Whether you’re planning for your next product launch or keeping track of daily tasks, work can pile up if you’re not keeping track of your projects and tasks.
But there are many project management tools available to help you sort out and accomplish your most pressing tasks.
So how are owners managing projects? We spoke to the Hello Alice community about how they’re planning, organizing, and tackling projects. Here are some of the top tips you shared with us.
1. Pick the Right Tools for You
One founder, who started an art therapy program to empower impoverished children, uses digital tools and software to manage her projects, particularly when working online. These tools not only help you organize and execute tasks, but they also help teams collaborate remotely:
“To stay as organized and efficient as possible, we utilize online project management tools, such as Asana, and communication platforms like Workplace by Facebook. These tools help us prioritize tasks as a team to keep a clear and concise workflow allowing us to more efficiently serve the children.”
— Jennie Lobato, founder of drawchange
Similarly, another founder also implements project management tools to plan and accomplish major projects. During the pandemic, her team uses these tools to provide virtual media arts curriculum to the youth:
“As a creative youth development agency, managing organizational projects and organizing youth projects can be a daunting task. We train our youth program participants on efficient project management and communication tools including Asana, Slack, and Google Workspace. Because we are a participating Google nonprofit organization, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is our go-to resource and productivity hub for managing files, cloud computing, storage, and collaborating. Google Workspace is user friendly and allows our staff, mentors, and facilitators to easily incorporate curriculum resources into our remote learning model for youth participants.”
— Syd Stewart, founder of Better Youth
2. Integrate Your Project Management Apps
Many online tools provide integration features where you can combine your apps to make it easier for you to collaborate and organize your work. Syd, the nonprofit founder, recommends owners to look for apps that can integrate with other platforms to streamline your projects:
“My advice is to utilize platforms that easily integrate with other workplace applications. We use Slack for quick communication with our youth participants and Asana for project management to track, connect, and coordinate projects across teams. Both Slack and Asana integrate well with Google Workspace.”
— Syd Stewart, founder of Better Youth
3. Always Remember to Check In with Your Team
Meeting your project goals is important when running a business or organization, but it can also be stressful. While project management tools can help make it tasks easier to manage, it’s essential to be attentive to you and your team’s health. Jennie, the first founder, encourages owners to be cognizant of your team’s health:
“We invest in our employees by having weekly ‘Emotional Check-ins’ to ensure we are prioritizing their health just as much as their productivity.”
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