Guest post by Chris from Tameday
I envy people who can get through a to-do list when it’s all in their head. Me, I forget half of what I’m supposed to do by the time it’s lunch. I’ve tried writing things down and I’ve tried having a bunch of tabs open — nothing seems to stick. But one thing that has is using project management software (hello, Tameday!), mainly because of the user interface. I’ve got seven other reasons why it’s worked for me.
1. The Layout Makes It Easy to Organise and Check Tasks
I can organise tasks into daily, weekly and monthly. My co-workers can do the same. Or we can even sort things out based on project needs. Whatever we need, it’s all there in one place. And even if one of us misses a day, our project management software makes it simple and straightforward to get a clear overview of what’s been done and what’s still left.
2. The Expectations Are Crystal Clear
Years ago, I had one job where the expectations seemed to change all the time. My manager would tell me what needed to be done, then change his mind halfway through the day — and inevitably get upset when I was ‘behind’. Not the case now. Now, my whole team sees what everyone needs to do and what their progress is. No second-guessing or falling short going on.
3. Easier to Plan for Each Coworker’s Strengths and Weaknesses
All of us have to do tasks that we’re not particulary strong at. But for certain projects, it makes a lot of sense to assign various workers to their strengths. And good software makes it easy to do that. If you’ve got Jim who’s a whiz at Photoshop and Pam who’s amazing at editing; use project management software to set them up accordingly and get jobs done more efficiently.
4. Everything’s In One Location
A while ago, I had to train someone on the very basics of GitHub, just enough for her to be able to add documents to an app we were working on. Because I was working remotely, it was super easy to incorporate her uploads into the main branch because it was all in one place. When your projects increase in intensity, it makes a lot of sense to have all the documents, images, contacts and everything else in one location so any employee can access it anytime, from anywhere. Speaking of which…
5. Workers Can Take Over Tasks Easily
Doesn’t it suck when you’ve got a tight deadline coming up and one coworker is out sick with the flu? That’s not a worry with project management software. Other employees can take over a task because good software has flexibility built in.
6. No More Time Wasted on Inefficient Communication
I love Gmail as much as the next person. But their phone version isn’t always the best. One thing I hate about it is searching through old emails and not having them load in chronological order. It especially sucks when I’m trying to bring up a message from one person so I can respond to another. I can’t escape Gmail, but my work life has gotten a lot simpler with project management software because now the communication channels are in one, easy-to-sort-through place. And it’s really come in handy when I need to chat with someone privately from a group conversation.
7. Uncomplicated Time Tracking
One of the things I’m laziest with when it comes to work is time tracking. I get lost in a task, forget to note the time, and then mentally kick myself for not being more accurate about how long it took. I also get a bit peeved with how complicated it gets, whether it’s writing things down and then uploading it, or having to muddle through messy apps. But if you give me an option where it takes all of two seconds, I’m sold.
Final Thoughts
It doesn’t matter if you’re the manager or the new kid on the block — project management software makes life easier for everyone. If you’re curious about what it feels like to see vivid colours in a monochromatic world, give Tameday a try. We can’t promise you’ll become a Bill Gates-like workhorse, but we can promise you 30 days for free to find out.
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