. Several softwares are available in the market to help you streamline your task assignment and tracking processes but none are more efficient and user-friendly than Retainr.io .

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Retainr.io is a whitelabel software that unifies all your task management needs. It enables you to sell, manage clients, orders, & payments with your own branded app, ensuring that all information is kept in one place, thus, making accessibility and tracking easier.

With its vast array of features, it empowers your team members by making task assignment and tracking seamless and efficient. It simplifies project management and enhances transparency in communication. The software's use of visual aids for project progress ensures that all team members have a clear view of where the project stands and what needs to be done.

So, harness the power of Retainr.io to ensure a well-coordinated, proficient, and successful execution of your projects. Start your journey towards efficient task management with Retainr.io today.

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How to Give Assignments to Team Members

Last updated on: March 21, 2024

The project has been divided into milestones, goals and objectives broken into tasks, and now it’s time to assign them. But as you open the project management platform, you’re faced with the unflattering process of wording the tasks, and choosing whom to assign them to.

Well, in this article, we offer advice on how to make that jumbled first moment a little clearer. There are actionable tips, learning the difference between allocating and delegating tasks, and suggested criteria on how to choose the best person for the job.

For a more precise overview, here’s a table of contents:

Table of Contents

How do you assign employees tasks?

We normally think that assigning tasks is a time-consuming process that focuses on clearing out task lists to keep the project going. However, task assignment should actually be a more employee-oriented process that requires additional dedication and effort, which yields incredible results. But what do we mean by that?

Properly assigned tasks push your employees, projects, and the overall company forward. Here’s how.

• They strengthen accountability and trust between managers and employees;
• They help teach new skills and perfect old ones;
• They allow employees to get familiar with other teams and avenues of work;
• It becomes easier to make project estimates;
• Makes for great bases for performance reviews, etc.

The list could go on, but we’ll stop there for now.

Of course, such long-term benefits don’t come without some proverbial blood and sweat in the planning stage. Let’s take a look at the general ideas on assigning employee tasks, and specific steps you can take.

Motivation comes from knowing the bigger picture

When we talk about the bigger picture in project management, we talk about each team member’s task affecting their peer’s down the line. Since all tasks are usually small pieces of the puzzle, it helps to remind employees how their work contributes. For example:

• A high-quality draft can make a great foundation for the final version, and it can be completed more quickly.
• A well-prepared presentation can shave time off unnecessary questions and additional email inquiries.

It comes as no surprise that people work better and are more productive, when they know that their work has an impact on the company level.

And so, when you assign tasks, try to emphasize how they fit in the bigger picture. Simply saying: “ You doing X will help with Y and Z ” and how it reflects on the project as a whole will let an employee know that the task they were assigned is important.

Get your employees excited to commit

Telling people about the bigger picture and showing them what’s possible can only get them so far. It’s enough to ignite the initial spark, but for them to fully commit to the task, you need to define what that task entails.

They should be able to picture how to go about the work, what skills to use, and how to reach the desired result. The clearer the instructions, the more motivated they will be to work.

Simply put, give directions on how the task should be done, and make sure they understand. You can’t read each other’s minds, so it’s important everyone is on the same page.

Ask for task transparency

One of the best practices a company can employ is transparency among coworkers.

This is achieved by having everyone input their tasks for the day in a timesheet. The purpose of timesheets is to get an accurate idea of what everyone is working on at any given time.

When people know who works on what tasks, it’s easier for them to know if a person is available or busy, how far along they are with a task, etc.

So, when you give assignments to employees, label them with deadlines. Alternatively, you can ask for employees’ assessments on how long the work would take them, and use those timeframes.

Source: Clockify team timesheet

Timesheets are a great way to keep an eye on tasks and the people doing them. You get to:

• see who struggles with what (helps assess people’s skill sets);
• who burns through their workload and is available for additional tasks;
• whether your time estimates need correction;
• identify any wasted time.

💡 If your employees are insecure about keeping public records of their tasks, here are a few resources that can help:

• How to create order in your daily work tasks
• How to be more efficient with your tasks

Keep a crystal clear timeframe

While we’re discussing timesheets and deadline transparency, it’s important to mention that the times you set for task completions need to be clear-cut.

As we’ve mentioned, the safest way to assign deadlines is to consult the employees. They are better at assessing how long it will take them due to the tasks’ difficulty, overall deadlines, the standards that need to be met, and the skill required to complete it.

When they get a say in how long they should be doing an assignment, people tend to feel more accountable for the whole process. They will do their best to finish in time, since they actively participated in setting the deadline.

Set very clear expectations

Assigning a task should always include your (the supervisor’s) expectations pointed out. For example:

• Does a logo pitch need as many drafts as possible, or just a few finished pieces?

If you ask a designer to make some drafts for a logo pitch, you must specify the kind of quality you’re looking for. Explain whether you are looking for some sketches and drafts for a brainstorming meeting, or if you want clean, presentable pieces to show.

Additionally:

• How many pieces should the designer do?
• Is there a specific color palette they need to follow?
• How important is the task? Is this the day they finally decide on a logo, or is it still in the brainstorming stage? (decides on the quality of the work itself)

Assigning the task using the above questions, you help the designer understand how much effort precisely they need to invest. They become more motivated with clear instructions, as they know what is expected of them. There’s no fear of having their work criticized for something that wasn’t communicated in the beginning. And on your end, it prevents breached deadlines or subpar results.

Avoid creating dependency by being less involved

It’s not unusual for employees to ask their supervisors for their opinion on a certain task, or their performance.

The problem arises when a supervisor makes themselves too involved with the process. When they feel like the project might fall apart if they don’t have their eyes on every moving part all of the time. And when you have, say, 20 people waiting for that person’s approval, advice, or consultation, the workflow runs into a gridlock.

And wait time is wasted time.

Plus, people lose motivation, patience, and grow frustrated, as they could be doing other things.

So, learn not to jump in every time people call for your aid. Assign reliable people who can address smaller issues, while you handle the big picture. Learn how to expend your own energy where it is needed more.

For example – making a pitch presentation for potential investors keeps getting put off because one person needs you to check a client email they want to send, another wants your signature on a form, and the third wants to ask something about employee feedback that’s coming up.

In order to not be stretched thin, and have your time wasted on menial tasks, here’s where you can start:

How to mitigate the risk of being over-involved when assigning

• Remember that you match tasks to people

Which means that, by matching the right people with the right tasks, your involvement will be minimal. Take time to carefully choose who gets to do what. What is the point of assigning tasks if they can’t be done without you?

• Have a 10-point scale to judge the importance of items

How important are certain aspects of your leadership role? Are you absolutely necessary in every meeting, or during every call? Which tasks need your approval, and which ones can be approved by someone under you?

Rank these items on a scale of 0 to 10, based on their importance to you and the project. Top priority tasks should get your undivided attention. And what can be delegated, should be.

• Analyze your schedule

Your energy and time are needed on a much broader scale. The best way to spot if you’re wasting time being too involved is to look at your schedule. Identify how much time you’ve spent on low-priority items, and assess which issues could’ve been solved without you.

• Take into account priorities and deadlines

Step in only when absolutely necessary. You are in charge of things getting done on time, by people most qualified for assigned tasks. Determine what your priorities are for each project, and concern yourself only with those issues, unless there is a risk of breaching a deadline.

• Formulate a list of dependable people

If you know your employees (or team members) well enough, then you should be able to single out those who are more dependable and ready to take on a little more responsibilities. Write out the reasons how they could help by getting involved on low-priority items instead of you. When the time comes, rally them and present them with the idea, keeping in mind that this solution helps push the project forward. When authority is delegated to several people, there’s fewer chances of a hold-up in the workflow.

This also falls into the realm of task delegation , which we’ll get into later.

How do you decide what tasks to assign to which employees?

1. assign based on priority.

Naturally, some tasks will be more important than others. When you break down a project into tasks , spend some time assessing their priority level.

High-priority tasks should be the first on your list to allocate. Whether it’s because they’re time-sensitive, or require more effort and dedication.

Low priority tasks can be allocated as fillers to the first available person.

2. Assign based on employee availability

Another factor to consider when assigning tasks is who is available at the moment.

As the project moves along, new tasks will be added. You will have to allocate new work, but odds are you won’t always be able to pick who you want. Especially if a deadline is approaching, the person with the smallest workload should be your first choice.

Overloading an already busy individual just because they’re more skilled or you have faith in them the most puts an unnecessary strain on them. It’s cause for frustration, poorer results, and decreased productivity.

And as we’ve mentioned, if you have a timesheet with an overview of all the tasks and employees working on them, it’ll be much easier to spot who is free and who isn’t.

3. Assign based on employee skill level

High-priority tasks should go to employees with more experience in a given field or skill. However, you should occasionally give such tasks to other employees as well, to help them grow and become just as dependable. Giving people challenging tasks that can boost their experience is essential to productivity and morale.

Not to mention you get to have multiple high-skilled employees.

Low-priority tasks can be assigned to anyone, despite their experience level. They’re a good opportunity to practice, pick up new skills, or get smaller tasks out of the way to make room for more important ones.

4. Assign based on preference

Last, but not the least, preference can also play a big part in how you assign tasks.

It’s a given that some employees will prefer certain tasks over others. So it could be good to assign tasks at a meeting with the team. As you discuss priorities, deadlines, and availability, ask them which tasks they would like to work on.

If someone shows interest in a specific type of work, they should (with some consideration), be allowed to take it. After all, people are more productive when they’re assigned to something they find new or exciting.

Note: Apply this rule with caution. Letting people do only the tasks they want can stunt their career growth. Getting out of our comfort zones and occasionally doing tasks that we don’t like is how we develop and learn. So, don’t forget to document assignments as you hand them out, to spot these potential issues early on.

Allocating vs delegating tasks

While semantically similar words, delegation and allocation in terms of tasks are two different things.

When you allocate tasks , you are assigning tasks without giving the employees much authority, challenge, or room to grow. It includes you keeping all of the responsibility – writing out the tasks, making deadlines, providing resources, tools, etc. These are usually recurring tasks that can become repetitive.

When you delegate tasks , you allow for some of that responsibility to fizzle out from your fingers. All you think about are the objectives, while letting the employees figure out the details and means to get there.

However, that doesn’t mean delegation is right and the allocation is wrong.

Task allocation has its own place. It is just as important, as a lot of tasks come down to repeated processes that are still vital to the project progress. Task delegation is just a good opportunity for employees to learn, challenge themselves, and assess their skills and performance.

When should you allocate tasks?

Management and BizDev consultant Artem Albul shared his concept on task assignment, which he dubbed an “algorithm”. He emphasized how these criteria are useful only and only when you wish that employees perform the tasks based on your guidelines and instructions (aka allocation).

Here is how Albul broke down the algorithm:

Source: Artem Albul, TWA Consulting

As we can see, task allocation, while the more “controlling” of the two, also gives in-depth instructions and asks for confirmation on task clarity. A lot of it comes down to everyone being on the same page, leaving little to no room for misinterpretation (but also creative freedom).

How should you allocate tasks?

With all that we’ve mentioned in the previous section, here’s how your task allotment could look like, step by step.

• Break down your project

Detail out the goals, objectives, and some individual tasks (not all, be careful not to start micromanaging). Place the most important deadlines.

• Prioritize tasks and sort them

It’s important to know what tasks need to be done faster/better, to properly allocate your resources and manpower from the start.

• Make a list of teams and team members

Assign team leaders (if you don’t have them), and alternatively, ask for their input on individual employees skills, for a more informed decision on who gets what.

• Schedule a meeting

Make a meeting with the team leads and go through the points above. Assign tasks according to each team’s availability, interest, and skill required to successfully push the project forward.

• As team leads – assign tasks further down the pipeline
• Track task completion and make necessary changes along the way

Whether it’s pushing deadlines, reassigning tasks, or shifting around resources. This is perfectly fine and expected, so long as it doesn’t happen on every task you’ve assigned. Then, it is an indicator of poor pre-planning.

• Offer feedback and write performances

Don’t forget to track the progress and make notes of important details that might help the next task allocation/delegation process. It’s also a useful piece of information for the employees on what they need to improve on.

Allocating tasks is somewhat more complicated than we want it to be. But, this kind of thorough research and preparation will make projects run more smoothly. Employees will also be more satisfied with their work, and there will be less hurdles as deadlines approach.

When should you delegate tasks?

Delegation is a great practice in trust for both the employer/supervisor and the employee. The employer learns how to give away some of their control over the process, while the employee learns how to take more accountability for their work.

This lets you focus on big-picture aspects of your job, since you deal less with assignments that are low-priority for you. You save time and energy, while helping others move up in their careers.

How do you effectively delegate tasks as a leader?

As we’ve mentioned, delegating includes more employee independence. There are some additional components which make this type of task assignment more appealing than allocation, with great opportunities for growth.

Focus on delegating objectives instead of actual tasks

When you delegate, you focus on the objective that needs to be done. You shouldn’t give employees a “color by numbers” instruction on how to complete a task.

Communicate clearly what the end result should be and what expectations you (or the higher-ups) have. Leave the means for reaching that end goal to the employees themselves. Because how you solve a task may be completely different to how they will. And that is perfectly fine, so long as the result is the one you are looking for.

Keep the objectives challenging

When the objectives you’re delegating are too easy, chances are the person will either procrastinate, or feel like you don’t trust them enough. And if they’re too difficult, they get frustrated, anxious, and begin to panic.

It’s a good idea to be aware of an employee’s skill level, so you can gauge how much challenge and responsibility they can take on. For them to be the most productive and achieve great results, they need to enter “the state of Flow”.

Source: Optimal Experience , M. Csikszentmihalyi

💡 We’ve discussed the state of Flow in more detail in an article on time organization.

Encourage discussion and feedback

Let employees voice their opinions on the topic.

They should ask anything about the task, the goals, or the overall impact their work will have on the later stages or others’ workflow. It means they are interested in the task, and getting involved.

And if they aren’t asking questions themselves, you can always nudge them into proactivity.

• Is there something you’d like me to clarify?
• Do you already have any ideas on how to go about the task?
• Is the time we agreed upon enough for you?
• Will you need other resources, tools, or support?
• Do you see any problems or risks?

Questions like these help them feel valued, their efforts acknowledged, and let them know you care about the task and how well they perform. Just be careful not to overdo it, or you’ll start to look like a micromanager.

Give employees free rein, but offer support

Speaking of micromanaging, delegation means you let people problem-solve their way out on their own. There should be no reason for a manager to step in and control or supervise any step of the process, unless absolutely necessary.

However, what you should do is let them know you’re available for any advice should they feel stuck. Just because employees get authority on a certain task, and are left to their own devices, doesn’t mean the project has to suffer until they pull themselves up.

From time to time, ask them if they need anything from you, and make sure they know you’re there for any kind of support, consultation, or mediation. ANother good practice is to also give them additional learning opportunities – such as training, conferences, courses, etc.

Delegate objectives that move people forward

Choose assignments that boost the skills and employ all of their experiences, instead of something that simply needs to be done. For example:

• Tasks that require they brush up on their team communication skills;
• Learning how to allocate smaller tasks;
• Supervising others’ work and doing quality control;
• Learning to work with a new tool;
• Holding a meeting (or more), etc.

Find out which skills your employees may want or need to develop, and then plan your delegations accordingly. You want them to complete the task while having learned something new at the same time.

How to choose who to delegate to

Paul Beesley, senior director and consultant at Beyond Theory proposed a nifty checklist for when you’re choosing an employee to delegate to. It’s meant to simplify and speed up the process.

To successfully complete the delegated task, your chosen employee needs:

S – the skill to perform and complete a task

T – the time to complete the task, and if needed, learn the required skill

A – the authority to handle everything concerning the task

R – the necessary level of responsibility

R – the recognition for successfully completing the task

This list is a set of important criteria that should be covered when you consider who to assign to a specific task. However, depending on your niche, type of service, company size and the project at hand, the criteria are likely to change. And it should accommodate your needs, not the other way around.

Common task delegation mistakes to avoid

With all being said, there are some common mistakes managers and employers make, sometimes without even realizing it.

• Being too vague concerning deadlines (using: as soon as possible, when you get to it, I need it by yesterday). It creates unnecessary pressure.
• Being unavailable for questions and concerns. While you shouldn’t micromanage, you should still be present for support if an employee feels stuck. Ignoring them or handing them over to someone else could cause distrust. However, if you are usually swamped with work, set consultation hours each day or week.
• Having unclear directions. Specifying the allotted time for task completion and expectations should be the bare minimum when delegating tasks.
• Not providing feedback. No feedback is worse than bad feedback. Employees need to be aware when they’re doing good work, as well. In one company I worked for, the mantra was: “If no one is complaining about your work, that means you’re doing good”. And while it sounds like sound logic, it actually caused a lot of frustration. We were left directionless, and simply “floating” from task to task, never knowing if any of them had a positive impact on our performance.
• Not listening to employees. Take into account how they feel about a task or the objective. Let them give you feedback and if there are potential problems from the get-go.
• Assigning other people to the same task. If you notice a person struggling, the first instinct should be to ask them how they’re faring, and if they need any help. Some managers tend to assign other employees to help them without consultation, which leaves a sore taste. The employee will feel even more incompetent and will be less likely to take on a similar task in the future.
• Assuming people will know what you mean. This is one of the biggest problems. When you’re formulating a task, be as clear as possible about the goals and expectations. Oftentimes managers think that these things are implied, but the truth is – no one is a mind reader. To avoid having information misconstrued or misunderstood, communicate clearly and directly.

There could be more mistakes, especially for every different field and industry. If at all possible, identify the most common ones, made either by you or your peers. Note down all the instances where certain tasks weren’t up to par, and see what you could have changed in your assignment process to fix it. Maybe there wasn’t enough time or resources, you were unclear, or the employee wasn’t ready for such responsibility. Use the same procedure in all future task delegations. It’s the only way to learn and make the process quicker.

To conclude

Task assignment should be a very careful, thought-out process. It’s not just about reaching milestones in time. It’s about helping employees learn new skills, feel more satisfied with their position in the company, strengthen the trust between you and them, and ultimately help you refocus on the big picture.

By following the advice we’ve gathered, you will be on the right track to make some effective, healthy long-term changes to your company.

✉️ Have you found these tips helpful? Is there something we could have covered in more detail? What are your experiences with assigning tasks?

Send your answers, suggestions, and comments to [email protected] and we may include them in this or future posts.

Marijana Stojanovic is a writer and researcher who specializes in the topics of productivity and time management.

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Top 10 Task Assignment Templates with Samples and Examples

Simran Shekhawat

A leader’s task is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.   - Former US secretary of Henry Kissinger

Kissinger’s vision of leadership has stood the test of time, and human endeavors. His thoughts on leadership reflect the importance of delegating or task assignment in a group setting, be it politics or business.

The importance of task allocation, management, and delegation of work to reach a pre-defined role cannot be overstated.

If you are large-scale business or a firm, it is tedious or troublesome to conduct meetings, design project outcomes, comprehend the project progress, and manage the nitty gritty of business. To ensure the owner or the management use their energies wisely, it is a better strategy to have a structured plan in place for task assignments across each level of your business establishment.

We, at SlideTeam, present to you our contemporary model of managing and delegating tasks that resolves this major pain point of businesses. It also helps you make efficient use of your time by following a schedule. Use our must-have business task templates to keep track of your business cycles.

Determine the schedule of your day with some of the daily task templates check out now!

The PPT Templates from SlideTeam comprehend your needs and give you both the outcome and the answer. Creating and adhering to a daily routine is essential for all aspects of life. Use these 100% editable and customizable templates with samples and examples to understand the significance of these. We promise to make your professional life easier, as they offer to organize, manage, and track down your project progress and streamline your business processes.

You must keep a record of updates on due dates and status. Check out some of weekly task templates. Click here !

Let’s dive into the task of work management with task assignment templates

Template 1 task assignment powerpoint ppt template bundles.

Delegating and accounting tasks is essential for proper functioning of an organization. To enable that, we have created one of our best task assignment PowerPoint Slides to help businesses distribute their work, use resources optimally, and enhance the working of their team members such that their contribution and expertise help the firm achieve their objectives. Bring in the power of this template to feature quality output, facilitate clear communication, strategic project planning, task budgeting monitoring, and evaluation of team and task performance against the milestones.

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Template 2 Project Task Assignment Management Sheet with Related Issues 

Use this template as a primary project management document that summarizes work assignments and related problems. Use the slide to reflect changes in task status, issues resolved, and real-time project progress. Encourage team members to contribute to the issue log to foster a collaborative environment that facilitates open communication and efficient problem-solving. Through the integration of linked issues, this template seeks to facilitate the administration of project task assignments and promote a proactive approach to resolution of the issue and project success.

Template 3 Employee Onboarding Process Task Assignment Chart 

To ensure that every stage of the onboarding process is planned correctly and allocated, we welcome you with the PPT Template that lists employee onboarding process with task assignments. This slide is attractive as it visually represents tasks assigned and their status and a column for additional notes. With this, businesses can streamline their onboarding process by establishing project managing techniques of tracking and collaborations. Use the content in this template to help you finish your assignment on time or ahead of schedule. Download it to know more!

Template 4 Employee Weekly Task Assignment Schedule with Workload Status 

Creating a schedule demands foresight in that one needs to be prepared for unforeseen events. Make sure your work tasks and processes align with the necessary tasks to be completed. Use our professionally-designed employee task schedule template to facilitate task management. Determine the status of your work schedule, while listing it in workload categories to ensure timely project progress. Use this pre-made employee workload status template to help employees understand the gist of the work needed to be done to reach their goals and to help them provide suggestions on how to lighten their burden for the upcoming week.

Template 5 Task Assignment and Evaluation Matrix PPT PowerPoint Presentation Summary

Establish control over your project by making every team member or firm aware of the roles and responsibilities when performing activities. Ensure that everyone on a project team knows their function and how it fits into the larger picture; this task and assessment template aims to identify the roles and responsibilities of each member. This PowerPoint Template contains information you need. You can implement your daily tasks and present your data in a way that engages and informs.

Template 6 Weekly Task Assignment List with Status and Hours Budgeted 

This weekly job assignment PowerPoint Slide balances the action and budget hour and the relevant workload status. This comprehensive solution offers a one-stop shop for all your needs related to recording weekly activities. Use this slide to create easily navigable graphics that enhance staff productivity. Lay out your weekly and daily tasks along with those with features to explain project progress.

Template 7 – Task Assignment Tracker with Due Date and Budget Allocation 

This task assignment tracker facilitates the management and monitoring of project tasks by combining task assignment data, deadlines, and budget allocations in an organized manner. Construct an adequate representation of tasks assigned to employees and the time and budget required for completion. To maintain financial control, check the budget summary. Give every task its unique identification. Give a brief description of the assignment. Use this slide to depict how to set aside money for the project’s budget. Arrange the projected  cost and the actual cost incurred in a tabular format to learn the deviations and get better at budgeting. Change the task's state (Not Started, In Progress, or Completed). Tailor it to the listed requirements and match it to the intricacy of your undertaking.

Template 8 – Project Task Assignment Management Sheet with Related Issues

This template offers a thorough overview of project tasks, their assignments, and any associated problems hindering the project's advancement. Modify the template to fit requirements and the scope of your project. List out the task details with due date priority, last check-in, status, related issues, and additional notes if any. This template provides a comprehensive list of task assignments as well.

Template 9 – Task Assignment Schedule with Course Details

For instructional programs, training sessions, or any learning-related projects, arrange your course in a manageable way with this PPT Template. The assignment schedule provides a layout for project details that encompass listing out course details from the day of starting till the progress to date. Adapt the template based on the difficulty of the course. Update the schedule frequently to account for modifications to the dates, subjects, or assignments. Use this timetable to help you plan and monitor the course's progress.

Template 10 One-Pager Format of Project Task Assignment Sheet Infographic

Use this PPT Template to assess a software application's functionality. Consequently, determine if the generated program satisfies the requirements. This slide depicts project objectives, progress, and challenges. Provide space to include the project's name and basic details. Enlist to segregate tasks with phases, task details, and due dates. Illustrate phases in the project along with project closure. Use this PowerPoint Presentation to highlight the four-week project timetable and current accomplishments. This will enable you to run the programs to help identify software issues.

Create your task with us!

Design and create your business task with SlideTeam’s task assignment PPT Templates. These templates are created professionally to let your business organise and structure their assignments. Provide a comprehensive guide for individuals and team while helping them to track, prioritize, track project progress and manage activities and processes.

Do check out some of your best business task list templates. Click here to know more!

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More From Forbes

Robotics for efficient fulfillment.

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Robotics Designer and Founder at Cartesian Kinetics .

The last decade has brought a lot of innovation into warehouse operations, targeted at making it faster, more efficient and less error-prone. While historically most warehouses have relied heavily on human labor for the picking and placing of items, most warehouses today adopt some level of goods-to-person (GTP) automation. By bringing goods directly to pickers, rather than having them travel to the goods, these systems significantly reduced the time and physical strain involved in the picking process.

GTP systems fall into two general categories:

1. Early iterations of GTP technology focused on mechanized solutions like conveyor belts and static picking stations, which already marked a considerable improvement in efficiency and accuracy over manual methods. In addition, horizontal/vertical carousels and vertical lift modules (VLMs) were used to present items to pickers.

2. Currently, random access, high-density systems, including cube and shuttle-based systems, are used to deliver items to a picker at a pick station.

This article focuses on GTP systems of the second category, which truly revolutionized GTP systems by integrating advanced technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

How A GTP System Works

When an order management system picks up an order for fulfillment through the GTP system, the following key steps are involved:

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• SKU identification: Identifying the SKUs that one or more of the orders require for fulfillment. This could involve batching or waving orders together to orchestrate the fulfillment in the most efficient manner.

• Storage location identification: In a GTP system, SKUs are densely stored in three-dimensional storage racks. Storage locations of each SKU is mapped in the database and serve as a reference for the source location at which the robot is assigned a task. Based on the SKUs to be retrieved, this list of tasks from appropriate storage locations is generated.

• Robot task assignment and management: The GTP system considers robot availability and proximity to allocate and manage the task of moving the SKU from the identified storage location to the pick station.

• Presentation of totes at the pick station: The picker is presented with one or more SKUs based on the requirement at the pick station and is prompted to pick an appropriate quantity of different SKUs to fulfill the order(s).

Benefits Of A GTP system

Efficiency And Throughput

An efficient GTP system ensures that SKUs are presented ergonomically with sufficiently high throughput for optimal picker efficiency. High throughput rates are crucial for optimizing picker efficiency in warehouses due to several key factors.

• High throughput minimizes the idle time between picks, ensuring that pickers are consistently engaged in productive tasks, which increases picker efficiency.

• High throughput ensures that pickers can quickly access and process a large number of diverse orders, reducing the time from order receipt to dispatch. This directly translates to increased order fulfillment and customer satisfaction.

• When space is limited and inventory turnover is high, as in the cases of distributed warehouses and back-of-store fulfillment, efficient throughput enables effective utilization of space for both retail and fulfillment purposes.

Better Predictability Of Operations And Customer Satisfaction

GTP systems typically result in more precise picking, reducing errors and enhancing overall quality control in order fulfillment.

• GTP systems organize and streamline picking processes, making the operations more predictable. By consistently delivering items to pickers, these systems reduce variability in picking times and increase the reliability of order processing.

• GTP systems often integrate sophisticated software for inventory tracking and management. This technology provides real-time visibility into inventory levels, allowing for more accurate forecasting and replenishment. Better inventory management ensures that products are available when needed, reducing the chances of stockouts and back orders, which are common pain points for customer dissatisfaction.

• The efficiency of GTP systems enables quicker processing of orders from receipt to dispatch. Faster order processing leads to shorter delivery times, a key factor in customer satisfaction, especially in today's market where consumers expect rapid delivery.

• The precision of GTP systems in picking and handling items significantly reduces the error rate in orders.

• GTP systems can easily scale to handle increased order volumes, such as during peak seasons, without a significant drop in efficiency. This scalability ensures that the warehouse can maintain consistent service levels even during busy periods, which is crucial for maintaining customer trust and satisfaction.

By accelerating the picking process and providing predictable fulfillment, GTP systems lead to improved customer service, driving customer satisfaction and repeat business.

Better Work Conditions And Skill Enhancement For Pickers

• GTP systems significantly decrease the physical burden on pickers by handling heavy lifting and extensive walking, leading to less fatigue and lower risk of musculoskeletal injuries.

• Automated systems often create a more organized and predictable working environment, with controlled temperatures and reduced noise levels, making the workspace more comfortable for pickers.

• Automation provides pickers with opportunities to learn new skills such as operating automated systems, monitoring software and managing technology-driven processes, thus enhancing their career prospects.

Challenges With A GTP system

While GTP systems offer significant operational benefits, there are some challenges to keep in mind:

• There are GTP solutions based on different technologies; the selection of a suitable system can be difficult.

• Sizing and selecting a system may need a vision of how the GTP solution will scale with business growth.

• Interface needs with upstream and downstream automation systems need evaluation and planning.

How GTP Systems Are Evolving

In essence, GTP automation is a symphony of technology and human expertise. It combines the speed and efficiency of robots with the accuracy and adaptability of human operators. While these are driving adoption of GTP systems, choosing and deploying a GTP system needs evaluation and careful selection. A well-deployed GTP system results in warehouse operations becoming faster, more accurate and more efficient.

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Task Completion Time for Better Project Efficiency

Task completion time is a critical metric that can significantly impact project efficiency. It refers to the time it takes for a task to go from being assigned to completion, and it plays a crucial role in determining how quickly a project is completed.

By measuring and analyzing task completion time, project managers and team leaders can gain valuable insights into their team's productivity levels and identify areas that need improvement.

In this blog post, we'll dive deeper into the concept of task completion time and explore practical ways to optimize it for better project efficiency.

Importance of Completing Tasks on Time for Project Success

Completing tasks on time is crucial for project success, impacting various aspects of a project, including budgeting and quality. Here's why:

• Budgeting: Timely completion of tasks is essential to keep the project within budget. When tasks are delayed, it can lead to additional expenses such as overtime pay, rescheduling, or even hiring extra resources. These additional costs can hurt the project budget and impact the overall financial health of the project.
• Quality: Completing tasks on time ensures that work is delivered at the expected quality level. Poor quality work can damage a project's reputation, leading to further rework or corrective action costs.

Task Completion and Time Management

Task completion and time management are closely linked to productivity and project success. Here's how they're related:

• Prioritizing tasks : Good time management skills help effectively prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency. By doing so, team members can ensure that they focus their time and effort on the most critical tasks first, increasing the chances of timely completion.
• Setting realistic deadlines : Time management skills also help set realistic deadlines for each task. By understanding how much time is required for each task, team members can set achievable deadlines and ensure the project stays on schedule.
• Monitoring progress: Effective time management requires regular monitoring of progress. By tracking the time spent on each task, team members can identify any roadblocks or delays early on and take corrective action to keep the project on track.
• Minimizing distractions: Effective time management also involves minimizing distractions and focusing on work during designated work hours.

3 Tasks a Day

The "3 tasks a day" approach is a time management strategy that involves identifying and focusing on three critical tasks each day that need to be completed. Limiting the number of tasks helps minimize distractions, prioritize work, and increase productivity.

Task Completion Improved Using Project Management Software

Project management software  ActiveCollab can be a game-changer in improving task completion time. By providing a centralized platform for collaboration and tracking progress, teams can stay organized, focused, and motivated to complete tasks on time. Here's how ActiveCollab can be used for tracking task completion time:

• Task creation and assignment: ActiveCollab allows project managers to create and assign tasks to team members with specific deadlines.
• Time tracking : ActiveCollab includes a time tracking feature that allows team members to log the time spent on each task. This helps monitor progress, identify roadblocks early on, and estimate future project timelines more accurately.
• Collaborating : ActiveCollab provides a centralized platform for team members to collaborate on tasks, share files, and communicate in real time.
• Reporting : ActiveCollab generates reports that provide insights into task completion times, team productivity, and project timelines.

5 Ways To Reducing Task Completion Time

Here are five ways to reduce task completion time:

• Improve Communication: Effective communication is key to reducing task completion time. Communicating project goals and expectations clearly allows team members to work together more efficiently, avoid misunderstandings, and reduce delays. Collaboration platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams can help ensure all team members are on the same page.
• Delegate tasks effectively: Delegating tasks effectively reduces task completion time. Project managers can optimize workflows and maximize productivity by assigning tasks to team members with the necessary skills and experience.
• Use automation tools: Automation tools can help streamline repetitive tasks, reducing the time it takes to complete them. Examples of automation tools include email templates, social media scheduling tools, and workflow automation software like ActiveCollab.
• Set realistic deadlines: Setting realistic deadlines reduces task completion time. By understanding how long each task takes to complete and setting appropriate deadlines, teams can avoid overpromising and under-delivering.
• Focus on quality: While reducing task completion time is essential, it should not come at the expense of quality.

Task Completion Goals

Task completion goals refer to specific targets set by project managers or team leaders for the timely completion of tasks within a project. These goals are essential in ensuring that project workflows are optimized, and work is delivered on time.

Examples of task completion goals include:

• Completing critical tasks before a specific deadline: In some projects, certain tasks are more critical than others. Setting a goal to complete these tasks before a predetermined deadline ensures that the project stays on track and critical deliverables are met.
• Meeting stakeholder expectations: Stakeholders have certain expectations from a project, including quality, timeline, and budget. Setting task completion goals that align with stakeholder expectations helps project managers ensure that the project meets or exceeds these expectations.
• Achieving a specific level of productivity: Productivity is a crucial aspect of project management. Setting task completion goals that focus on improving productivity can increase the chances of timely completion of tasks. For example, setting a goal to complete certain tasks within a specific time frame can motivate team members to work efficiently and stay focused.
• Reducing task completion time: Reducing task completion time is essential in optimizing workflows and delivering work on time. By setting goals that focus on reducing task completion time, teams can identify areas that need improvement, optimize workflows, and achieve timely completion of tasks.

Measure Your Team's Performance

Measuring your team's performance is critical in ensuring optimized project workflows and timely work delivery. Here are three ways to measure your team's performance:

• Benchmarking Task Completion Time: Benchmarking task completion time involves tracking how long it takes for your team to complete tasks and comparing it to industry standards or previous project data. This helps identify areas for improvement and optimize workflows to increase efficiency.
• Team Training: Providing team training is an effective way to improve performance. This involves identifying skill gaps in team members and providing training or resources to fill those gaps. By investing in team training, project managers can increase productivity, improve work quality, and reduce errors.
• Performance Incentives: Providing performance incentives is a great way to motivate team members and improve performance. Incentives can be in the form of bonuses, promotions, or recognition.

Task Completion Rate

Task completion rate refers to the percentage of tasks completed within a specific timeframe.

Task completion rate provides valuable insights into project performance, enabling project managers to identify areas of improvement and optimize workflows. Project managers can identify trends and make data-driven decisions to improve task completion rates by monitoring task completion rates over time.

In addition, task completion rates can help project managers set realistic deadlines and allocate resources more effectively. By understanding how long it takes for a team to complete specific tasks, project managers can set appropriate timelines and expectations for future projects.

Task Completion Chart

A task completion chart typically lists tasks that need to be completed and their corresponding status. The chart can be customized based on the needs of the project or team. The tasks can be listed in any order, and the status can be indicated using symbols or words such as "completed," "in progress," "not started," or "pending." The chart can be updated regularly to reflect the current status of each task.

Task Dependencies and Task Completion

Task dependencies refer to the relationship between tasks, where one task must be completed before another can begin. In a project plan or task list, task dependencies can be shown using arrows or lines to indicate the order in which the tasks should be completed.

Task completion refers to the status of each task, whether it has been completed or is still in progress. Task completion charts or task lists are commonly used to track the status of each task in a project.

Understanding task dependencies is important in managing complex projects where multiple tasks must be completed in a specific order.

Common Challenges and Barriers To Completing Tasks

Completing tasks can be a challenging process, and several common barriers can hinder progress. Two of the most common challenges are task switching and lack of clarity.

Task switching is the process of moving back and forth between multiple tasks. Task switching can also make it difficult to stay organized and keep track of your progress, as you may lose focus on the overall project.

Lack of clarity is another common challenge to completing tasks. Lack of clarity can also lead to confusion and mistakes, as you may not know what steps to take to complete a task successfully.

Other common barriers to completing tasks include:

• Poor time management
• Perfectionism
• Lack of resources

Benefits of Agile Methodologies

• Faster time-to-market: Agile methodologies emphasize rapid prototyping and testing, which can help to accelerate the development process and get products to market more quickly.
• Increased flexibility: Agile methodologies are designed to be adaptable to changing requirements and priorities, which can help teams respond more quickly to feedback and shifts in the market.
• Improved collaboration: Agile methodologies prioritize collaboration and communication between team members, which can help foster teamwork and shared ownership of the project.
• Increased transparency: By using Agile methods such as daily stand-up meetings and sprint reviews, teams can maintain a high level of transparency throughout the development process, which can help to identify and address issues early on.
• Higher quality outputs: Agile methodologies emphasize continuous testing and feedback, which can help to catch bugs and other issues early on and ensure that the final product meets user needs and expectations.
• Improved customer satisfaction: By emphasizing user feedback and involvement throughout the development process, Agile methodologies can ensure that the final product meets customer needs and is more likely to result in higher customer satisfaction.

Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities Cheat Sheet

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• Project planning |
• The 5 pillars of fulfilling work, and h ...

The 5 pillars of fulfilling work, and how to identify it for yourself

One way to explore what fulfilling work means to you is to look at it through the lens of 5 factors and how much each one matters to you:

Status and respect

Opportunity to change the world

The pursuit of passion

Leveraging unique talent

To figure out what type of work you’ll find fulfilling, ask yourself some key questions in each of the following sections. Going through this exercise may help you gain clarity into your own motivations and aspirations, and ultimately, point you in the direction of fulfilling work.

Finding fulfilling work requires an active pursuit, not just an acceptance of a self-imposed prophecy.”

Money Money Money

Money can be a worthwhile factor when deciding what fulfilling work means to you, but it’s important to understand how and where money plays into your life. One trend that’s increasingly plaguing the modern knowledge worker is the desire to translate money into a more meaningful existence, as suggested by  philosopher Roman Krznaric in his book,  How to Find Fulfilling Work .

So what role does money play in your quest to find fulfilling work? To the extent that money is a means to an end, you may ask yourself the following questions:

What amount of money do I need to live within my means?

What are the most important things money can buy for me?

What do I hope to save for?

The answer to whether money is directly tied to how much fulfillment you have in your work, could also lie in what you’re hoping to accomplish with that money.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Whether you work for a large team, a small team, or for yourself, you strive to do good work that will be recognized by others. This affirmation makes you want to do better. Sure, you might set your sights on climbing the corporate ladder, or becoming someone’s manager, but at the end of the day, these transitions and accomplishments are made worthwhile by the respect you get from those around you: your teammates. But how much respect is enough for you? Do you need constant affirmation? A title?

When thinking about your ideal type of work, ask yourself:

Whose opinions matter to me?

Whose opinion matters most to me?

In a dream world, who would I work for? Who would I want to play on my team?

How much of my value do I attribute to my status?

Depending on how you’ve answered these questions, you may find that your dream job is one where you have no boss, or where you don’t have a title and work with a small team.

Beyond rhetoric: finding your mantra

There are two ways of looking at meaningful work: the work you view as meaningful, and the work others have deemed meaningful. For some, meaningful work is the sort that creates a fundamental change in the way things were done before — the sort that ‘moves the needle’ in the world.

Whether it be to alleviate the pains for existing systems and form new ones, to break down barriers, solve problems that will help end wars and save lives, or  make incremental changes to the foundation of a bigger picture issue . But for others, meaningful work is the sort that makes you feel good about coming into the office, interacting with teammates, and just being honest. Regardless of where you land, how you define ‘meaning’ is important in understanding whether you’ll find your work fulfilling.

When trying to define your meaningful work, ask yourself:

What change do I want to see in the world?

What makes something meaningful to me?

Do I need to see an immediate result from my work, or am I happy knowing I am contributing to a long-term goal?

What makes me feel happiest about my work? When do I feel most accomplished?

Two roads diverged in a wood

Passions can be felt on an individual and team level. You might have a passion and then find others who share your passions; the work you pursue — the sum of these passions —  can become your mission . Passion is subjective: you may be passionate about video games, or statistics.

Perhaps your passion lies in helping those around you discover their strengths (emotional and physical), or encouraging more people to travel and discover new cultures. Whatever these passions are, tapping into them and understanding how they align with the work you may want to pursue is a valuable exercise.

Ask yourself these questions to help you get a better understanding of  where your passions lie and how they may play into your ideal role :

I will stay up late for ______________

A topic that really gets my blood boiling is _____________

I would fight for ______________

Tapping into individual talent

There is no hard and fast rule that the work you pursue is work you know you’ll be good at. But it helps if your individual talents somehow relate to your chosen line of work. If you’re able to devote your energy toward something you’re inclined to be good at, you’ll likely find yourself more fulfilled at the end of each day.

So, how do you determine what you’re good at (or may be inclined to be good at)? Ask yourself these questions:

What type of work or activities have you always gravitated towards?

I have a natural talent for ___________

How would the people closest to me describe me and my greatest strengths?

Finding fulfilling work requires an active pursuit, not just an acceptance of a self-imposed prophecy.

This article was inspired by  Maria Popova’s analysis of the philosopher Roman Krznaric’s book titled How to Find Fulfilling Work .

Related resources

Unmanaged business goals don’t work. Here’s what does.

How Asana uses work management to drive product development

How Asana uses work management to streamline project intake processes

How Asana uses work management for smoother creative production

• Performing Self Service Tasks with Oracle Identity Governance
• Working with Self Service
• Managing Provisioning Tasks

9 Managing Provisioning Tasks

This chapter describes working with provisioning tasks in the following sections:

About Provisioning Tasks

Managing Pending Provisioning Tasks

Managing Manual Fulfillment Tasks

9.1 About Provisioning Tasks

The provisioning tasks feature is used by administrators as well as users. For example, the person in IT administration who is responsible for delivering a laptop computer to an employee may not be an administrator in Oracle Identity Manager, but must view and change provisioning tasks.

The Provisioning Tasks page of the Identity Self Service displays the provisioning tasks assigned to you. In addition, failed automatic provisioning tasks that you must review to take corrective action are displayed, and you must take corrective action on those tasks, such as retry and manually complete.

A provisioning operation such as creating or updating an account, or granting or revoking an entitlement can fail due to one of the following reasons:

Mandatory information in the process form associated with the provisioning task is missing.

Password specified for the account does not comply with the password policies configured on the target application.

Target system is unavailable.

Connectivity information specified in the ITResource parameter are incorrect, or password is no longer valid.

When a provisioning operation fails, you can configure the provisioning workflow to assign the failed task to an administrator or resource owner for taking an action. These tasks are visible in the Provisioning Tasks page. In this page, all tasks assigned to you for remediation are displayed, and you can perform actions, such as viewing the details of a rejected task and retrying it. If the task is no longer valid, then you can manually complete it. For more information, see Managing Pending Provisioning Tasks .

A user with System Administrator admin role can retry provisioning task.

The manual provisioning tasks for disconnected application instances are displayed in the Manual Fulfillment page of the Identity Self Service, where you can take actions on the tasks. For more information, see Managing Manual Fulfillment Tasks .

9.2 Managing Pending Provisioning Tasks

The Provisioning page allows you to search for the provisioning tasks assigned to you, view details, set response, add notes, reassign, view task assignment history, view and manage form details, and manually complete a task.

You can perform the following tasks in the Provisioning Tasks page:

Searching Provisioning Tasks

Viewing Provisioning Task Details

Setting Response for a Task

Adding Notes to a Task

Reassigning a Task

Viewing Task Assignment History

Viewing Form Details

Modifying Form Details

Retrying a Task

Manually Completing a Task

9.2.1 Searching Provisioning Tasks

The Provisioning page allows you to search for the provisioning tasks assigned to you or on which your action is pending.

To search for provisioning tasks you can use:

Basic Search for Provisioning Tasks

Advanced Search for Provisioning Tasks

9.2.1.1 Basic Search for Provisioning Tasks

To perform basic search:

• Log in to Identity Self Service.
• Click the Self Service tab.

The Provisioning Tasks tile is a combination of open tasks and manual fulfillment tasks. As a result, the open task count is not displayed.

Beneficiary

Task Status

Application Instance

• Enter value for the search option selected and, click the search icon.
• The provisioning tasks that match the selected search criteria are displayed in a tabular format.

9.2.1.2 Advanced Search for Provisioning Tasks

To perform advanced search:

Click the Provisioning Tasks box, and select Open Tasks . The Provisioning page is displayed.

• Click the Advanced link. The fields for advanced search page is displayed.

Match: The All and Any options are read-only.

Task Name: Specify a task name that you want to search.

Beneficiary : Specify the beneficiary of the task.

Task Status: Select Pending or Rejected to search for tasks that are pending or rejected respectively.

Application Instance: Specify the name of the application instance associated with the provisioning task.

After specifying the search criteria, when you click Search, the search results table is displayed.

• Click Search . The provisioning tasks that match your search criteria are displayed in a tabular format.

Table 9-1 lists the fields in the search results table.

Table 9-1 Fields in the Provisioning Tasks Search Results Table

9.2.2 Viewing Provisioning Task Details

The Task Details page allows you to view the task details.

To view provisioning task details:

• Login to Identity Self Service.
• Search and select the task whose detail you want to view.
• From the Actions menu, select Open. Alternatively, you can click Open on the toolbar. The Task Details page in displayed in a new window.

Table 9-2 lists the fields in the Task Details window:

Table 9-2 Fields in the Task Details Window

9.2.3 Setting Response for a Task

As an approver, you can set a response for the task while taking an action on the task.

To set a response for a task:

Response cannot be set if there are no response codes defined for the corresponding tasks. Response codes are defined by using Oracle Identity Manager Design Console, as described in Responses Tab in Developing and Customizing Applications for Oracle Identity Governance .

• In the Self Service tab, click the Provisioning Tasks box, and select Open Tasks . The Provisioning page is displayed.
• Search and select a task for which you want to set a response.
• From the Actions menu, select Set Response . Alternatively, click Set Response on the toolbar. The Specify Task Responses page is displayed.
• Select one of the multiple responses defined, and click Set Response. The response is set.

9.2.4 Adding Notes to a Task

Notes are additional comments provided by the approver. These comments are optional.

To add notes to a task:

• In the Provisioning page, search and select a task for which you want to add notes.
• From the Actions menu, select Open. Alternatively, you can click Open on the toolbar. The Task Details window is displayed.
• In the Task Details window, click Add Notes . The Add Notes for Task window is displayed.
• In the Enter Additional Notes field, enter the note that you want to add to the task.
• Click Add Notes .

9.2.5 Reassigning a Task

As the approver, you can reassign a task to another user or role for taking appropriate action on the task. When the task is reassigned to another user, the assignee becomes the approver. When the task is reassigned to a role, any one member of that role can approve or reject the task.

To reassign a task to another user or role:

• In the Provisioning page, search and select the task that you want to reassign.
• In the Task Details window, click Reassign . The Reassign Open Tasks page is displayed.
• Select User or Role depending on what you want to search for. A list of users or roles is displayed, depending on your selection. You can also filter the search by specifying a criteria for filtering and entering a value in the Filter By field.
• In the Reassign column, select a user or role to whom you want to assign the task.
• Click Reassign.
• In the Confirm Tasks to Reassign page, read the details of the action that you are performing and select Confirm Re-assign Task to reassign the task or select Cancel Re-assign Task to cancel the task reassignment.
• Check whether the value in the Assigned to section is properly updated according to the above reassignment action.

9.2.6 Viewing Task Assignment History

You can view the task assignment history for a task in the Task History window.

To view the assignment history of a task:

• In the Provisioning page, search and select a task for which you want to view the task assignment history.

Table 9-3 Fields in the Task History Window

9.2.7 Viewing Form Details

You can view the process form or account details attached with a task. These are process forms associated with the underlying process definition. A task is embedded in the process definition.

To view the process form attached with a task:

• In the Provisioning Tasks page, search and select a task whose process form you want to view.
• From the Actions menu, select View Form. Alternatively, you can click View Form on the toolbar. The View Form window is displayed.

9.2.8 Modifying Form Details

You can edit the process form associated with a provisioning workflow to provide missing information, if any.

To modify the process form details:

• In the Provisioning Tasks page, search and select a task whose process form you want to modify.
• From the Actions menu, select Edit Form. Alternatively, you can click Edit Form on the toolbar.
• In the Edit Form window, modify the required details, and click Save .

9.2.9 Retrying a Task

As the approver, you can retry a task when an error is generated while setting the response in the first attempt.

To retry a task:

Only automated tasks can be retried, and an adapter must be attached to the task. Manual tasks cannot be retried.

• In the Provisioning Tasks page, search and select a task that you want to retry.
• From the Actions menu, select Retry. Alternatively, you can click Retry on the toolbar.
• A warning message is displayed prompting you to confirm whether you want to retry the task.
• Click Retry.

9.2.10 Manually Completing a Task

A manual fulfillment task is created if you want to introduce manual steps to mandate an administrator to take some action either before or after the provisioning operation. You can manually complete a task from the Provisioning page.

This section describes the different types of provisioning operations and how to complete manual fulfillment task in the following sections:

Different Types of Provisioning Operations

Completing Manual Fulfillment Task

9.2.10.1 Different Types of Provisioning Operations

There are two types of provisioning operations:

Automated: These are provisioning operations that take place in an automated manner by using an Oracle Identity Manager connector for a particular target application.

Manual: These are provisioning operations that are manually performed with human intervention.

A manual fulfillment task is created during manual provisioning operations. In addition, a manual fulfillment task is created during automated provisioning operation if you want to introduce manual steps to mandate an administrator to take some action either before or after the provisioning operation. For example, if the task requires creation of an account in the EBusiness or AD target, then you must manually fulfill the task after manually creating the account.

9.2.10.2 Completing Manual Fulfillment Task

To complete a manual fulfillment task:

• In the Provisioning page, search and select the task that you want to manually complete.

A warning is displayed asking for confirmation.

• Click Manually Complete .

9.3 Managing Manual Fulfillment Tasks

The Manual Fulfillment page in the Identity Self Service lists all tasks for provisioning of disconnected application instances.

You can perform the following tasks in the Manual Fulfillment page:

About Manual Fulfillment Task

Viewing and Editing Task Details

Completing a Task

Rejecting a Task

Adding Comments and Attachments

Requesting for Information

Modifying Grant Duration

9.3.1 About Manual Fulfillment Task

As a part of provisioning to disconnected application instance, a task is generated. The task is assigned to a user based on the assignment rules specified in the Manual Provisioning Workflow. See "Disconnected Application Instances" in the Administering Oracle Identity Governance for information about disconnected application instances.

When the manual action is done, the administrator or the assignee logs into Identity Self Service and completes the manual provisioning task.

9.3.2 Viewing and Editing Task Details

You can view and modify manual fulfillment task details from the Manual Fulfillment page.

To view and edit the details of a manual fulfillment task:

• Login to Oracle Identity Self Service.
• Click the Provisioning Tasks box, and select Manual Fulfillment . The Manual Fulfillment page is displayed.
• Search for the task for which you want to view or modify the details. To do so, enter a task title in the search field, and click the search icon.

Details: Displays information about the assignee of the task.

Contents: Displays the details of the task, such as application instance name and beneficiary details.

Cart Details: Lists the cart items that will be provisioned when the task is completed.

Request Details: Displays the details of the selected cart item. This consists of:

Details: Enables you to modify the account information before fulfilling the task.

Grant Duration: Enables you to modify the duration for which the disconnected application will be provisioned. For more information, see Adding and Removing Grant Duration .

History: Displays all actions taken on the task. You can filter the task history by clicking Options and selecting one or more of the following options:

Show all: To show all actions in the task

Exclude system approvals: To exclude the approvals by Oracle Identity Manager

Combine Repeated Approvals: To combine the approvals that have been done repeatedly

Include Future approvals: To show the approvals required in future dates

Comments: Displays the comment associated to the task, and allows to add a comment to the task.

Attachments: Displays any attachments with the task, and allows to add or modify the attachments.

• In the Request Details section, modify the attribute values, and click Fulfill .

9.3.3 Completing a Task

You can check details of the task, provide comments if required and complete the task.

To complete a task:

• In the Manual Fulfillment page, search and select the task that you want to complete.
• From the Actions menu, select Complete . Alternatively, you can open the task details, and click Complete .

9.3.4 Rejecting a Task

You can check details of the task, provide comments if required and reject the task.

To reject a task:

• In the Manual Fulfillment page, search and select the task that you want to reject.
• From the Actions menu, select Reject . Alternatively, you can open the task details, and click Reject .

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What constitutes a fulfilled life? A mixed methods study on lay perspectives across the lifespan

Associated data.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Recently, we initiated a new research line on fulfillment in life by developing a conceptual framework and a self-report measure. To enhance conceptual clarity and complement theoretical considerations and empirical findings, we investigated lay conceptions of a fulfilled life in German-speaking participants at different life stages. First, we selected a qualitative approach using an open-ended question asking participants to describe a fulfilled life. Second, for a more comprehensive understanding, quantitative data were collected about the relevance of sources in providing fulfillment and ratings on a fulfilling life in the present and a fulfilled life in retrospect. Qualitative content analysis was used to assess the responses to the open-ended question. One-fifth of the data was double coded, and intercoder reliability was high ( Kappa  = 0.89). Responses comprised a variety of descriptions, and we grouped them into seven themes, three of which overlapped with the prior conceptualization, namely the core elements of (a) general description, (b) cognitive appraisals, and (c) affective appraisals. Cognitive evaluations related to intrapersonal aspects, particularly having lived life fully, attained personally significant goals, and developed oneself, as well as interpersonal, generative aspects, such as having made a contribution and been able to leave something of value. These categories are mostly in line with what the Fulfilled Life Scale (FLS) measures. Further themes referred to correlates—including (d) sources—and antecedents, including (e) resources, (f) personal characteristics, and (g) quality of life, all considered worthy to be the subject of empirical investigation but which were not included in the conceptual model. Qualitative and quantitative results suggest that individuals derive fulfillment from different sources. Fulfillment from a profession and having a life task was strongly associated with longer-term fulfillment. Only a few age and sex differences were found. The overarching framework developed from the qualitative results can stimulate further investigation. Our findings underscore that a fulfilled life as a distinct construct should be measured directly rather than via a proxy. Insights into the constituents, sources, and antecedents of a fulfilled life can inform practice to promote a life well lived.

Introduction

Understanding what entails a fulfilling life and how to enhance it can be seen as a core mission in positive psychological research ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ; Seligman, 2002 ). Until recently, however, a conceptual definition and a systematic investigation of the construct of fulfillment in life have been absent. To close this gap and initiate research, we introduced a theoretical framework of fulfillment in life ( Baumann and Ruch, 2021 ) and an instrument to measure a fulfilled life in retrospect ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ). Yet, the question of the extent to which individuals share the proposed scientific concept remains unanswered. Specifically, how do people themselves define a fulfilled life? What does a fulfilled life contain in lay people’s views? Indeed, it was argued that studying a phenomenon only from the outside is insufficient and that the lay perspective must also be considered ( Furnham, 1988 ; Park and Peterson, 2007 ). Particularly in the early stages of a new research line, this information appears to be critical to understanding a concept and complementing theoretical perspectives ( Delle Fave et al., 2011 ). Since research on fulfillment is only just beginning, it is crucial to establish what the term means to laypersons.

Prior to our work in clarifying the concept and meaning of fulfillment ( Baumann and Ruch, 2021 ), the term was used merely as a synonym for well-being (e.g., Seligman, 2011 ) or as an umbrella term for positive outcomes that constitute the good life (e.g., Lopez and Snyder, 2003 ; Peterson and Seligman, 2004 ). Concepts of a good life and well-being have been operationalized in various ways (for an overview, see Huta and Waterman, 2014 ), such as life satisfaction ( Diener et al., 1985 ), psychological well-being (e.g., Ryff, 1989 ), orientations to well-being ( Peterson et al., 2005 ; Seligman, 2011 ), eudaimonic well-being ( Waterman et al., 2010 ), or flourishing (e.g., Keyes, 2005 ; Schotanus-Dijkstra et al., 2016 ). Ryan and Deci (2000 , 2001) provided another perspective with their self-determination theory (SDT) by describing the conditions that promote intrinsic motivation and well-being. To maintain self-actualization and healthy functioning throughout the lifespan, the three psychological nees for competency, autonomy, and relatedness must be satisfied. Although several approaches to the good life have emerged, a scientific approach to fulfillment in life has been lacking until recently. In this study, we aim to address the gap in the literature regarding lay conceptions of a fulfilled life. In this article, we first briefly introduce the multidimensional conceptualization of fulfillment in life and the recently developed and validated Fulfilled Life Scale (FLS; Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ). Second, to help locate the construct within a broader conceptual framework, we offer a brief review of findings from studies on lay conceptualizations, in which participants mentioned fulfillment as part of well-being concepts. In sum, although studies of lay conceptions have not yet examined fulfillment in life, there are few in which the term appears in the context of happiness and well-being.

Conceptualization and assessment of fulfillment in life

In our theoretical conceptualization, we defined fulfillment in life as “a cognitive-affective experience referring to a sense of wholeness, fit, and value toward the self, one’s life, and one’s impact” ( Baumann and Ruch, 2021 , p. 6). The subjective experience consists of both cognitive-evaluative appraisals and affect. The cognitive component is represented in the Fulfillment in Life model (FiL), which is construed as a 3 × 3 matrix that includes criteria for fulfillment (wholeness, congruence, worthwhileness) and sources of fulfillment (self, life, impact/legacy), yielding nine cognitive facets. In terms of the whole lived life, “a fulfilled life refers to the positive appraisal of the person one has become, how one has led one’s life, and the impact one has made” ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 , p. 2). The three criteria related to the self refer to the fulfillment derived from having made something of one’s potentialities, having been true to oneself, and having used one’s capabilities meaningfully. Combining the criteria with the source life describes fulfillment that comes from having lived fully and led a life that deeply suited one and has been worthwhile. The three criteria related to impact and legacy mean that one could make a positive difference in others’ lives, that one made contributions that reflected one’s values, and that one felt that one’s life mattered to others. The affective experience consists of positive low-arousal feelings, such as harmony, inner peace, deep inner contentment, or great gratitude ( Baumann and Ruch, 2021 ). In addition, a fulfilled life is primarily free of deep regret, disappointment, and feelings of emptiness.

We proposed fulfillment in life as the generic term and distinguished between different time frames, ranging from a short-term to a long-term perspective. The four time frames differentiate between fulfillment in an activity, fulfillment in a role or life area, a fulfilling life encompassing the whole life at the present life stage, and a fulfilled life that, in retrospect, encompasses the whole lived life.

The outlined conceptualization served as the basis for developing the multidimensional FLS ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ), which assesses the whole life in retrospect. Based on the data of two samples of 688 adults aged 40–93, we found that the nine cognitive facets can be measured independently and were highly reliable. Their intercorrelation indicated a structure with fewer factors and permitted the creation of an economic version. Through factor analyses, three factors were identified that were clear and easily interpretable. The final scale contains 24 items for the three cognitive dimensions and eight items for the affective experience of fulfillment:

• Unfolded Self and Life items assess the perception that one has been able to develop, grow, be authentic, and live a full and true life (e.g., “I have had the courage to be as I really am.”)
• Positive Impact and Legacy items measure the extent to which one has been able to positively impact the lives of others and live a life that mattered to the well-being of others (e.g., “I could make a positive contribution to other people’s welfare.”)
• The Worthwhile Life items assess the perception that one’s pursuits have been worthwhile and that one has lived life well (e.g., “I have the certainty that I have lived for the right things.”)
• Fulfilled Life Affective Experience items assess the presence of positive feelings related to the lived life (e.g., “I feel deep inner contentment.”) and the absence of negative emotions (“I feel rather empty.”—reverse scored).

Findings revealed that cognitive and affective fulfillment were needed to significantly increase the ability to predict a global fulfillment rating, which could not be sufficiently predicted by existing well-being measures. The scales were associated with several sociodemographic and contextual variables, including age, education, financial status, marital status, spirituality, self-rated health, or a good childhood experience.

Fulfillment within lay conceptions of well-being

Prior research revealed that laypersons mention the term fulfillment in the context of conceptions of happiness and well-being. To our knowledge, fulfillment appeared in three studies that used an open-ended question or were in the form of sentence completion questions, and involved mature-aged persons ( Ryff, 1989 ; Westerhof et al., 2001 ; Delle Fave et al., 2011 ). In the first study with a cross-national sample, fulfillment was cited in psychological definitions alongside other constructs such as harmony, emotions, well-being, achievement, or satisfaction ( Delle Fave et al., 2011 ); it was not used synonymously but considered to be unique. The second study demonstrated that laypersons use fulfillment for global life evaluations that include meanings not covered by life satisfaction ( Westerhof et al., 2001 ). In both studies, half of the statements referred to specific and contextual dimensions (e.g., interpersonal relationships, health, standard of living, or spirituality). Only in the third study was fulfillment described in more detail. Ryff (1989) examined conceptions of well-being among middle-aged and older individuals, with two questions related to what personal fulfillment and being unfilled mean. With respect to personal fulfillment, respondents in both age groups most frequently cited a sense of accomplishment and second most frequently stated enjoying life. Other themes included contributing, being a caring person, and having a good family life. Regrets were the most frequently mentioned theme regarding lack of fulfillment in both age groups. Besides, participants equated lack of fulfillment with unhappiness, loneliness, an empty life, no career, and not realizing talent. No significant age or sex differences were found in responses to these two questions. Although the concept of personal fulfillment is narrower than that of fulfillment in life, most of the components mentioned by participants are covered in the proposed conceptualization of Baumann and Ruch (2021) .

In summary, when asked to define happiness or well-being, laypersons mentioned fulfillment as a separate concept and considered fulfillment for evaluating their lives as a whole. However, what laypersons mean by a fulfilled life remains to be clarified. Therefore, our aim is to study people’s ideas of a fulfilled life to advance conceptual clarity. To this purpose, we will use an open-ended question that allows respondents to express in their own words what a fulfilled life means to them. Participants will be asked to give a description of their most telling example of a fulfilled life, regardless of what their life is like. To gain different types of information about the conceptions and experiences of a fulfilled life, we will employ a convergent mixed methods design. This ensures greater depth and diversity of responses than a purely quantitative approach. Furthermore, the mixed methods approach permits us to obtain and compare different perspectives from qualitative and quantitative data and gain a more comprehensive knowledge of the construct than would be possible with an isolated method ( Creswell, 2014 ). Findings can help expand the understanding of the nature of a fulfilled life, strengthen theory-building and empirical research, and be relevant to practice. For individuals, clues to the characteristics of a fulfilled life can help set the right course at a younger age or initiate midlife corrections to focus on what is deemed valuable and successful in a final life review. In addition, a knowledge of sources of fulfillment can guide people in creating a more fulfilling life by engaging in and cultivating specific activities and roles. Furthermore, professionals (e.g., coaches, counselors) working with individuals in a particular life stage can benefit from a nuanced knowledge of their target group’s subjective perspective.

The present study

The main objective was to examine lay perspectives of a fulfilled life to better understand this previously under-researched construct. The objectives of the qualitative approach were to (1) investigate the content of lay perspectives of a fulfilled life across the lifespan, (2) examine age group and sex differences, and (3) assess the consistency of the mentioned content with the scientific conceptualization and the FLS proposed by Baumann and Ruch (2021 , 2022) . Both the scientific conceptualization and the instrument should sufficiently converge with lay understanding. As part of the quantitative approach, we used ratings to explore the relevance of various sources (e.g., profession, life task, spirituality) in providing fulfillment and how these relate to ratings of a fulfilling life in the present and a fulfilled life in retrospect. We assumed that fulfillment from roles in life and activities (sources) have a stronger impact on a fulfilling life at the current life stage than on a fulfilled life in retrospect. Therefore, we expected stronger relationships between the sources and the ratings of a fulfilling life in the present than a fulfilled life in retrospect. We relate and compare the findings from both data sources.

Materials and methods

Participants.

Sociodemographic characteristics of the German-speaking participants (total sample: N  = 747, subsample: N  = 126) are presented in Table 1 . As part of a larger research project on fulfillment in life, we aimed for a broad sample spread by age and gender, from which we could then draw a subsample for the qualitative study. The participants were randomly selected to ideally include 20 persons per age decade and to attain a balance of sex. The age group 80 years and older included only six participants.

Sociodemographic characteristics of participants.

N Subsample  = 126. N Full Sample  = 747.

Data collection

Qualitative and quantitative data collection was conducted concurrently and in German via an online survey. We recruited participants through voluntary organizations and online advertisements. They were not paid but could download a leaflet with suggestions for promoting their mental health. Informed consent was obtained from all study participants.

Qualitative instrument

Open-ended question.

Lay perceptions of a fulfilled life were assessed with the open-ended question (which comprised several prompts): “What makes for a fulfilled life? When you look back on life, you may find it to be variously empty or full. What does a very fulfilled life look like? Please describe below the example of a fulfilled life that is most true for you. This can be an example from someone you have read about or heard about. Your example can also be about someone you know personally. It can also be an example that you merely imagine/that comes to mind. It can be based on your own life that you have lived as it has actually been and still improved by the things you wish would be there. All in all, the idea of a fulfilled life as you wish it for yourself and your loved ones. (Describe in about 5–10 sentences).”

Quantitative instruments

The ratings of a Fulfilling Life in the present and a Fulfilled Life in retrospect are single-item measures developed for the research project on fulfillment in life. These ratings were anchored in the brief description participants gave in their responses to the open-ended question in this study and in an example, they gave of a fulfilling life in the present (not included in this study). Concerning their examples, respondents rated the two statements on an 11-point rating scale (0 =  not at all fulfilling/fulfilled to 10 =  entirely fulfilling/fulfilled ). Example item: “Compared to your given example, how fulfilled is your life lived so far in retrospect?”

To investigate sources of fulfillment, participants rated 16 roles and activities according to their relevance in providing fulfillment on a 7-point rating scale (1 =  not fulfilling to 7 =  very fulfilling ). The list included the following 16 sources: profession, volunteer work, partnership, parenting, family, grandparenting, spirituality/religion, hobby, learning and personal development, challenges, life task, reaching a life goal, friendship and social network, creative expression, traveling, and nature. Participants could also select the category of “not applicable.” The roles and activities were identified through a previous literature review ( Baumann and Ruch, 2021 ), which gave indications on sources of fulfillment.

Sociodemographic questions were asked about age, sex, education, marital status, being a parent, and being a grandparent.

Coding procedure

We followed the data analysis strategy outlined by O’Connor and Joffe (2020) and depicted in Figure 1 . Before coding the data, the following preliminary decisions were made: (1) a principal coder and a second coder would analyze the data using qualitative content analysis, (2) 20% of the data is double coded, (3) the unit of code comprises conceptually meaningful parts, (4) depth of coding contains manifest meaning, (5) codes are generated inductively, (6) only one code is assigned to multiple mentions of the same aspect from a participant, and (7) threshold of intercoder reliability is assessed as a Brennan and Prediger’s Kappa (1981) , from 0.61 as substantial and from.81 as very good ( Landis and Koch, 1977 ). During the coding process, the coders were not informed about the personal characteristics behind the data. Qualitative analysis was performed with MAXQDA software. After familiarizing herself with the data, the principal investigator assigned codes to a part of the data through an inductive process and developed a hierarchical coding frame. Code memos were used to define the meaning and content of a code and to differentiate it from others. The codes were sorted into subcategories and categories, and themes were generated for the underlying meaning of the categories. It became apparent that participants mentioned not only elements of a fulfilled life, but also prerequisites and sources. Therefore, statements were examined according to this differentiation. For instance, when an individual mentioned the topic of partnership, we inspected whether the person meant the fulfillment drawn from this role (source of fulfillment) or the aspect of a fulfilled life in having attained a vital life goal (e.g., having found a partner, having a long-lasting relationship). Regarding contentment, we tried to distinguish whether participants meant the feeling or the evaluation. Satisfaction with one’s professional achievements was treated as an evaluation, while becoming a contented person or inner contentment was considered as affect.

Flowchart of the various steps taken to analyze the data from the open-ended question. PI, Principal Investigator.

The principal investigator trained the second coder and explained the coding frame. Then the second coder analyzed the set with the uncoded a priori defined data units. Subcategories, categories, and themes were examined and were evaluated regarding consistency. The principal investigator and the second coder reviewed and discussed deviations until a consensus was established to ensure the discriminatory power of the categories and to improve the coding frame. Afterward, the principal investigator coded a larger data subset. The second coder again received a data set with uncoded data to apply the codes. To assess intercoder reliability, we calculated a chance-corrected coefficient, which was high, Kappa  = 0.89. For any discrepancies found, the cases were discussed until an agreement was achieved. The principal investigator coded the remaining data.

Qualitative analyses

Overarching framework of a fulfilled life.

We labeled 504 meaning units with a code, collated them into subcategories, categories, and themes, and then presented them in an overarching framework (see Figure 2 ). We distinguished between essential core elements of a fulfilled life (essential to the meaning of a fulfilled life) and aspects classified as correlates and antecedents. They are represented in three separate blocks in the figure. Core elements comprised a general description at the most abstract level and included cognitive and affective appraisals of a fulfilled life. Correlates entailed various sources from which participants derived fulfillment and contextual aspects that could be considered antecedents, including quality of life, resources, and personal characteristics. The content of each theme, category, and subcategory as well as translated example quotes are presented in Table A of the Supplementary material of this article. Table A also displays the frequencies of the statements. About half of the statements referred to core elements of fulfillment, including a general description, cognitive, and affective appraisals. At the level of themes, most statements were made about cognitive appraisals (39.5%), followed by sources (19.3%), affective appraisals (10.3%), quality of life (9.5%), personal characteristics (8.7%), resources (8.3%), and general descriptions (4.4%). The two categories, a fully lived life and having attained personally significant goals, received the most statements by both men and women, by approximately one-third of participants each.

Overarching model of a fulfilled life from lay perspectives.

Elements of a fulfilled life

The first block in Figure 2 comprises the elements we identified as essential to the meaning and definition of a fulfilled life. Core were the three themes of general description, cognitive appraisals, and affective appraisals.

General description

This theme refers to participants’ descriptions of a fulfilled life at the most abstract level. Statements included that a fulfilled life could look different for everyone and that a life considered fulfilled from an outside view can feel like a failure to a person or vice versa. Respondents also mentioned that old age means fulfillment and that reaching an older age makes it possible to assess whether one’s life is fulfilled. A fulfilled life also includes setbacks, because the negative feelings allow for comparison, so mistakes would also belong to a fulfilled life:

“If I can say on my deathbed that I’ve had a fulfilling life, that would certainly be nice. That doesn’t have to be a life of prosperity or publicity or.., I have to feel the life I lived was fulfilling. Was beautiful the life with all the ups and downs.” (Female, 72) 1

Within this theme, the category of positive evaluation referred to statements that emphasized that positive things are in the foreground and predominate. This includes the idea that one has done more right than wrong with regard to one’s decisions and behavior, and that the path one has chosen in life has brought more joy than sorrow:

“When I imagine that I am old and look back on my past life, I would like to come to the realization that despite all the mistakes I have made during my life, overall, I am satisfied with the way I have spent it.” (Male, 24)

Cognitive appraisals

This theme comprised 10 categories of evaluative statements. The largest of these related to a fully lived life, which entailed five subcategories. The first, abundant life, emphasized the richness and wealth of experiences that are part of a fulfilled life. One experienced a lot, had exciting encounters with people, was able to discover the world, and retains many fond memories:

“A fulfilled life is when you have seen and experienced many things.” (Female, 21)

Other subcategories contained the aspects of having realized dreams and desires, taken chances, lived consciously, and strived for. Attained personally significant goals was the second-largest category:

“A fulfilled life allows one to look back in old age on a large number of personal successes and achievements that were important to oneself. These are not necessarily financial successes, but rather inconspicuous things that perhaps only in retrospect turned out to be successes. Or paths despised by others, which one wanted to follow at all costs, which did not bring one to the planned goal, but perhaps to an unplanned, much greater goal.” (Female, 52)

This category comprised two subcategories divided into socially and professionally successful . Social success related to having been able to find a partner, start a family, have a happy family, build a solid and long-lasting circle of friends and good relationships, and see the positive development of the offspring:

“So, for example, three healthy, intelligent and satisfied children, whom you have raised to become capable human beings and valuable members of society, is a symbol of a fulfilled life for me as a mother. If one has managed to maintain one’s partnership through ups and downs and to one’s own satisfaction, if one has struggled and suffered and yet is still together, then that is a symbol of fulfilled life for me.” (Female, 54)

Professional success was mentioned in general terms and was also described as satisfaction with what has been achieved professionally and having attained in one’s career what one wanted. Developed self was another major category within the cognitive appraisals referring to how a person could learn, develop, and grow. It describes a person’s ability to make progress in various areas, learn from mistakes, experiment, develop and use strengths, and redefine oneself:

“I have become closer and closer to the person I want to be.” (Female, 30)

Participants considered a contribution and legacy as part of a fulfilled life. This category suggests that a positive impact on the lives of others can take many forms. For example, respondents’ statements related to having raised children, having left an asset that generates profit across generations, and being able to look back on grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Having passed on learnings from one’s life and what is essential for a good life were also mentioned. Other descriptions included having done something meaningful and valuable for society and the environment, helped people, given back, and supported persons vital to oneself:

“One has left traces. One has moved the world, even if only in small pieces.” (Male, 54)

The category of having mastered life was composed of three subcategories. The first was having mastered difficult life phases , including having coped with crises and overcome low points in life:

“A fulfilling life includes difficulties that had to be overcome. Without the endangerment of the circumstances recognized as valuable, I as a human being could not feel the emptiness as a counter design, from which a fulfilling life stands out.” (Male, 34)

The second subcategory emphasized having made the best out of life events, situations, and setbacks and the knowledge of this. The third subcategory referred to recognized redemption, in perceiving that adversity turned into something good, a painful experience produced a strong sense of justice, or something that one would have chosen differently turned out well. Another category pertained to recognizing meaning and purpose. It described the perception that one has fulfilled one’s purpose in life, had a life task, and—in retrospect—recognized meaning in everything, including one’s actions:

“So, the certainty of having led a meaningful life.” (Male, 44)

The category referring to a suited life entailed the feeling of having been true to oneself, having made good decisions, having taken the right path in life, and having pursued one’s own ideas and interests, as well as having found ways to combine and apply them with their talents. Within the category having lived according to own values, statements described specific values that one would like to see realized. These include that one could be there for others, having been a role model for others, having acted morally right for oneself, or having lived honestly. The other two categories within cognitive appraisals were gained better self-knowledge, i.e., seeing oneself and one’s inclinations, weaknesses, and strengths more clearly, and meaningful use of talents and resources, which describes a fulfilled life in which one did not waste time and energy, but feels one has used them properly.

Affective appraisals

In addition to the cognitive appraisals, participants provided affective descriptions of a fulfilled life, which we grouped into five categories. The largest category within the theme related to being in harmony. It was about being at peace and in harmony with oneself, one’s life circumstances, or the environment:

“A fulfilled life is when you are reconciled with your life in old age.” (Female, 84)

In addition, the feeling of gratitude was part of participants’ descriptions, which included statements such as looking back on one’s life with great gratitude, feeling deep gratitude, and thankfulness for what is and for what one has received:

“A full life contains much gratitude and appreciation.” (Female, 32)

Another category concerned contentment, which entailed great inner contentment, contentment with oneself, one’s life, what one has experienced, and having become a contented person. The category widely free of regret described a fulfilled life, looking back without regretting not having done something or regretting important decisions and experiences, and without having to regret anything (in retrospect):

“For me, a fulfilled life is when I could die without regrets, with a great inner satisfaction.” (Female, 30)

Included in the category of various positive emotions are feelings of pride, inner peace and serenity, and a joyful looking back on the experience.

Correlates of a fulfilled life

Participants’ statements referred to sources from which they draw fulfillment, which we grouped into nine categories, displayed in a separate block in Figure 2 . The principal source was relationships and community, with the aspect of sharing time and life. Above all, the quality and depth of a relationship seems to enrich and fulfill life. Occupation was another main source from which people gain fulfillment, especially if the occupation provides joy, makes one happy, and fits with one’s calling:

“I want professional fulfillment in a job where I add value to others through my skills.” (Female, 32)

The category recreational activities encompassed leisure pursuits, such as engaging in music, experiencing nature, sexual fulfillment, physical exercise, or enjoying small things. In addition, people find fulfillment in learning and development, such as learning new perspectives and meeting new people, being challenged by different tasks and responsibilities, and learning new things. Participants cited social roles as sources of fulfillment, such as a fulfilling partnership or parenting . Lived spirituality and civic engagement were two other categories we identified. Lastly, savoring was mentioned as a source of fulfillment, with participants describing enjoying beautiful and magical moments.

Antecedents: contextual aspects

Participants’ descriptions also involved various aspects that facilitate a fulfilled life, including resources, personal characteristics, and quality of life (see Figure 2 ).

This theme included the two basic categories of social and psychological resources, which were seen as prerequisites for a fulfilled life. Three subcategories pertained to social resources. First, social integration means having loving people around, having a stable family and good friendships, enjoying a trusting network of relationships inside and outside the family, and having a sense of belonging. The second subcategory referred to a good childhood. It was described as carefree and sheltered, but not overprotected, in which one experienced love and support, and felt cared for. The third category on social support subsumed mentions such as support from different people, a family that provides a harbor in stormy times and confers stability, and friends one can rely on, whom one can count on and who stand by one’s side:

“… socially integrated are important prerequisites.” (Female, 71)

Psychological resources also consisted of three subcategories, the first being a healthy connection to oneself. Statements were made about connectedness with oneself, self-forgiveness, and self-acceptance:

“When you don’t let yourself be too unsettled by external factors in difficult times and have found a secure anchor within yourself.” (Female, 42)

A second subcategory labeled can master difficulties meant the ability to cope with difficulties and find solutions. The third subcategory concerned leading life with (self-) confidence, which included the idea that everything will occur as it must.

Personal characteristics

Participants named various personal qualities that facilitate a fulfilled life. The category of positive traits included gratitude for one’s life and what one has, modesty and realism, courage, and never giving up. Of note was curiosity , for which we formed a subcategory. Another group of statements was subsumed under the category of personal agency and referred to taking personal responsibility, developing creative initiative, being active, and shaping one’s life. Not holding anyone responsible for one’s own happiness and the ability to say no were other statements included in the responses:

“You can’t live a full life without doing it yourself.” (Female, 75)

Acceptance and a positive attitude were other characteristics that respondents addressed, and for each of them, we created a category:

“Also being able to accept things in life that you would do differently today.” (Female, 83).

“We see everything with somewhat positive attitudes.” (Male, 93).

Quality of life

Respondents referred to the overall quality of life, including subjective perceptions and excellent living conditions. Statements were also made about specific components, such as health and financial well-being —the latter referring to having enough money, no existential hardships, and financial security. Another category dealt with the issue of individual freedom and opportunities, including the ability to make independent decisions and choose one’s profession and place of residence, as well as the possibility of receiving a good education:

“I grew up in a time that offered me excellent opportunities, possibilities, and conditions for a fulfilling life.” (Male, 70)

Quality of life also involved the category of life in balance. Participants emphasized the aspects of having enough free time and achieving a balance between work and private life without burning out. The last category within this theme related to a minor but insightful topic, namely the fact of luck and being spared.

Lay perspectives across the lifespan and age group differences

Looking more closely at the age categories by decade, several results are worth highlighting. Participants in their 20s and 30s made most statements about the fully lived life: 13 and 14 participants, respectively, out of 20 participants per decade. The subcategory of abundant life was the largest in both age groups, mentioned by seven and six participants each. Having attained personally significant goals was mentioned most frequently among those aged 40–79, with nine participants aged 40–49, seven participants aged 50–59, eight participants each aged 60–69 and 70–79. Equally or second-most mentioned were: a fully lived life, in the 40–49 age group (seven participants), a contribution/legacy as well as being in harmony in the 50–59 age group (six participants each), social resources in the 60–69 age group (eight participants), and developed self in the 70–79 age group (six participants).

We used the coded data as categorical variables in SPSS to investigate group differences and examined the data when aggregated, as with themes and some categories. Because many different aspects were mentioned, we created a younger age group (20–49 years) and an older age group (50+). Forming groups for each decade would have resulted in too few participants for analyses. Two-tailed Fisher’s exact tests were used for categorical data and Mann–Whitney tests for aggregated data. There were a few age differences. 2 The younger age group (20–49) mentioned the category of a fully lived life more often than the older age group (50+). A Mann–Whitney test indicated that this difference was significant, U ( N younger  = 60, N older  = 66) = 1419.00, z  = −3.45, p  = 0.001, r  = 0.31. Within this category, younger individuals more frequently addressed having had an abundant life ( p  = 0.013, two-tailed Fisher’s exact test, Cramer’s V  = 0.24) and having taken chances ( p  = 0.027, two-tailed Fisher’s exact test, Cramer’s V  = 0.21) than older adults. On the other side, the older age group emphasized positive traits as a condition for a fulfilled life more than young adults did U ( N younger  = 60, N older  = 66) = 1687.50, z  = −2.48, p  = 0.013, r  = 0.22.

Sex differences

There were only a few significant differences between men and women in their perceptions of a fulfilled life (see footnote 2). First, only men mentioned the aspect of luck and being spared ( p  = 0.049, two-tailed Fisher’s exact test, Cramer’s V  = 0.19). Second, women stated having mastered life more frequently than men. A Mann–Whitney test indicated that this difference was significant, U ( N women  = 66, N men  = 60) = 1630.00, z  = −2.70, p  = 0.007, r  = 0.24. Within this category, women more often stated having made the best out of life events as an evaluation for the fulfilled life than men did ( p  = 0.029, two-tailed Fisher’s exact test, Cramer’s V  = 0.21).

Quantitative analyses

Rated sources of fulfillment.

Using the quantitative approach, we aimed to examine participants’ subjective experience of the relevance of each role and activity for fulfillment. Ratings for volunteering, parenting, and grandparenting were only included if individuals actually performed these roles. Table 2 displays the mean levels of fulfillment resulting from roles and activities, in descending order. In general, all categories seem to represent relevant sources of fulfillment, as the values are above the scale midpoint. Spirituality yielded the lowest level of fulfillment and the highest standard deviation of all sources. However, a separate analysis revealed that the mean level of fulfillment for spirituality was 5.73 for individuals who considered spirituality important and 6.65 for persons considering spirituality very important.

Descriptive statistics and correlations for fulfilling life and fulfilled life ratings and level of experienced fulfillment in activities and roles.

N  = 98–735 due to category of ‘not applicable’ and data selection of actually holding the role as a volunteer, parent, or grandparent.

* p  < 0.05; ** p  < 0.01; *** p  < 0.001.

Age group differences

To explore potential differences in the ratings, the size of the sample allowed us to divide the participants into three age groups (18–39, 40–64, 65+). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant group differences in the categories of profession, Welch’s F (2, 181.01) = 13.36, p  < 0.001, η 2  = 0.04, spirituality, F (2, 617) = 17.36, p  < 0.001, η 2  = 0.05, learning and personal development Welch’s F (2, 341.11) = 6.49, p  = 0.002, η 2  = 0.02, life task F (2, 662) = 6.78, p  = 0.001, η 2  = 0.02, and nature F (2, 724) = 6.00, p  = 0.003, η 2  = 0.02. To determine significant differences among the groups, we used Games-Howell and Hochberg GT2 post-hoc test. Regarding profession, age group 40–64 ( M  = 5.35, SD  = 1.67) and age group 65+ ( M  = 5.94, SD  = 1.51) experienced this source as providing significantly more fulfillment than the youngest age group 18–39 ( M  = 4.90, SD  = 1.38). The oldest age group gained significantly more fulfillment from this source than did the middle group. Furthermore, the two older groups derived significantly more fulfillment than the youngest group regarding the following four sources, spirituality: age group 65+ ( M  = 4.80, SD  = 1.80), age group 40–64 ( M  = 4.47, SD  = 1.93), age group 18–39 ( M  = 3.55, SD  = 2.03); learning and personal development: age group 65+ ( M  = 6.07, SD  = 1.04), age group 40–64 ( M  = 6.01, SD  = 1.19), age group 18–39 ( M  = 5.66, SD  = 1.29); life task: age group 65+ ( M  = 5.74, SD  = 1.42), age group 40–64 ( M  = 5.51, SD  = 1.46), age group 18–39 ( M  = 5.14, SD  = 1.54); and nature: age group 65+ ( M  = 6.39, SD  = 0.94); and age group 40–64 ( M  = 6.29, SD  = 1.15), age group 18–39 ( M  = 5.99, SD  = 1.24).

To test whether men and women differed on the level of fulfillment regarding the categories, we conducted t -tests using bootstrapping procedures. Only for the category friendships and social network, was a significant difference found. Regarding this category, women reported higher means ( M  = 5.70, SD  = 1.35) than men ( M  = 5.39, SD  = 1.34). This difference, −0.31, BCa 95% CI [−0.540, −0.078], was significant t (730) = −2.48, p  = 0.013, Cohen’s d  = 0.23.

Relationship between sources, a fulfilling life, and a fulfilled life

First, we investigated the associations between the fulfilling life and fulfilled life ratings, age, and sex. We found a small positive correlation between age and a fulfilling life ( r  = 0.26, p  < 0.001), and age and a fulfilled life ( r  = 0.26, p  < 0.001). There was no significant relation between sex and a fulfilling life ( r  = −0.03, p  = 0.49) or sex and a fulfilled life ( r  = −0.06, p  = 0.14). We further calculated correlations between a self-rated fulfilling life at present, a fulfilled life in retrospect, and the rated categories for experiencing fulfillment. Strength of association ranged between small and medium (see Table 2 ). The numerically highest correlation coefficients were found for the categories of profession, life task, partnership, reaching a life goal, and challenges. As expected, greater correlations were observed for a fulfilling life at the present life stage than for a fulfilled life in retrospect.

This is the first study to examine lay conceptions of a fulfilled life. From participant responses, we gained insights into the central and essential elements of the construct, which contributed to greater conceptual clarity. Our findings confirmed the multifaceted nature of the concept, as participants mentioned both cognitive and affective aspects. Moreover, the results suggest that our proposed model and the factor structure discovered may reflect lay people’s understanding of a fulfilled life. We obtained additional evidence for the need to treat a fulfilled life as a distinct and measurable concept. Despite not being specifically questioned, participants made statements regarding correlates and antecedents. Thus, a comprehensive picture of the content and context of a fulfilled life emerged. The mixed methods approach allowed us to further explore the context, particularly the relevance of different sources and their relationship to longer-term fulfillment. In the following, we discuss the qualitative results on the core elements and draw a comparison with the proposed conceptual model and structure. We then discuss the sources and their relevance, and integrate findings from our qualitative and quantitative approaches. Finally, we place a fulfilled life in a broader context, as has emerged from the previously mentioned antecedents, and consider a fulfilled life from a lifespan perspective.

Core elements of a fulfilled life from a lay perspective

Qualitative findings revealed that at the most abstract level, participants described the subjective nature and the challenging sides of life that make a fulfilled life conscious. From the lay perspective, a fulfilled life is not the perfectly lived or the carefree life, but positive aspects prevail within all the complexities of life. The way individuals interpret their life experiences, such as viewing low points in life as opportunities for growth, may play a role in this evaluation and help to foster maturity and well-being ( Bauer et al., 2005 ). Moreover, a sense of meaning is achieved by creating an evolving and coherent life story; McAdams (2001) refers to this as narrative identity. Lay perspectives referred to both cognitive and affective appraisals, with more statements referring to the cognitive aspects. From this, we can conclude that the evaluation of whether life is fulfilled is based on different criteria. Hence, the cognitive core elements reveal what counts for people to arrive at this conclusion, and the affective elements indicate the feelings involved. Laypersons consider a fulfilled life primarily as a fully lived life, as evidenced by the frequency of statements. It describes the richness of a lived life, chances taken, or a life led consciously. Such a life points to the depth (richness) and the degree of realization and completeness. From the lay perspective, almost as relevant for a fulfilled life is that personally significant goals have been attained. As regards the specificity of goals, participants notably stated the attainment of social and professional goals. The emphasis lies on the meaningfulness and value of these goals. Life appears enriched, rewarding, and complete through having been able to build a family, maintain long-lasting relationships, or look back on a successful career. Another central facet of a fulfilled life was that one could develop and evolve as a person. In a previous study, failure to realize talent was equated with a lack of fulfillment ( Ryff, 1989 ). Contributing and leaving something of value for others constituted an additional core feature. This finding demonstrated that a fulfilled life is not a self-centered life but emerges from being able to transcend self-interest and develop the virtue of care ( Erikson, 1985 ; Ryff, 1989 ). The fulfillment that comes from promoting the welfare of others might be based on the values of universalism and benevolence, which belong to the value type of self-transcendence described in Schwartz’s (1994) value theory. In comparison to the life evaluation operationalized as life satisfaction, a fulfilled life includes the contentment of positively impacting upon others’ lives. Recognizing meaning in life and perceiving the resulting good were addressed as part of a fulfilled life. Furthermore, participants viewed a fulfilled life as a life that has suited and was lived according to one’s standards. A life judged as fulfilled also seems to depend on whether one could master difficult life phases and make the best of adverse events, which was mentioned more frequently by women than by men.

Laypersons referred to an affective side of a fulfilled life by describing different feelings. One of these was inner peace and harmony, an aspect mentioned in a previous study on people’s happiness ( Delle Fave et al., 2011 ). Participants mentioned contentment in the context of affective experience on the one hand, but also for evaluation purposes. In coding, we attempted to differentiate accordingly. In addition, participants suggested that a fulfilled life went along with feelings of gratitude. It should largely exclude regret, equated with a lack of fulfillment in previous findings ( Ryff, 1989 ).

Convergence of lay perspectives and conceptual and operational definitions

The conceptual model covers most of the categories that emerged from participants’ statements regarding the substantive conceptual components. The core elements included evaluative (e.g., a life lived according to one’s values) and affective (e.g., being in harmony) content, as suggested by the conceptual and operational definitions. More statements were subsumed under cognitive appraisals than affective experience, indicating the different facets of evaluative fulfillment. These results demonstrate the complexity of the construct and that conceptualization and operationalization must represent the cognitive experience as multidimensional. The categories of cognitive appraisals can be summarized in terms of contentment with one’s own development (categories: gained better self-knowledge, developed self, meaningful use of talents and resources), with one’s lived life (categories: lived according to own values, suited life, fully lived life, attained personal meaningful goals, recognized meaning and purpose), and with one’s contribution to the welfare of others or a worthy cause (category: contribution/legacy). These aspects can be found in the postulated three sources (self, life, impact/legacy) of the FiL model. The proposed criteria for a fulfilled life (wholeness, congruence, meaningfulness) are reflected within different categories. For example, the criterion of wholeness and completeness is found in the category of a fully lived life, congruence is part of the category a suited life, and meaningfulness was featured in the categories recognizing meaning and meaningful use of talents and resources. It should be noted that the category of having mastered life is not explicitly represented in our model. However, this notion can be covered by the conceptualization that a fulfilled life consists of having become a whole and complete person and being able to look back on a life well lived and to recognize meaning in difficult periods of life. Nevertheless, these results show that the elements of a fulfilled life derived from lay perspectives essentially correspond with the proposed theoretical model and are substantially represented by the subscales of the FLS. Hence, future research can build on the proposed model and employ the FLS, as it allows the construct to be measured directly rather than via a proxy, as has been done in the past.

Given the number and variety of mentioned aspects, we can conclude that a model and a measure are best built at an abstract level, as we have suggested, because otherwise it would not be possible to cover all the facets of what individuals means by a fulfilled life. For instance, the subcategory socially successful is not explicitly part of the model. The goal of our model was to leave the standard of evaluation up to the respondents themselves. Whether, and to what extent, successful relationships play a role in evaluating their achievement of significant goals is left up to them. In this regard, the item on whether one could pursue personally meaningful goals to assess a fulfilled life permits persons to apply it to their preferences and life realities. Therefore, a person who has not been able or willing to start a family may still answer this item because it allows them to think in a broader context of personally meaningful goals. If a life goal has become unattainable (e.g., starting a family), the ability to adjust goals and pursue a new meaningful goal is associated with subjective well-being and a sense of purpose ( Wrosch et al., 2013 ).

Sources of fulfillment

Qualitative findings.

Participants mentioned several aspects that could be considered sources of fulfillment. One main source is meaningful relationships and community in which people share and go through life together. The importance of this source has also been demonstrated by the finding that family and social relationships are predominant categories within contextual definitions of happiness and meaningfulness ( Delle Fave et al., 2011 ) or that fulfilling personal relationships are an essential component of lay concepts of a good life ( Twenge and King, 2005 ). Fulfillment derived from other social roles were partnership and parenting. A profession is another vital source of fulfillment, especially if the occupation is enjoyable, allows one to use one’s skills to contribute to others, and matches one’s calling. The theory suggests that viewing one’s occupation as a calling provides people with fulfillment ( Wrzesniewski et al., 1997 ; Hall and Chandler, 2005 ). This assumption was recently confirmed by the finding that the perception of a calling was moderately to highly correlated with a fulfilled life ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ). Other fulfilling areas included self-development, savoring, recreational activities, civic engagement, and spirituality. Overall, fulfillment stems from rewarding relationships, meaningful roles, and personally significant activities that allow for self-development and self-expression, but also from contributing to a cause beyond oneself.

Quantitative findings

Consistent with our qualitative findings, the quantitative results underscore the fact that multiple sources provide fulfillment. An interesting outcome is that participants rated nature as the most fulfilling category. There are several possible explanations for this result. Since people today are less likely to belong to a religious institution, the experience of connectedness to a larger whole could be found in nature. Indeed, connectedness with nature has been identified as a source of meaning and assigned to the subdimension of horizontal self-transcendence through a factor-analytic approach ( Schnell, 2009 ). In addition, nature could be a place where people feel hopeful ( Krafft and Walker, 2018 ) and experience a sense of beauty and excellence. The latter is a character strength attributed to the virtue of transcendence ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004 ) and its application has been rated as fulfilling ( Giuliani et al., 2020 ). Finally, a meta-analysis documented the positive relationship between nature connectedness and various indicators of happiness, such as positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction ( Capaldi et al., 2014 ). Our findings revealed that social and generative roles, including parenting, grandparenting, and volunteering, were also found to be very fulfilling. Volunteering and parenting were indeed positively correlated with a fulfilled life measured with the FLS ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ). Underlying the three sources discussed is a perspective that transcends the self, implying that fulfillment comes from investing in the well-being of others. Learning and personal development were among the top five categories, suggesting the importance of expanding the self for experiencing fulfillment. Spirituality and religion was another category related to transcendence, but it was rated as less fulfilling than the other categories. However, for people who live their spirituality and religion in everyday life, this category had great relevance for their fulfillment, which was also confirmed in a study using the FLS ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ).

The level of fulfillment provided by sources varied across age groups. In general, the two older age groups rated various sources as more fulfilling than the youngest age group. For instance, older adults valued the sources of nature and spirituality more highly. This is consistent with previous findings revealing that older individuals more often mentioned spirituality as a domain of happiness ( Delle Fave et al., 2016 ) or that the sense of meaningfulness derived from vertical self-transcendence (religion, spirituality) increased with age ( Schnell, 2009 ). Persons in the second half of life also rated learning and personal development as more fulfilling than their younger counterparts. Contrary to age stereotypes that are still prevalent, people enjoy learning even at advanced ages, as shown by recent meta-analyses that investigated age differences in character strengths ( Heintz and Ruch, 2022 ). Having a life task and a profession were other sources that older participants valued more than younger participants. Even the oldest age group rated a profession as more fulfilling than the middle-aged persons. Although the need to matter and to have a meaningful engagement applies to individuals of different ages, it may be particularly essential for the well-being of older adults ( Flett and Heisel, 2021 ). Overall, these findings suggest that as people age, they gain more self-knowledge about what is appropriate and meaningful to them, and thus learn to draw fulfillment from a variety of sources. It is also plausible that older adults are better able to pursue intrinsically motivated goals and have their psychological needs met ( Bauer and McAdams, 2004 ; Mackenzie et al., 2018 ). Women considered friendships and social relationships as more fulfilling than did men. Research has demonstrated that women have more close relationships than men and are also personally more involved ( Antonucci et al., 2004 ). In particular, assessing the sources of profession, life task, challenges, partnership and reaching a life goal as highly fulfilling went along with higher levels of a fulfilling life in the present and a fulfilled life in retrospect.

Integrating the findings

Most sources mentioned by participants were identical to our list of ratings. Although the ratings for nature and grandparenthood yielded high means in terms of the fulfillment they provide, they were rarely mentioned in the responses to the open-ended question. The reason for this could be that these aspects were not at the forefront when describing a fulfilled life. This underscores the added value of a mixed methods approach to gain a more complete understanding of fulfillment sources. The emergence of the category of savoring, on the other hand, was rather unexpected and the only one that was not among the listed sources of participants’ ratings. Savoring, which refers to the ability to note and appreciate positive experiences, can relate to the past, present, or future ( Bryant et al., 2013 ) and is related to various positive psychosocial outcomes ( Smith et al., 2014 ). In our study, all participants’ descriptions related to savoring in the present. Savoring might enable individuals to enhance the quality of their positive experiences ( Bryant et al., 2013 ) and live their lives more consciously. Overall, insights on the nature of sources from both methodological approaches demonstrate the importance of a long-term perspective and having the willingness to commit and to invest over time (e.g., parenthood, achieving a life goal, career). Individuals draw fulfillment from sources that enable them to develop and flourish, but also from providing value to others’ lives.

Context of a fulfilled life

Various participants’ statements referred to prerequisites for a fulfilled life. On the one hand, requirements included psychological resources such as a healthy relationship with oneself, coping skills, and confidence. On the other hand, they comprised social resources, including a good start in life, a sense of being socially integrated, and having supportive relationships. A sense of belonging, for instance, helps people believe that their lives are meaningful ( Lambert et al., 2013 ). Meaningful relationships support individuals in coping with adversity, as well as in their pursuit of opportunities for development and growth, which can have long-term effects on their flourishing ( Feeney and Collins, 2015 ).

According to the participants, positive attitudes and personal qualities are essential for a life well lived. The personal qualities mentioned included positive character traits, personal agency, acceptance, and a positive attitude. These qualities can influence the extent to which one values life and what one makes of it. Participants mentioned curiosity above all, but also bravery and humility. These traits are also referred to as character strengths, which are positively valued personality traits that are thought to contribute to individual and collective fulfillment ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004 ). In addition, it was suggested that strengths provide a basis for healthy processes and the attainment of fulfillment in both good and difficult times ( Lopez and Snyder, 2003 ). Character strengths are known to be associated with life satisfaction (e.g., Baumann et al., 2020 ), and the excellent use of signature strengths has been found to be fulfilling ( Giuliani et al., 2020 ). Moreover, character strengths can be cultivated to improve one’s well-being (e.g., Schutte and Malouff, 2019 ). Whether they also contribute to a fulfilled life in the long term needs to be determined through future research. Taking personal responsibility for creating a fulfilling life, accepting things one cannot change, and having a positive attitude were other personal characteristics mentioned.

A fulfilled life also seems to depend on resources and favorable conditions, some of which are beyond the individual’s control. In this context, participants referred to quality-of-life attributes, including health, financial well-being, individual freedom and opportunities, and a life in balance. There is ample evidence of the importance of factors such as opportunities to choose and income to people’s welfare and flourishing (e.g., Veenhoven, 2015 ) and, more recently, the relationship between a fulfilled life and contextual factors such as education, financial status, or self-rated health has been demonstrated ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ). For example, lack of resources or health issues present barriers to living a calling ( Duffy et al., 2017 ) and thus may hinder experiencing fulfillment in this life area. Therefore, a person’s particular circumstances may influence the extent to which they are able to realize their potential. It is also worth mentioning the aspect of luck, which was only addressed by men. The country in which one is born or whether one is spared from misfortune is due to luck and could frame the degree to which a fulfilling life is possible. Finally, it should be noted that a fulfilling life as an outcome variable can also be a resource, as it can promote positive attitudes or improve subjective health.

A fulfilled life with a view to the lifespan

Within the two age groups, younger participants more frequently mentioned a fully lived life, having had an abundant life, and having taken chances. These three topics relate to the FiL model’s criterion of wholeness/completeness and reflects that at a younger age, many dreams, goals, and life projects that fulfill a life are yet to be realized. With increasing life experience, individuals seem more aware that a person’s character, attitude, and initiative facilitate attaining a fulfilled life, as older people compared to younger more often referred to positive traits.

In their descriptions, participants referred to several aspects related to Erikson’s suggested developmental tasks that appear to facilitate a fulfilled life. Erikson (1985) proposed that healthy psychosocial development results from the successful resolution of eight specific psychosocial challenges across the lifespan, from each of which a psychological strength is gained. For instance, participants considered the personal development that has taken place throughout life and that has made them the person they are as fulfilling. They also mentioned a good childhood and confidence in life, which can be related to the developmental task of building trust, and which leads to the virtue of hope. Creating a stable sense of identity can provide the foundation for a fulfilled life. Erikson (1985) suggested that a clear sense of identity as a young adult serves as a basis for personal development at different stages of life, and the way individuals construct their identity influences adjustment outcomes ( Beaumont, 2009 ). Berzonsky (1989) identified three identity styles: informational (e.g., seeking and evaluating self-relevant information), normative (e.g., conforming to expectations of close others), and diffuse-avoidant (e.g., circumventing identity conflicts and problems.) Failure to develop an integrated sense of one’s identity may hinder the active shaping of one’s life and the pursuit of goals consistent with oneself, which appear essential for a fulfilled life. The results of a path analysis indicate that only the informational identity style predicted self-actualization and self-transcendence in young adults, which in turn predicted meaning in life and subjective happiness ( Beaumont, 2009 ). The informational style also appears to be associated with an orientation that exceeds self-interest; it is positively associated with the values of universalism and benevolence ( Berzonsky et al., 2011 ). Finding a partner and maintaining a fulfilling partnership can be seen as parallels to the challenge of building lasting intimate bonds. The aspect of contributing to the lives of others or to a worthy cause is found in the task of becoming a generative person. Therefore, becoming a mature and adjusted personality involves the ability to be other-oriented and caring, which laypersons deemed an essential element of fulfillment ( Ryff, 1989 ). Erikson (1985) considered these preceding stages as precursors to achieving ego integrity:

Only in him who in some way has taken care of things and people and has adapted himself to the triumphs and disappointments adherent to being, the originator of others or the generator of products and ideas—only in him may gradually ripen the fruit of these seven stages. (p. 268).

There is empirical evidence that successfully mastering earlier psychosocial challenges predicted ego integrity in older adults, with generativity proving to be the strongest predictor ( Hannah et al., 1996 ). Psychosocial growth actually facilitated attaining a fulfilled life, as generativity and ego integrity were strongly associated with all dimensions of a fulfilled life ( Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ). In addition, a small positive correlation was found between a fulfilled life and age, suggesting that older adults may look back on a journey in which they have grown, contributed to society, and accomplished personally meaningful projects.

Strengths, limitations, and future directions

To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine lay perspectives of a fulfilled life among adult participants across the lifespan. The fact that our sample included respondents from all life stages and had a gender balance can be considered a strength. However, the use of a convenience sample limits the generalizability of the findings. Since our sample consisted of German-speaking participants belonging to an individualistic culture, future research will have to establish whether conceptions of a fulfilled life differ across cultures, especially in comparison to collectivistic cultures. The numerous and valuable perspectives gained using both qualitative and quantitative data contribute to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of a fulfilled life. By allowing participants to freely describe their conception of a fulfilled life, we obtained a rich, diverse, and in-depth collection of information, including conceptual components, correlates, and antecedents. Although we were able to gain a variety of perspectives and create a comprehensive framework of a fulfilled life, we cannot claim to have been exhaustive. Participants responded very carefully, personally, and with great depth. However, it is not possible to achieve the same depth with open-ended questions as with interviews, for example, which allow for further verification. Our cross-sectional design allows us to make statements about age-group differences, but not causality statements about age changes. Thus, age effects could be attributed to cohort membership, as typical mentalities of a particular cohort may shape the notions of a fulfilled life. It should be noted that significant age and sex differences are based on exploratory analyses without adjustments for multiple testing. Confirmatory studies will need to confirm these results. Finally, it should be noted that the first author, who also led the coding, was also involved in the development of the theoretical model of FiL ( Baumann and Ruch, 2021 ). Although the principal investigator coded the data from the bottom up and high inter-rater reliability was achieved, it cannot be completely ruled out that prior knowledge may have influenced interpretation to some degree. A natural progression of this work would be to explore whether the lay-suggested antecedents (e.g., social resources, positive traits, or aspects regarding quality of life) are predictors of a fulfilled life.

Practical implications

Our overarching framework encompasses many routes by which a fulfilled life can be attained, whether by directly strengthening areas that are considered core elements or by fostering social and psychological resources, personal strengths, or positive attitudes. At the individual level, persons can reflect on and define what an ideally fulfilled life looks like for them and derive appropriate steps. As indicated in our conceptual model, it is essential to consider the core criteria. What is fulfilling depends on whether it contributes to perceiving wholeness, congruence, and significance. In addition, they can evaluate the sources that emerge from this study for their importance and cultivate those that provide the greatest fulfillment. In particular, evaluating the sources of profession and life task as fulfilling seems to have a longer-term impact on a fulfilling life in the present and a fulfilled life in retrospect. At any stage of life, it is worthwhile to pursue a career or activity that is a good fit or even perceived as a calling ( Duffy et al., 2017 ; Baumann and Ruch, 2022 ). Leading a generative life seems to be a vital avenue to building a life of fulfillment and counteracts stagnation and the experience of emptiness ( Erikson, 1982 ). Our findings also provide an important foundation for counseling on life and career planning. Knowledge of the elements, sources, or conditions of a fulfilled life can help counselors assist their clients in pursuing strategies that lead to a more fulfilling life. At the group and community level, efforts should be directed toward building strong marriages and healthy families, giving children a good start in life, and promoting positive education and organizations that create conditions for leading a fulfilling life.

This study contributed to conceptual clarity by revealing what laypersons understand by a fulfilled life. Our qualitative results underscore that the construct is multidimensional and comprises cognitive and affective experiences. Statements that are considered cognitive appraisals indicate what matters to people in evaluating their lived lives. They understood a fulfilled life primarily as having lived life fully, achieved personally meaningful goals, developed themselves, and contributed to others and left a positive legacy. These findings confirm that a fulfilled life consists of many facets and, importantly, involves the notion that a life well lived contains a self-transcendent component. Lay perspectives regarding the core elements are largely consistent with the proposed theoretical conceptualization and the dimension of the FLS. Laypersons recognized that a fulfilled life also depends on personal resources, personal characteristics and quality-of-life aspects. The sources of fulfillment mentioned by participants and those given in the qualitative section largely overlap. It appears that fulfillment requires a long-term view, and that the quality and personal significance of the source are critical. As people age, they seem to succeed in drawing more fulfillment from the various sources. The understanding of what constitutes a fulfilled life is quite similar among younger and older adults and among men and women. The findings help lay the foundation for this emerging line of research and suggest many routes to create a more fulfilling life.

Data availability statement

Ethics statement.

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

DB and WR: conception and design of the work, interpretation of data analysis and final approval of the published version. DB: data collection, data analysis, and drafting of the manuscript. WR: critical revision of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Eileen Kathrin Seyfried for her help in coding the material and to Sonja Heintz and Fiorina Giuliani for their valuable feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript.

1 All quotes were translated from German into English.

2 As data were collected without prespecified hypotheses, we did not include multiplicity correction. Significant results are to be considered as exploratory results.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.982782/full#supplementary-material

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