What do I (and perhaps you) need from a Project Management
system?
The ability to see if not integrate a variety of projects at
the same time. Most of us are not just freelance writers. We have day jobs –
sometimes more than one. We have family responsibilities (and frequently need
to coordinate calendars with other members of the family). We volunteer with
non-profits or political campaigns. And our freelance work generally involves
multiple projects at varying stages of completion: You may be simultaneously doing
revisions for a soon-to-be-published piece, drafting for an assignment,
research for a proposal and market research for an idea.
Having multiple systems creates its own problems. The more
places I record information, the more likely it is that I will forget to check
them all. I tend to not use tools that take time to access (logging in or
booting up) consistently. (And let’s not even talk about the number of times I
finally get the software opened and realize I’ve forgotten what I wanted to
note!) Hard copy and desk-based tools can be inaccessible when you need them,
portable ones (which range from scraps of paper in my pocket to my whiz-bang
tablet) can be left behind or even lost. I really do need something that will
remind me of things that don’t happen every day or week (like writing blog
entries, or going to the dentist). I’m intrigued by products that keep track of
the time spent on various tasks – both because some of my work is in billable
hours, and because I think it might help me be more accountable to myself for
those projects that no one is watching or waiting for (like my novel revision).
Years ago the Palm desktop software had a pretty good
integration of the calendar and task functions that served most of my needs,
but the Palm Pilot has gone the way of the dinosaur. Outlook’s tasks and
calendar don’t seem to work and play well together (not surprisingly, since
Microsoft wants us to buy Microsoft Project). I’ve tried big paper calendars
and bulletin boards but they tend to get very messy very fast, and they have
that “tied to the office” problem. I’m currently using Wunderlist for keeping
track of my one-off tasks, from phone calls to errands, a hardcopy planner
for the calendar-based items, and a trusty paper to do list for capturing
things as they cross my brain (or get dumped on my by bosses, coworkers and
family). I can access it at the desk or online, print out or email lists to
myself, assign due dates to things and call up a list of overdo items. But it’s
definitely not meant for project management. I’ve checked out and rejected a
couple of project management products that were either too barebones or too
ad-laden to be useful (I’m not paying for anything that won’t let me test it
first!)
1 comment:
You are brave to try these new systems. The Palm Pilot came and went without me really noticing it. I'm still working with my At-a-Glance paper calendar because not only can I write everything I need in it, I can also shove paper work in the pocket (like lab orders, prescriptions, coupons, etc.) I occasionally put notes in my Android but, like you, I find coordination difficult.
Post a Comment