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Project Management Videos: The Best YouTube Channels in 2024

Timeular — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 13:08:56 +0000

There are many ways of receiving and assimilating content, and it’s fair to say that video is one of the most popular. During the past decade, we witnessed the rise of video influencing, not only for fun and escapism purposes but also for professional knowledge.

Videos are excellent learning support. There are several Project Management videos on YouTube to set you on the right path.

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Learning from videos on YouTube is perfectly acceptable in all areas, as they grab the attention of viewers with higher success rates than other types of media.

There are many creators and video styles, which means there is something for every viewer’s tastes. Explore some of the best with us.

Watch, learn, and keep yourself updated with the best project management videos.

The 8 best Project Management video channels on YouTube

1. Project Management Institute

The Project Management Institute is the world’s leading project, program, and portfolio management professionals association. The institute has a complete YouTube channel with a group of diverse videos.

They state that “through global advocacy, collaboration, education, and research, we work to prepare more than three million professionals around the world for The Project Economy: the coming economy in which work, and individuals, are organized around projects.”

In this channel, you’ll have access to shorter videos in a “problem solving” type of flow, end-of-year round-ups, impact stories and interviews with professionals of the area, panels, talks, and information on Project Management certification.

This is currently the most popular video on the channel, with 10 million views.

2. Chris Croft

Chris Croft is an international expert on Time Management, Project Management, Leadership, and Negotiation.

Chris has had a YouTube channel since 2007, where he shares a mixture of business advice videos, educational sessions, talks, and even some fun videos.

This British expert offers in-person courses but is available worldwide: with training on LinkedIn, Udemy, and his website, as well as his videos. Have you ever thought about turning Project Management into a rap song? Chris did.

His most popular video explains Project Management in under 8 minutes.

3. Online PM Courses

Mike Clayton, PhD, trainer in project managing and author, has one of the best YouTube channels for Project Management.

He’s the founder and CEO of Online PM Courses: Project Management training and learning. His experience gives him the knowledge to be an acclaimed executive coach, trainer, and speaker.

The videos are among the resources provided by Dr. Mike Clayton, directed toward people who want to build a project career and become better project managers.

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There are two videos published per week, organized by length and content. For example, one is shorter and more straight to the point, while the second focuses on learning and strategic thinking.

Did you know that Mike Clayton has written 14 best-selling books on the subject? The most popular video and one of the best Project Management videos on his channel explains the Gantt Chart.

4. IT Project Managers

Active since 2016, the IT Project Managers channel is managed by Dmitryi Nizhebetskiy. As the name suggests, it focuses on IT.

The host defends that as most project managers don’t have formal education in the area, trial and error is something authentic in everyday life of these workers. With his teachings, Dmitryi hopes to change that.

All of the Project Management videos on this channel are very practical, and filled with tips. The most popular one is about job interview basics for project managers.

5. International Institute for Learning

Moving on to another institution that creates YouTube videos on Project Management, we have the International Institute for Learning. As a company, they provide corporate training for individuals, organizations, and teams.

Their YouTube videos, available since 2009, include training and custom courses in the project, program, portfolio management, business analysis, Lean Six Sigma, and Agile.

It’s a great place to start if you’re thinking about getting a certification in a customized and impactful way. Their most popular video illustrates this perfectly, as it’s about “What’s So Great About Project Management.”

6. TechnologyAdvice

TechnologyAdvice is a website with resources for buyers and sellers of business technology. This channel, available since 2013, provides unbiased resources to help project managers.

Here, you have access to product reviews, for example. Choosing the best tools and technologies will help project managers improve their daily work.

Their most popular video is about using Microsoft Excel as a Project Management tool.

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7. Adriana Girdler

Adriana Girdler is ready to help “slay your projects.” She’s the president of Cornerstone Dynamics, a project and product management specialist company.
Active on YouTube since 2013, Adriana Girdler posts weekly videos focused on key skills needed by Project Management professionals and strategies to help them thrive in their careers.

The videos are all under 15 minutes (most are even under 10) and answer concrete questions, such as explaining scrum and how it works, the steps to take over a project successfully, and the essential product documents a PM needs.

The most popular video explains how a new project manager should introduce him/herself to a team confidently and effectively.

Find the best ways to improve your project management skills.

8. Association for Project Management

Through the Association for Project Management (APM), a professional in this area can have a membership and join individuals, organizations, and students, developing qualifications and improving skills. Naturally, its channel features videos about the association, capabilities, and membership, events, webinars, and Project Management videos.

Based in the United Kingdom, the APM provides the “activities [to] build the profile the profession warrants.”

The most popular video on this educational YouTube channel is relatively straightforward: “What is Project Management?”

Get to know the best PMP certifications you can have.

Conclusion

We’ve listed some of the best YouTube channels for Project Management. There you can find Project Management videos and use YouTube as an educational tool; whether you’re an experienced project manager or gearing up towards this career path, it is an excellent way of learning and staying on top of the industry.

They’re a free way to acquire knowledge that does not lack quality.

Due to situations lived in the recent past and the latest trends, Project Management is going through some changes. A lot of teams work remotely, there are further advances in digitization technologies for remote progress tracking, and automation is growing exponentially.

This means that the work of a human project manager will be worthwhile. The more the project managers educate themselves, the better they can work with the mechanical and digital parts of the work.

Technology will continue transforming not only the management industry but also many others.

The human worker needs to take advantage of that and make the most of the resources and materials at their disposal.

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The 10 Best PMP Certifications of 2024

Timeular — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 15:17:40 +0000

Given the demands of the job market, a career in project management can be an excellent way to direct that desire to learn into a respected and highly paid career. But what does it take to become a successful project manager?

Becoming a project management professional requires the proper certifications showcasing your skills and expertise. But with numerous options available, deciding on the right one can be daunting. Factors such as your project management skills, career goals, and preferred methodology play a crucial role in choosing the proper certification.

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To help you make an informed decision, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide of the 10 best PMP certifications for you to take in 2024.

10 best PMP certifications to try in 2024

1. PMI — Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s leading authority on project management. This institution has established Project Management Professional (PMP) certification to acknowledge the expertise of skilled project managers.

For that reason, the Project Management Professional (PMP) is the most important industry-recognized — and probably the most popular — certification for project managers. Although it’s recognized as the “gold standard” worldwide, this certification is highly valued in the USA, Canada, Middle East, and Australia.

This is one of the best PMP certifications because it covers a range of methodologies, including predictive, hybrid, and agile techniques, and focuses on the business environment, process, and people aspects of project management.

To earn the PMP certification, one must meet the eligibility criteria (you can find all this info on their website) and pass a rigorous 180-question exam designed by seasoned project managers to reflect real-world scenarios.

The certification cost for non-PMI members is $555, and $405 for members. PMI certificates are valid for three years, during which learners must earn 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) to maintain their PMP certification.

If we could only recommend one course, this would be the one. It’s definitely the best project management course in the USA. If you’re looking for a PMP certification that sets you apart as a top-tier project leader and demonstrates your experience and ability to manage multiple projects using various methodologies, this is the right choice for you.

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2. PMI — Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is another highly-regarded project management certification offered by the Project Management Institute.

This program is aimed at professionals who are starting a career as project managers and can then go on to obtain more advanced certifications, such as the PMP.

In 2023, the CAPM exam was updated to reflect better the latest industry trends and advancements in project management practices. According to PMI, the original domains are being replaced by the following:

Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts
Predictive, Plan-Based Methodologies
Agile Frameworks/Methodologies
Business Analysis Frameworks.

This updated curriculum will ensure that CAPM certified professionals have the most relevant knowledge and skills.

To earn the PMP certification, one must meet the eligibility criteria (you can find all this info on their website) and pass a 150 question-exam.

Price-wise, PMI members can access the course at a discounted rate of $225, while non-members will pay $300. Like our first recommendation, this PMI certification has a validity of three years, during which professionals must earn 15 PDUs to keep their CAPM certification.

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3. PRINCE2® — 6th Edition Foundation & Practitioner

Also one of the best PMP certifications, PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a project management method originally developed by the UK government, now widely used internationally.

So, if you’re looking for one of the best project management courses in the UK, Europe, and Australia, PRINCE2 certifications are the right choice for you.

Although these are two courses, we will present them together as one complements the other. The PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner are two major certifications designed for a wide range of professionals, including aspiring and current project managers and individuals involved in the design, development, and delivery of projects.

While Prince2: 6th Edition Foundation is designed to cover crucial project management topics such as key principles, themes, and managing a project from A to Z, PRINCE2 Practitioner certifies that professionals can actually put into practice the knowledge they have learned.

Depending on your preference, you can take both courses online or in a classroom environment.

To obtain the PRINCE2 Practitioner certification, one must have either the PRINCE2 Foundation, Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), or an IPMA certification as a prerequisite.

Each of these certifications can be taken individually, but PRINCE2 also offers them as a pack for a discounted price of 1785€.

Looking for developing project management skills? Then you need to follow the best project management blogs.

4. ScrumAlliance — Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

As more organizations embrace agile methodologies (and more PM certifications include agile techniques in their curriculums), it might be interesting for you to consider a scrum master certification as well.

While project managers are experienced leaders who guide projects from start to finish, scrum masters serve as agile leaders who act as change agents for the scrum team and organization. They are responsible for enforcing an effective use of the scrum framework, allowing the team to deliver value continuously.

ScrumAlliance’s CSM certification demonstrates your mastery of the Scrum framework, including key concepts such as team roles, events, artefacts, and rules.

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The CSM course is ideal for individuals who want to understand the agile way of work and its concepts. The versatility of the Scrum framework makes it applicable to various industries and cross-functional teams such as marketing, data science, human resources, and more.

This course is a great place to start if you’re looking to expand your skill set and improve your problem-solving abilities.

To qualify for this certification, you should have a basic understanding of Scrum and complete a two-day in-person CSM course (16 hours), followed by passing the CSM exam and accepting the Licence Agreement.

Currently, this certification is only available in the Live online format, where classes are held online at predefined times. The cost of ScrumMaster certification is $999.

5. IAPM — Certified Project Manager

The IAPM Certified Project Manager certification provides an overview of the fundamental project management strategies and processes. It’s designed for individuals aspiring to pursue a career in project management and lacking prior knowledge of the field.

The certification covers both hard and soft skills related to project management and serves as a foundation for the International Project Manager certification from IAPM.

No prior knowledge or certificates are required to be eligible, but a basic understanding of project management concepts might be helpful.

To prepare for the certification exam, candidates can use the self-test mini-exam, which consists of 25 questions and provides feedback on their knowledge. This certification has lifetime validity and is recognized globally.

As a plus, the online format of the certification allows for flexible and convenient learning, making it accessible to individuals with busy schedules or located in different parts of the world.

The cost of the IAPM Certified Project Manager certification may vary depending on the candidate’s nationality, with a cost of $479 for individuals in the US (check the fee that applies to you on the official website).

6. BVOP — Project Management Certification

The Business Value-Oriented Project Management (BVOP) certification has a distinctive approach to project management. This online PMP certification is perfect for anyone looking to develop modern leadership skills, as it focuses not only on agile and waterfall methodologies but also on people and business-oriented principles in project management. For that, expect this course to prepare you for a wide range of project management roles.

If you’re a beginner, this is not the course for you — it’s specifically aimed at senior project managers, scrum masters, agile professionals, product managers, and business analysts.

To obtain the BVOP certification, a deep understanding of the topics from the BVOP Ultimate Guide is required. You’ll need to create a BVOP account and familiarise yourself with the Business Value-Oriented Principles and methodologies through the BVOP Ultimate Guide. After that, you can take the assessment test!

The current cost of the BVOP Project Manager certification is $130, and there’s a free trial available. More good news — this certification has lifetime validity!

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7. Cornell University: Project Management Certificate Program

Cornell University’s Project Management Certificate Program is perfect for those seeking a comprehensive understanding of project management through practical techniques and tools.

The course is offered by eCornell, the online division of Cornell University, and provides advanced education in areas such as agile methodologies and earned value management. While prior work experience as a project manager is recommended, enrollment is not a requirement.

If you choose this certification, expect a unique approach, with a small class size of fewer than 35 students and personalized attention from an experienced instructor.

All the classes are online and instructor-led, so you have to make sure you have enough time to dedicate to these sessions and the expected 2-5 hours per week workload.

The program takes 3 months to complete, costing $3,900 or a monthly fee of $830, which includes access to an online study group for PMBOK review with other students. Interested individuals can register for the program through the Cornell University website.

Although this course offers a certificate of completion and is offered by a recognized and highly regarded entity, its final objective is to prepare students for the PMP exam, demonstrating the value given to this certification, especially in the USA.

TIP:Get to know the books that every Project Manager needs.

8. Coursera – Google Project Management Professional Certificate

What if I don’t have any experience as a project manager, are there no courses for me? Here’s the answer to your question!

The Google Project Management Professional Certificate is the best online project management course designed for beginners with no previous education or experience looking to elevate their careers with a Google-led project management program.

This online program offers a comprehensive project management curriculum focusing on agile techniques, project documentation, and stakeholder management.

Participants will receive 140 hours of instructional material, hands-on projects, and assessments. The course requires a minimum of 10 hours of study per week and is available on a flexible schedule.

Although access to the course is completely free, you’ll need to pay a monthly fee of $39 to receive a certificate of completion. Access is also included in the Coursera Plus membership, which provides access to over 3,000 online courses.

The certificate has no set expiration date, but with the constantly evolving field of project management, it may be necessary to consider updating one’s education after a few years.

Being online and available through Coursera, this course has a global presence. So whether you’re looking for project management courses in Canada or in Italy, this certification is within your reach.

9. Associate in Project Management (APM)

Once more, this is a course for those who are just starting out in the field of project management and are looking to gain a basic understanding of the industry — prior knowledge or certification is required.

The Associate in Project Management (APM) program offers students a comprehensive introduction to the key concepts, terminologies, and methodologies of project management and consists of three modules that cover the fundamentals of project management, goal-setting, planning, and risk analysis and management.

To enroll in the APM course, you need to go to Global Association for Project Management’s website and choose your preferred option (some packages include an e-voucher for the certification exam, others don’t). To receive both the course and the certification, the cost is $175.

This course serves as a basic introduction to project management and does not have an expiration date. However, it’s recommended to periodically update your knowledge to stay current in the field.

10. AIGA Project Management Certificate

The AIGA Project Management certificate is a complete project management course that offers the perfect opportunity to master the best practices in project management.

This entirely online and asynchronous program covers all the essential skills required to be an effective project manager. Over its seven modules, you’ll learn everything you need to know, from ethical considerations to emotional intelligence, team leadership, stakeholder management, and conflict resolution.

This certification is for everyone — from beginners to experienced project managers, marketers, data scientists, or HR representatives —, you’ll find this course helpful.

Enrolling in the AIGA project management certificate requires no prior education, but a general understanding of project management would be beneficial. Upon completion, you’ll receive a certificate with 51 PMI PDUs and 18.75 leadership PDUs.

If you’re an AIGA member, the course is priced at $919, while non-members must pay the total price of $1,069.

Finally, the certification has no expiration date!

FAQs

Is PMP certification still relevant in 2024?

Yes! The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is still highly relevant in the project management industry. Besides being a globally recognized employer, it certifies a significant level of competence and mastery in project management concepts and practices, which is a valuable asset in today’s competitive job market.

What’s the most affordable PMP certification?

PMP certification is not typically offered for free. However, there are some exceptions, like Master of Project Academy’s free course and the Google Project Management Professional Certificate. At $130, BVOP — Project Management Certification is also very affordable for a PMP certification.

Conclusion

The PMP certification remains a highly sought-after credential in the field of project management nowadays. With the ever-changing business landscape, professionals must stay updated with the latest industry practices and trends.

So, whether you’re looking for online project management courses or in-person programs, the top PMP certifications listed in this article provide a great starting point to enhance your project management skills and advance your career.

Each of these certifications has its own strengths, and it’s up to you to determine which one best suits your needs and professional goals. Regardless of choice, a PMP certification is a valuable investment that can lead to greater job opportunities, higher compensation, and better project outcomes. So, congrats on wanting to develop yourself!

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Project Managers’ Roles and Responsibilities in 2024

Timeular — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 14:46:25 +0000

Project management is an essential component of any successful business or organization, and Project Managers are the driving force behind it.

By now, you probably know that Project Managers need to have a deep understanding of Project Management principles, along with excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. But what exactly are the roles and responsibilities of a project manager?

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In this article, we’ll explore the essential roles and responsibilities of a Project Manager, the skills required to succeed in this field, and how to become a successful project manager.

What is a Project Manager?

A Project Manager is a professional who leads a team to achieve specific goals and objectives within a defined timeline and budget.

He or she is responsible for overseeing the project’s progress, ensuring that it is delivered on time, within budget, and meets the required quality standards.

A good Project Manager must be able to manage risk, identify and manage stakeholders, and ensure effective communication with all parties involved in the project.

Project Managers’ roles and responsibilities

The concepts of roles and responsibilities of Project Managers are often used interchangeably, but they refer to different aspects of the Project Manager’s job.

So before we delve into each of them, let’s clarify what each of these terms means in the context of Project Managers.

Roles are the broad areas of responsibility that a Project Manager is expected to fulfill. These roles may include planning, organizing, controlling, leading, and communicating.

On the other hand, responsibilities are the specific tasks and duties that a Project Manager is responsible for. For example, a project manager’s responsibilities may include creating a project plan, monitoring the project’s progress, managing risks, and communicating with stakeholders.

In summary, while the roles of a Project Manager refer to the broad areas of responsibility, the responsibilities refer to the specific tasks and duties that a Project Manager is expected to carry out within those roles.

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What is the role of a Project Manager?

The role of a Project Manager is multi-faceted and complex. It involves planning, organizing, controlling, leading, and communicating to ensure that a project is completed successfully.

Next, we’ll explore some of the key roles that a project manager must fulfill.

Planning

A Project Manager must develop a project plan that outlines the project’s scope, milestones, goals, timeline, budget, and resource allocation.

It’s their responsibility to work with the project team to create a detailed project schedule and identify potential risks and issues that could impact the project’s success.

TIP: Get to know some examples of project milestones.

Organizing

A Project Manager is responsible for organizing the resources required for the project, including personnel, equipment, and materials.

Project Managers must assign tasks to team members based on their skills and expertise and ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.

TIP: Find the best project management software that allows you to better organize your project.

Monitoring

A Project Manager must monitor, and control the project’s progress, including managing risks, addressing issues, and resolving conflicts.

It’s part of their roles to ensure that the project is on track and that it’s delivered on time, within budget, and to the expected quality.

Learn how to manage the budget of a project.

Leading and motivating

A good Project Manager leads and motivates the project team to achieve the project goals.

They are responsible for creating a positive team environment and ensuring that all team members are working collaboratively towards a common goal.

Communicating

A Project Manager needs to ensure effective communication with stakeholders and team members to keep them informed of the project’s progress.

They must also be able to communicate project updates and changes clearly and concisely. In addition, PMs should be excellent listeners — listening to all parties involved in the development of a project is essential to anticipate unforeseen events and adapting the plan to circumvent them.

Overall, a good Project Manager needs to have a strong understanding of Project Management principles and techniques, along with excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Read also: How to improve communication skills to increase your productivity and efficacy.

What are the responsibilities of a project manager?

A Project Manager’s responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: creating a project plan, time management, budgeting, and documentation.

Creating a project plan

Planning involves creating a blueprint that outlines the project’s scope, estimates the project’s duration, the necessary resources, anticipated financial and time requirements, communication strategy, and execution and documentation plans.

Time management

Effective time management involves setting achievable deadlines, prioritizing tasks, and handling competing priorities. By doing so, project managers can optimize their team’s performance and reduce the risk of delays or cost overruns.

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Budgeting

One of the primary causes of project delays is overspending, which can result from inadequate budget management or an inaccurate initial budget forecast. Therefore, Project Managers must possess excellent budget management skills to ensure project success.

This involves closely monitoring expenses, tracking cash flow, and identifying opportunities for cost reduction. Additionally, budgeting involves devising a budget and reallocating funds when necessary.

Documentation

Documentation is a crucial responsibility of a Project Manager to fulfill this responsibility, PMs need to develop effective methods for measuring and analyzing the project’s progress.

This may involve data collection, status reports, and other forms of documentation that provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the project’s development.

Additionally, all relevant actions should be approved, documented, and archived for future reference. By doing so, they can provide valuable insights into the project’s performance, identify areas for improvement, and help facilitate the future project’s success.

How to become a Project Manager?

A career in Project Management can be gratifying, offering competitive salaries and a diverse range of job opportunities across various industries. However, it is also a challenging profession that can be highly stressful at times.

Despite this, Project Manager remains an in-demand field as qualified professionals are always needed to plan, execute, and manage complex projects.

To become a Project Manager, you need to have a combination of education, training, and experience. Most project managers have a degree in business administration, engineering, or even better — a project management certification, which can improve your job prospects and salary potential.

Get to know the best PMP certifications.

What are key Project Management skills?

Becoming a successful Project Manager requires a diverse set of skills that enable you to manage projects effectively from start to finish.

These skills can be broadly categorized into hard and soft skills, with the latter including personality traits that are not always taught in PM certification courses.

Hard skills such as project planning, risk management, budgeting, and time management are essential for effective project management.

Soft skills such as communication, leadership, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence are equally important in building successful project teams and managing stakeholders.

Next, we’ll explore just two of the key skills of a project manager.

Risk management

Managing risks is an essential part of any project, as unforeseen setbacks can lead to delays and cost overruns.

Project Managers must be proactive in identifying and addressing potential risks to keep the project on track. Some common hazards include resource unavailability and client approval delays.

To mitigate these risks, project managers should possess the ability to assess and evaluate risks, develop risk management plans, and monitor potential risks throughout the project’s lifecycle.

Communication

You can’t be a Project Manager if you’re not a good communicator, as you’ll be responsible for ensuring that all stakeholders are informed about the project’s progress.

PMs must be excellent listeners, too, able to understand and consider the perspectives of all parties involved. Additionally, Project Managers must be able to adapt their communication style to different audiences, whether it’s management, clients, or team members.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Project Managers are the driving force behind successful projects. With the right skills, experience, and mindset, a project manager can lead a team to achieve great things and deliver outstanding results.

To be an effective Project Manager, you must have technical and soft skills, including project management methodologies, leadership, problem-solving, and communication. It’s your job to balance the needs and expectations of stakeholders, team members, and clients while keeping the project on track and within budget.

Once you understand these roles and responsibilities, you will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in this exciting field!

FAQ

What are the Project Manager’s roles and responsibilities in construction?

In construction, Project Managers oversee the construction process from start to finish. This includes planning, organizing, and controlling resources, ensuring the project is delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

What are the project manager roles and responsibilities in the IT industry?

In the IT industry, Project Managers oversee software development projects. This includes planning, organizing, and monitoring resources, ensuring the project is delivered on time, within budget, and to the expected quality.

What are the project manager roles and responsibilities in Agile?

In Agile, project managers are responsible for leading the Agile development team and ensuring that the Agile methodology is followed. This includes facilitating Agile ceremonies, managing the product backlog, and ensuring that the team is working together effectively.

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How to Delegate Tasks Effectively [GUIDE]

Timeular — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:24:26 +0000

Managing a team is a complex balancing act, and an essential skill in this process is delegation. In this article, we explore the art of effectively delegating tasks, a fundamental aspect of team leadership.

Discover how to delegate work in a way that not only lightens your load but also empowers your team.

We’ll provide practical advice on honing your delegation skills, ensuring you manage your responsibilities and team dynamics with confidence and efficiency.

Join us to get a straightforward answer to the question of how to delegate effectively.

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What is task delegation?

Delegating tasks means assigning work or any type of responsibility to other members of your team.

In the delegation process, you’re allowing yourself to focus on more critical work and projects while also developing the skills of your team members, allowing them to grow.

Why is delegating work important?

Delegating work is essential for several reasons, including:

Increased productivity: By delegating, you can increase productivity by giving tasks to team members with the necessary skills and expertise to complete them efficiently.
Better teamwork: Delegation allows you to promote teamwork as you’re encouraging your team to work together and share responsibilities.
Less stress: When you delegate, you’re enabling yourself to focus on more essential tasks and projects and have less workload.
Personal growth: You’re allowing your team members to develop their skills and expertise, as well as autonomy, by taking on new tasks and responsibilities.

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Why do managers avoid delegating tasks?

Many managers hesitate to start delegating important tasks for a variety of reasons. A common concern is the desire to maintain control, as delegating often means placing trust in team members to handle significant responsibilities.

Some feel guilty about handing over tasks they perceive as burdensome, worrying about overloading their team. There’s also a fear that delegation might not align with being a good team leader, as it can be mistakenly seen as shirking responsibilities.

Additionally, managers who aspire to groom future managers might unintentionally hold back, thinking that keeping work to themselves is the best way to demonstrate competence and dedication.

This mindset can hinder the development of a more collaborative and empowered team dynamic.

How to delegate tasks effectively

Ready to tackle effective delegation? Let’s break it down. It all starts with a solid grasp of what your team members excel at and where they might need a bit more support. This insight is particularly crucial for new managers aiming to delegate effectively.

It’s about more than just assigning tasks; it’s about aligning them with your employees’ strengths, keeping the big picture in focus.

In the following steps, we’ll guide you through this process, helping you to ensure each staff member is playing to their strengths and contributing to the team’s overall success. Let’s get started!

1. Identify the tasks

When leading a team, the first step in effective delegation is to pinpoint the right tasks to hand off. This process becomes more streamlined with the aid of a workload management tool, which is crucial for both identifying time-consuming and tedious tasks and implementing top prioritization methods.

Read: Workload Management Guide: How to Master Work Planning

This strategy is not just about lightening your own load but about optimally utilizing the strengths within your team. Consider various aspects of project management or parts of important projects that could be better handled by others.

During performance reviews, use these insights to align delegated work with individual team member strengths. By carefully selecting the right tasks to delegate, you’re not only tackling tasks more efficiently but also enhancing the overall productivity and success of your team.

2. Choose the right team member

In team management, it’s essential to match the delegation of responsibilities with each team member’s work goals. When you’re ready to assign work, take a close look at each team member’s skills, knowledge, availability, and their individual goals.

This ensures that you’re not just delegating tasks but are also contributing to their professional growth. For example, a co-worker aspiring to develop new skills, i.e. management skills, could be the right person to supervise an intern or lead a project while you focus on higher-value activities.

It’s important, however, to consider their current workload and other commitments. Ensure they have sufficient time and resources to achieve the task effectively. For responsibilities requiring specialized skills, identify someone in your team who excels in similar technologies or has shown proficiency in related areas.

3. Define the desired outcome

When you delegate responsibility, it’s crucial to provide context, as well as set clear expectations and outcomes for the duties at hand. Merely transferring work to your co-workers doesn’t constitute effective delegation.

Instead, provide your staff members with a comprehensive understanding of the project, including how it ties into the organization’s broader goals. Discuss deadlines, expectations, and available resources to ensure they have a complete grasp of what’s required.

This should also involve outlining the metrics you will use to evaluate the success of their work. By being clear and hands-off only after ensuring understanding, you not only delegate work effectively but also prioritize high-priority tasks within your team.

4. Offer support

When delegating tasks, it’s crucial to support your team member, especially if they’re initially struggling. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to provide them with the necessary training, resources, or authority.

In time-constrained situations, you can involve other team members in the training process, which also offers them new challenges and learning opportunities.

Always be available to answer questions and provide constructive feedback, but avoid setting unrealistic goals that could lead to frustration and the task eventually returning to your workload. Additionally, steer clear of micromanaging.

Focus on guiding your team member towards the end goal and highlight the importance of the delegated work, rather than controlling every aspect of it. This approach not only fosters independence but also aids in their professional development.

5. Establish clear communication

When delegation occurs, it’s vital to balance avoiding micromanagement with establishing clear and effective communication channels. This ensures that the person you’re delegating tasks to feels comfortable asking questions and giving updates on their progress.

It’s common for someone new to a task or project to feel somewhat uncertain at the start. Regular check-ins and ongoing feedback are key components of effective project management. They help in guiding your team member through future tasks, especially as they develop new skills.

By offering support and guidance openly, you can help mitigate the failure impact that may arise if a task has to be reassigned or added back to your to-do list. Such communication helps in smoothly overcoming any challenges that may surface during the task execution.

Did you know that clear communication is a key project management skill?

6. Leave room for failure

This step is especially crucial if you’re a perfectionist or tend to want complete control. Remember, your method isn’t the only way to get a job done. When delegating work, it’s important to allow room for failure.

This doesn’t mean you expect your employees to fail, but rather, you’re providing them an opportunity to experiment, evolve, and grow with new approaches.

Being open to various ideas and ways of handling tasks will make it easier for you to delegate when needed. This approach not only encourages innovation but also means you can offer constructive criticism in a way that’s helpful, enhancing their skills for other tasks.

7. Be patient

Delegating effectively involves patience, especially when it comes to certain tasks that you, as a manager with extensive experience, could complete quickly. It’s natural to think that specific tasks might be done faster if handled by only you.

However, when passing these responsibilities to someone else, remember that they may require more time to complete them. This difference in pace is often due to varying levels of experience and other factors, like familiarity with the task.

Resist the urge to take back some responsibilities just because you can do them quicker. Instead, consider the value of professional development for your team members. Reflect on your own early experiences in your career when you were learning and growing.

Over time, your employees will gain speed and efficiency as they become more acquainted with the job, leading to faster and more proficient task completion in the long run.

Read our step-by-step guide to learn how to build a high-performing team.

8. Provide feedback and ask for feedback regularly

It’s important to maintain consistent feedback with your direct reports, particularly regarding tasks you’ve delegated. After a task is complete, assessing the outcome and giving relevant feedback is crucial.

If the task doesn’t meet expectations, providing constructive criticism is essential, as it guides your employees to improve and learn from their experiences, reducing the likelihood of similar issues in the future.

Equally important is acknowledging when tasks are completed successfully. Positive reinforcement not only boosts morale but is also one of the key ways to keep your team motivated, enhancing their confidence and productivity.

Furthermore, seeking feedback from your team is a crucial part of effective delegation. Check if they found your instructions clear and ask for suggestions on improving task assignments in the future.

This reciprocal feedback process is essential for continuously refining your delegation techniques and managing tasks more effectively.

9. Recognize and give credit

It’s essential to show genuine appreciation for the efforts and achievements of the person handling the delegated work. Acknowledging their hard work not only motivates them but also fosters an environment where high-level performance is recognized and valued.

This kind of recognition can inspire loyalty and contribute to the long-term success of your team. By consistently giving credit where it’s due, especially for work that often goes unnoticed as someone else’s job, you encourage a positive and collaborative atmosphere, making team members more inclined to assist with future projects.

Most common errors and when you shouldn’t delegate

Delegating is an essential skill for managers, offering mutual benefits when executed properly. Yet, even with trust in the process, it’s not immune to mistakes.

Here are some typical missteps managers often encounter when delegating tasks:

Not delegating enough

Some managers hesitate to delegate work, thinking they can do it better themselves. However, remember, there are multiple effective approaches.

Not delegating, especially for time-consuming tasks, can lead to burnout and missed development opportunities, hindering broader goal achievement. This reluctance to hand over responsibilities to someone else is a common mistake in delegation.

Micromanaging

Overseeing too closely, or micromanaging, is a frequent misstep in project management, often seen when managers delegate tasks. This approach can undermine the trust and confidence your team members have in you, leading to diminished overall performance and motivation.

It also hampers the flow of progress updates, as team members may feel overly scrutinized.

Not providing clear instructions

Neglecting to provide specific instructions can lead to significant issues in task delegation. It’s vital to clearly define the job description and expectations.

Without this clarity, the risk of confusion, mistakes, and missed deadlines increases, as team members may not have unlimited access to the required information or guidance for new ideas and approaches.

Not delegating to the right person

Delegating tasks to the wrong person on your team can be a recipe for disaster. Make sure you know your team well and are familiar with everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.

It’s important to assess each team member’s powers and limitations to delegate tasks accordingly.

Not providing adequate support

Delegating tasks without the necessary support can frustrate everyone involved. It’s vital to ensure that your team members have all the right resources, information, and guidance to complete their job successfully.

When managers shouldn’t delegate tasks

Delegating is generally good practice and brings many great benefits, but certain situations may not be appropriate:

When the task requires specific expertise or knowledge that only the manager possesses.
When the manager is entirely responsible for the outcome and cannot afford to take any risks during the process.
When the task is highly confidential or sensitive and requires the utmost discretion.
When no team members are available with the necessary skills to take on the task.

Conclusion

Understanding successful delegation and how to delegate tasks effectively puts you on track to enhance your team’s productivity.

While mastering delegation skills may initially seem daunting, it becomes simpler as you grow more confident in your team members and their ability to handle more responsibility.

Begin by assigning smaller tasks, gradually increasing their scope. Embrace the process of passing on duties; with practice, you’ll excel in delegation, boosting both success and productivity.

You might be interested in:

The post How to Delegate Tasks Effectively [GUIDE] appeared first on Timeular.

Workload Management Guide: How To Master Work Planning

Timeular — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 09:58:09 +0000

Workload management is crucial for the success of any project and team. One of the first lessons a project manager learns is that inefficient workload management heavily impacts productivity and performance.

Understand your team’s workload

Track time together with your team to get a clear overview on teams’ workload and ensure a fair capacity plan.

We have all been there: the more overwhelming workload piles up, the less productive we are. That’s when deadlines loom, we’re getting stressed and sink into a snowball of negativity that is hard to escape from.

For high-quality performance, stress management, and employee satisfaction, all managers should plan, distribute, and monitor their staff’s workload. That’s the aim of this article: to help you better manage your team’s workload.

Keep reading to learn practical tips for effective workload management. First things first: let’s find out what workload management is all about, and how it can impact all your pre-planned project management.

What is workload management?

In simple words, the workload is the total number of tasks someone has to complete in a given period.

It can be measured quantitatively, by the number of tasks, or qualitatively, based on the complexity of those tasks.

Each person and job may have a different concept of a heavier or balanced workload. That’s fine. For certain jobs, a heavy workload may consist of one task that is complex and demanding for team members.

On the other hand, someone might handle multiple tasks, which are completed quite easily, compared to the above example, but still categorize the workload as demanding.

In either case, there’s a limit to what every single person can realistically do within a certain period.

So, having in mind what workload means, let’s dive into the purpose of workload management.

Keep your team’s workload in check with a user-friendly time tracking tool

Time tracking helps you to keep an eye on workload and overtime

Workload management aims to distribute tasks fairly among all your team members. Your goal is to ensure every team member has enough on their plates to keep them productive, but not so much that it’s impossible to get done.

To do this, you need to consider employee performance, how many complex tasks they could handle in a specific amount of time, as well as, deadlines.

You must also consider resource availability and estimate tasks based on the team’s fit to perform them.

Generally speaking, a good manager spends a good deal of time reflecting on how to make a workload management strategy that accommodates, the team capacity and employee workload.

Above all, project managers are tasked with finding the right balance between the company’s overall performance expectations and the team’s workload.

Why is workload management important?

Effective workload management results in higher productivity and better project management.

In case of obstacles or unforeseen events, it’s much easier to define a workload management plan, that offers guidelines on the tasks that must be done, when, and by whom.

Ongoing workload management also helps you determine whether you need more resources to achieve your goals, prioritize tasks, and stay away from uneven workload distribution.

On top of this, it contributes to the motivation and well-being of team members, which highly impacts results. According to a recent Asana study that analyzed 10,000 workers in seven countries, approximately 70% experienced burnout last year.

Efficient workload management helps prevent overloaded team members, aids in project success, and increases team performance.

Did you know that an excessive workload is one of the 10 top causes of stress at work? Read everything in our blog.

How to manage your team’s workload in 5 steps

1. Write down all your tasks

For almost every problem in life, making a to-do

list is part of the solution.

This is one of the best workload management techniques, allowing you to take a macro view of your work and enabling you to prioritize assigned tasks. List all the tasks for the week, month, or year, depending on your plan.

Include repetitive tasks, highest priority tasks, administrative tasks, challenges, etc. Make sure those tasks match SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented.

Discover the importance of setting realistic goals to succeed.

2. Prioritize your work based on impact and effort

Once you’ve made your list, you should look at the different tasks and categorize them according to what we call the impact vs. effort matrix.

Do you know that quick decision-making is one of the most sought-after skills in a professional? The impact vs. effort matrix is a decision-making method that can help everyone, not just managers, to make their decision-making process faster.

According to this technique, each task should be categorized according to the level of effort required and the potential impact it will have. This should be the basis on which you allocate resources afterward.

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Get your free copy and discover the best productivity tips for teams and their leaders

When determining the effort of a particular action, you should weigh factors such as the time it’ll take to complete it and its complexity.

Thus, you should divide your tasks into:

Low effort and low impact
Low effort and high impact
High-effort and low-impact
High effort and high impact

Once you’re clear about what each task implies, you should get into project planning. How should you assign tasks for your team and project: starting with the simpler yet more impactful tasks or, the ones you categorized as urgent tasks? The decision is yours!

Remember: such a solution will have a big impact on project schedules and delivery.

TIP: Kano or RICE are some examples of task management methods that can increase your productivity. Get to know all the best prioritization techniques.

3. Set achievable and realistic deadlines

Every goal needs a realistic deadline. Having well-defined deadlines makes the path much more linear, as all those involved know the timeframes to be met for a successful project.

Setting deadlines helps not only project managers to prioritize and adapt the plan in case of challenges or temporary productivity breaks but also all team members. It leads to a healthy work-life balance.

Professional growth requires learning to prioritize tasks and adapt the work plan when necessary, and this can only be done with achievable and realistic deadlines.

4. Delegate tasks fairly

Proper workload management requires excellent delegation skills and capacity planning.

To delegate tasks fairly, project managers must consider several factors: the strengths and limitations of each team member, their skills, the team’s schedule, performance, and even the pre-existing workload.

Knowing your team members in depth is halfway to better managing workloads and optimizing productivity.

Did you know that delegating is one of the four D’s of time management? Get to know the other three in our guide.

5. Plan for challenges

Expect the best, but prepare for the worst. This saying teaches us that we should not live just hoping everything will work out because, well, it won’t.

In life and at work, you should always have a plan B. So, make sure you have a solution for the most common problems: a colleague falls ill and needs to be replaced on one of the most important projects, while other team members cannot fill that gap, a proposal is not approved, a deadline is not met, etc.

Stay prepared, and you’ll never have to prepare!

If you’re a project manager, you might be interested in our guide to project risk management.

The best tips for effective workload planning

1. Write to-do lists

We touched on this tip above when discussing the importance of writing down all your tasks.

Using a to-do list is one of the most effective ways to turn an idea into an actionable plan, before considering any complex project management technique.

Before you start a project, you should list all project tasks, even the ones that seem insignificant. If necessary, break each one down into smaller actions and delegate them according to the criteria we talked about earlier. Make sure you’re also aware of the task dependencies in your project.

Some of the advantages of using to-do lists include:

Extra motivation and accomplishment, as you see progress happening;
Better time and workload management;
Increases your efficiency
Decreasing anxiety;
Better organization and productivity.

2. Use time management techniques

You can and should also rely on time management techniques to handle your team workload effectively.

Managing time is all about organizing and planning your tasks to achieve your goals more effectively while boosting productivity.

It helps team leaders understand and balance workloads, based on accurate data while ensuring an accurate team utilization rate.

Today we’ll tell you about two techniques for managing time that we find particularly interesting for workload management.

Free eBook: Learn the top time management techniques

Get your copy of the eBook and share it with your team to leverage time management techniques in your workplace

4 Quadrants of Time Management Matrix

This technique, called The Eisenhower Matrix, is frequently used in project management. According to this method, there are 4 quadrants in which you should categorize each of your tasks according to their urgency and importance.

Quadrant 1: Urgent and important
Quadrant 2: Not urgent yet important
Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important
Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important

Then, tackle each task according to your strategy. This technique can be used together with the impact vs. effort matrix we discussed earlier for even better results!

Time blocking

Time blocking is a technique that consists of blocking off periods in your calendar to work on your assigned tasks. During that time, nothing else should interrupt you.

This technique is particularly useful to help you dive into periods of deep work where you’re focused.

You should take your tasks and logically group them to create a time block. Then, all you have to do is distribute them across the blocks of time in your calendar and do your best to stick to them.

This will help you to better manage your workload.

3. Use a time tracking app

Time tracking should be part of any managers’ suite of project management tools. It is at the forefront of effective workload management, as it helps leaders analyze past data against future outcomes, and come up with better workload planning.

Such a tool provides detailed reports on team members’ completed tasks, and the time needed for them, as well as, distinguishing client work by labeling activities as billable or non-billable within the tool.

Overall, tracking time helps leaders to improve their workload management process, assign tasks fairly, based on the team’s capacity, and enhance team productivity.

Note: Contrary to some beliefs, time tracking does not serve as an employee surveillance tool, but rather a tool for intelligent workload management.

Find how to get employees to track their time

4. Workload management No-Nos:

Try to multitask – one of the main time wasters at work;
Waste time with too many useless meetings;
Set expectations too high, condemning the project to failure before it even begins;
Be too rigid with assigning tasks (delegation);
Assign too much work to high performers (unfair resource management);
Being indecisive with a team member who is not performing as expected.

Who should be managing the workload?

In most environments, the team or project manager is in charge of team workload management. In some cases, several managers might share this responsibility. So, it’s important to have excellent communication and collaboration skills.

However, even if they are not primarily responsible for the workload distribution, the entire team has a shared responsibility to manage workloads.

Only with the inputs from those producing the work is it possible to create efficient workload management practices, balance team workload, help with insights on project schedules, and create a better work experience for everyone.

So, even if you’re not in a managerial position, make sure you make yourself heard!

Conclusion

Workload planning is not just an important part of a project, it is essential, as it’s crucial to keep employees motivated, productive, and happy, while you constantly improve your workload management.

Underestimating workload management can get in the way of successful project management and may come up with consequences, both in quantity and quality of work and staff satisfaction and retention.

We hope this article helped you better understand workload management and contributes to better assigning tasks, enhancing team members’ productivity, and overall having successful projects!

FAQs

What are workload management tools?

Workload management tools are software and platforms that help you plan, distribute, and monitor your work and that of your team members. Using these tools gives managers and team members a real-time picture of the progress of tasks on multiple projects, and into resource management.

How do you handle workload stress?

Above all, it’s important to be open to talking to your superiors or team members if you’re considering the team workload management or the project tasks are stressing you out.

Set boundaries and start saying no to new activities or projects if you have other tasks unfinished, otherwise, there are risks of having a poor work-life balance.

You could work out solutions together with your manager, and benefit from a more balanced team workload management, based on the team’s capacity and yours.

Remember: Avoid working longer hours than recommended and allow yourself to take breaks and relax. Get help and support if that stress persists.

How do you do a workload analysis?

To conduct a proper workload analysis, you can take several steps.

First, if you use any workload management tool, take advantage of its features and assess the performance of your team members and the project’s progress.

Then, calculate your team’s average work output and determine if their workload limit is adequate.

Finally, frequently communicate with your team members and understand their opinion on the current resource management, and how to do better workload planning. Being open to feedback would help sharpen your workload management skills, too.

You might be interested in:

The post Workload Management Guide: How To Master Work Planning appeared first on Timeular.

The Best Project Management Blogs in 2024

Timeular — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:15:37 +0000

There is no lack of Project Management sources of information out there. We can argue that the difficulty lies in choosing the best type of medium or the best topic or subject to fit our needs.

Every author of every video, book, podcast, and course claims to have found more efficient work techniques. In order to enrich that list of possibilities, we’ll present the best project management blogs.

Get what you need from these informative spaces, written and maintained by Project Management professionals with different backgrounds and degrees of experience.

They provide readers with helpful information, templates, software reviews, and time management tips and tricks, among other good topics.

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

Get your step-by-step guide to master time tracking as a Project Manager

The 23 best Project Management blogs you need to follow

1. Rebel’s Guide to PM

Elizabeth Harrin is the face behind the Rebel’s Guide to PM. Besides being considered one of the most critical and knowledgeable women in Project Management, she’s the author of several books, such as “Collaboration Tools for Project Managers” and Shortcuts for Success”.

Her blog provides intel from a female perspective. You can read about several hacks for Project Management, Elizabeth Harrin’s own observations, news about courses and events, and guides for courses and projects.

An important and recent piece on her blog is “Managing A Remote Team? Remember These 3 Key Tips For Success”, which focuses on three crucial areas to focus on when managing and working remotely. Another good example is a Project Management software review article: “Runn Software Review”.

2. The Digital Project Manager

Sharing tips and tricks also via podcast, The Digital Project Manager blog was created in 2011 by Ben Aston.

It’s one of the largest and most visited Project Management online platforms. There are over forty contributors to the articles of this website, sharing thoughts and experiences on Project Management, thought leadership, and task organization.

Articles are organized in a few exciting and well-organized sections: Trending Now, How-To Guides, the Project Manager’s Tool Box, and DPM Shorts (practical tips and tricks in five minutes or less). For example: “How to Run a More Effective Stand-Up Meeting: 6 Expert Tips” and “The 10 Best Workflow Management Software Of 2022”.

3. ProjectManager.com

On ProjectManager.com’s blog, there are several exciting and practical tools available, such as tutorials and other resources. The content available goes from more technical pieces to job interview tips and management techniques’ how-tos.

The blog is part of the Project Manager’s software website, but even if this is not something that you use, the resources and tools are available for everyone interested.

Explore their articles for career advice, written by the company’s content team, like “What Is a Scrum Master? Here’s Everything You Need to Know” to more technical and specific pieces, such as “Project Quality Management: A Quick Guide”.

Read our article about time tracking and find out how it’s useful for project management.

4. Dotto Tech

Dotto Tech, run by Steve Dotto, goes a bit further on than regular blog posts and articles. The website has several thought pieces but is also filled with productivity tips and knowledge on how you should master a digital toolkit as a Project Manager.

Steve Dotto also makes videos on YouTube and hosts webinars devoted to different topics under the management umbrella. There are several reviews on different tools and software and he also hosts courses, including free ones.

5. Susanne Madsen

As a co-founder of The Project Leadership Institute (a learning institute built to help people hone their leadership and key project management skills), Susanne Madsen is one of the most recognized professionals in the area.

Before becoming an influencer in the Project Management space, she leads corporate sector processes at companies like JP Morgan and Citigroup.

Aside from her two books, she shares knowledge and experience through her blog, with pieces like “How to Prevent Chronic Stress and Burnout” and “What are the differences between management and leadership – and how does it relate to PMs?”, a fascinating blog post that focuses on the debate on how to characterize management versus leadership.

TIP: Enrol in one of the best online project management courses to improve your skills.

6. Workzone

The blog of the company Workzone caters, in terms of information and post type, to different companies and industries.

The blog has many contributors writing in a very comprehensive way. The articles, both in subject and content, cover every aspect of a project in detail. Great examples of this are the pieces “Defining the Arrow Diagram Method” and “Operationalized Project Management Processes”.

7. The Lazy Project Manager

The Lazy Project Manager is one of the most informative, accessible, and popular Project Management blogs out there. It’s curated and managed by Peter Taylor, who approaches project management strategy blended with everyday pragmatism and approachable metaphors. Peter Taylor, who is also an author has been keeping this blog for a good number of years.

You can get informed about the basics of a Project Management job or role in a specific industry to complex topics that involve business and management decisions.

Being an effective manager, excelling in teamwork, and making use of the best Project Management tools to achieve success, are some goals you can reach when reading Lazy Project Manager’s posts, such as: “Now is the time to invest in learning and so I offer you six ways to develop your personal or team skills” or “Creating a Common Collective for Distributed Teams”.

8. Guerilla Project Management

Even though this blog is no longer being updated, it’s worth a look. Samad Aidane is the main contributor on this educational platform that doesn’t leave interesting questions left unanswered.

In this blog, there are several resources for those interested in boosting their career. The articles are very thorough and very reader-friendly.

Explore the blog, and pay close attention to these pieces: “Is Project Management jargon keeping us from truly communicating?” and “Which Software will Give Your Project Management a Boost?”.

Read our article and get to know examples of milestones in a project.

9. Elise Stevens

Elise Stevens is a big advocate for women working in several fields, one being Project Management. She says she is “the person you talk to about your career when you’re tired of getting the same results, and you know you need out-of-the-box thinking to get unstuck”.

Elise is the author of several successful books, such as “Unlocking The Opportunity – How Over 150 Women Navigated Their Careers In Project Management” and “Age Defying Careers For Women At 40”.

Get to know this career tactician through her articles, focused on motivation and empowerment in the Project Management world, “Career Advice from Women in STEM” and “The Importance of Saying Yes to New Opportunities”.

10. PM Basics

Also known for his popular YouTube channel, Dmitriy Nizhebetskiy offers helpful advice for those who want to get into the Project Management industry. His work focuses on the IT industry and considers different methods than usual.

PM Basics ends up being a great Project Management blog choice for beginners. The resources available are a great guide, such as the article “How to Become a Software Project Manager (Full Guide)”.

Learn how to improve project management skills.

11. The Tao of Project Management

John Carroll is the man behind The Tao of Project Management blog, where he incorporates lessons of the Taoist philosophy applied to Project Management in his blog. John realized that an overwhelming and stressful routine is not sustainable nor compatible with a Project Management career. Carroll is also a successful author.

Check out his very interestingly named posts, such as “The Way is Not a Thing” or “Grass Doors”.

12. ProjectSmart

With a clean and modern layout, ProjectSmart features a never-ending world of resources. They’ve been active since 2000, owning by now an incredible archive of articles about Project Management. You can search by specific categories to find information, and they also offer tools and white papers that aim to inform on plenty of topics.

All articles on ProjectSmart are quality assured and highly valued by professionals in the field. Explore the different categories from Cost Management to Communications Management or even the history of Project Management. We have to highlight “A Brief History of Project Management”.

Read our blog about Project Management checklist and learn everything you need about it.

13. Finding Marbles

This catchy blog name belongs to the trendsetter in the industry, that unfortunately is no longer being updated. However, the extensive amount of knowledge you’ll find there is worth the time you’ll spend exploring it. The main contributor is Corinna Bauldauf, a german web developer.

Finding Marbles helps make Project Management simpler and faster with relevant information about PM, especially Agile, Lean, and Scrum methodologies.

The information is friendly to the reader and reliable, based on real experiences. It’s a great choice for valuable information about developing a career concerning methodologies like Agile, Lean, and Scrum. Worth checking out posts such as “Ad-Hoc Leadership” and “How we take decisions without managers and teamleads”.

14. Brad Egeland

Brad Egeland is a contributor to some websites on the field but also manages his own blog, with articles drawn from his own experiences as a Project Manager.

Brad’s articles are very insightful, with him assuming a teacher’s position regarding the knowledge shared. This is a great blog with many resources, with examples of what to do in several situations.

Check out the very interesting article “Three Types of Problematic Project Customers”.

15. PMStudent

The blog PMStudent is run by Margaret Meloni, a PM professional focusing on IT Project Management and leadership.

As the name may suggest, this platform has a goal of teaching new professionals in the field and informing the ones who already have a steady career. This blog has the resources for the intensive and continuous learning every professional should try to achieve.

PMStudent includes posts on various topics, from building and maintaining a good relationship with a team to project strategy. Some o their posts are, for example, “10 Benefits of GOOD Project Management”, “Underrated Yet Essential Project Management Skills Needed To Succeed” and “Lessons Learned Improve Future Performance: Do Not Rewrite Project History”.

16. Sarah M. Hoban

Known as a project and product manager, as well as a strategy consultant, Sarah M. Hoban refers to herself as passionate about productivity techniques and tips.

In her career, Sarah has led big team collaboration teams that execute multi-million dollar projects. Hoban is PMP-certified and has an extensive Project Management blog that includes product reviews, Project Management guides, and career advice.

Two great posts of hers are “Remote is Work: Tips on Setting Up Your Organization for Success” and “How to Tell Your Team You’re Leaving”.

Read our article about the importance of time budgeting in project management.

17. Project Bliss

With a unique and quite smooth name, Project Bliss is a blog run by Leigh Espy, where various topics within Project Management are discussed. Aside from the articles, several resources are available, like guides for job interviews or free templates, just to give an example.

This blog remains active with the mission to make the journey into Project Management easier for others. Leigh Espy also shares thoughts about her own experience in the industry.

Let yourself be helped by Espy’s work, which covers dozens of useful management topics that include many different industries. Her path as a woman in the field is an excellent example for future professionals.

Check out “15 Powerful Benefits of Project Management”, “11 Effective Ways to Deal with a Difficult Boss” and “Running Great Virtual Meetings: Everything You Need to Know”.

18. Project Accelerator News

Project Accelerator News joins great advice and the latest news on the world of Project Management. This platform is UK-based and run by Adam Morrell and Paul Naybour, who regularly post.

You can get the latest news on events and learn about Project Management from real-life situations that are used and analyzed. The collaborators’ advice is based on experience and historical facts. Two good examples are “Is Project Management Certification Worth It?” and “Advantages of Project Management Training”.

19. PMHut

Sadly, PMHut is another blog that doesn’t seem to be updated in a while but still offers several practical articles, detailing lists and advice on making the right choices as a Project Management.

The resources try to help you decide on the best technology or software to use and what are the best decisions for your team. A valuable vault of resources that includes advice for PMs and quality tools.

Its content is aimed at both professionals and beginners, with informational posts such as “Simple Guide to Choose a Project Management Software” and “The Importance of Effective Communication in Project Management”.

20. Musings on Project Management

Focusing on agile, general Project Management topics, and collaborative culture, Musings on Project Management is run by John Goodpasture.

His witty tone and fun posts are fed by his experience of more than 30 years in the Project Management space, where he also serves as a coach. Aside from his blog, he is also an author.

Take a look through his pieces, such as “Nobody Follows the Plan” and “Layoffs in the middle of your project?!”.

Read our guide if you need help or if you’re looking for tips to manage multiple projects

21. Simpletivity

Running both a blog and a YouTube channel with the same name, Simpletivity, is managed by Scott Friesen.

He posts on several topics, such as productivity, efficiency, and time and Project Management. In the Simpletivity blog, you can explore many resources, including Scott’s videos and training opportunities.

Explore posts such as “7 Google Contacts Tips You’ll Wish You Knew Yesterday” and “5 Easy Ways to Organize Ideas with Walling”.

22. Projects at Work

Projects at Work is a collaborative blog with tremendous success in the Project Management field. Adding to the knowledge and expertise of many collaborators, Projects at Work also features a thriving hub of resources. The advice given here is efficient and valuable, and the blog falls under the umbrella of the ProjectManagement.com platform.

Find all the answers to every question you have on managing your own project. Contributors include Kathleen Ryan O’Connor, Bart Gerardi, Keith Duncan, and many more.

Check their piece “The Power Skills Difference”, that focus on communication and problem-solving playing a leading role in project success.

23. Eye on the Workforce

Another handy blog under the ProjectManagement.com platform is Eye on the Workforce. It’s written by Joe Wynne, who has been producing content since 2000 for people in the Project Management profession.

The name says it all: this is a platform for workforce management that for Wynne is a crucial component in project success. Joe Wynne is a Project Management with experience in different industries.

His blog posts reflect his expertise by providing tips for managing and creating a sense of community within the workforce, improving productivity, morale, and profit.

Read some of his posts, such as “Leading Questions with Focus on Project Team” and “Keep Workers from Quitting”.

Conclusion

Reading Project Management blogs is an excellent way of gaining awareness of project management tools and techniques.

Using the knowledge you acquire, you can further develop your career in Project Management, both as a manager and as a team member. There’s no lack of platforms to choose from, and doing so accurately is a critical way of helping your professional path.

Save and bookmark all the blogs we showed you here for an opportunity of growing your career and achieve customer success by following the advice of experts.

Since Project Management is one of the most important aspects of any business or industry, the Project Manager role is crucial. The fact is that without a Project Manager, projects can quickly fall apart, and deadlines can be missed.

The key to success in every endeavor has a great Project Management team in place. If you are part of one, ensure you are always on top of the industry news.

You might be interested in:

The post The Best Project Management Blogs in 2024 appeared first on Timeular.

The Best Resource Management Software and Planning Tools in 2024

Timeular — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 11:05:33 +0000

In today’s fast-paced business environment, effective resource management is crucial for organizations to optimize their operations and achieve their goals efficiently.

Resource management software and planning tools come into play when there are difficulties in effectively allocating resources, including human resources, equipment, and materials, across various projects.

To help businesses overcome these resource management challenges, we created this list of the best resource management software and resource planning tools.

Better collaboration and communication among team members are key to a successful business and these seven tools are here to help.

What are resource management software and planning tools?

Resource management software and planning tools are technological solutions designed to assist organizations in managing and optimizing resources effectively.

This software and tools offer a centralized platform or system where businesses can track, allocate, and plan the utilization of their resources across various projects.

They typically cover features and functionalities that are useful in terms of resource planning, scheduling, allocation, and monitoring.

Benefits of resource planning tools

The main benefits of using resource management software and resource planning tools are:

improve efficiency
enhance productivity
effective resource planning
reduce costs
better project outcomes

Improve the efficiency of your team with a user-friendly time tracking solution

The 8 best resource management software and tools

1. Monday.com

Monday.com is one of the most used resource planning tools that streamline collaboration and project management for teams of all sizes. It offers users a visual and intuitive platform with a wide range of features and customization options.

It’s a tool that suits different industries including marketing, software development, construction, creative agencies, event management, and more. It serves well for organizations of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, as it can be tailored to meet specific workflow requirements.

With Monday.com users can create custom boards to fit their specific needs using the drag-and-drop interface that allows easy customization and organization of tasks. It’s a platform that prioritizes collaboration with features such as file sharing, real-time updates, mentions, and notifications.

Users can communicate, provide feedback, and collaborate seamlessly within the platform, which also offers remote employee time tracking, reporting, and analytics tools to monitor project progress.

There is one identified downside because while Monday.com provides various pricing plans, some businesses may find it relatively more expensive compared to other project management tools on the market, especially for larger teams or organizations with complex needs.

Automation and integrations are also limited to certain plans. The pricing starts at 8$ per user, per month, with additional costs for advanced features and customization options. They also offer enterprise-level plans for larger organizations with specific requirements.

TIP: Get to know the best Monday.com time-tracking integration.

2. Wrike

Wrike is a comprehensive project management and collaboration software that presents robust features and a user-friendly interface.

It also caters to a wide range of industries and teams of different sizes seeking efficient project planning and resource management. It’s suitable for marketing teams, creative agencies, IT departments, and project managers, posing as reliable software for remote teams.

The platform allows teams to create tasks, set priorities, and assign responsibilities via an intuitive interface and customizable task views, providing interactive Gantt charts. This feature helps project managers plan resources, identify critical paths, and manage project schedules effectively.

Integrate Wrike with a Timeular to gather insights on your team’s productivity levels

Wrike is very useful for remote workers/teams for its real-time document collaboration feature. It has a very data-driven approach, facilitated by reporting and analytical capabilities, and integrates with various third-party tools and platforms including, for example, Slack and Microsoft Teams, two of the best team communication apps in the business world.

It can, however, be somewhat complicated for smaller or more straightforward projects that require less extensive project management features.

There is a limited free plan that can be used as a tryout, and paid plans start at around 10$ per user per month (Team plan) or around 25 dollars per user per month (Business plan). Customizable options are possible by contacting the Wrike team.

Delegating tasks

Are you stuggling with organizing and delegating tasks? Then, you need our guide!

3. Runn

Runn is a resource and capacity planning software that helps businesses effectively manage their projects, teams, and resources.

It’s worth highlighting its intuitive interface since Runn is particularly beneficial for companies that rely heavily on project-based work, such as consulting firms, creative agencies, software development teams, and professional services organizations.

Businesses of any size can benefit from Runn’s features, from small startups to large enterprises. This tool allows the complete visualization of the team’s workload, ensuring that resources are appropriately allocated and utilized.

It’s also possible to track employee availability, assign tasks, and balance workloads to avoid overburdening individuals or leaving others idle. As with other tools, Runn also allows the definition of task dependencies, a major pro in project management.

The tool integrates with other popular project management tools such as Asana, Trello, or Jira, allowing you to synchronize data seamlessly and avoid duplication of efforts. It also offers integrations with accounting software such as Xero and QuickBooks, facilitating the smooth transfer of financial information between systems.

Aside from this Runn also includes financial tracking and forecasting features providing valuable insights into project profitability. Its reporting capabilities are robust and detailed, including critical insights into project performance and resource utilization.

On a less positive note, while it provides a wide range of features and functionalities, some businesses may find the level of customization options limited. Certain specific requirements or unique workflows may not be accommodated by the software. Training for using it is advised.

Runn offers different pricing plans to suit the varying needs of businesses. There is a free plan, that allows for five people to be managed. The Pro plan costs 8$ per month, per person managed. There is also an Enterprise option, customizable according to the company’s needs.

Free eBook: How to work smart, not hard

Get your free copy and discover top productivity tips for teams and their leaders

4. Teamdeck

As one of the most versatile and best tools for resource management and planning on the market, Teamdeck helps efficiently manages resources, schedules, and projects.

It offers a comprehensive set of tools and features to streamline workforce management, enabling organizations to optimize resource allocation, track team time and attendance, and enhance collaboration across workers (and teams).

Teamdeck is particularly valuable for businesses that rely on resource management, such as consulting firms, creative agencies, IT services providers, and organizations with distributed teams.

In terms of resource management, the tool provides a visual resource scheduling feature that enables users to view and adjust resource allocations easily.

Teamdeck offers features for time logging, leave management, and availability tracking, providing project managers features to help you plan, track, and collaborate on projects. It’s a very visual tool, allowing the creation of project timelines, assigning tasks to team members, and monitoring project progress in real-time.

This enhances collaboration and ensures that everyone is aligned with project goals. Timedeck’s reports provide valuable insights for better and quick decision-making, helping you optimize resource allocation, identify bottlenecks, and improve overall productivity.

This resource management software also allows integration with project management tools such as Trello, Asana, and Jira, and calendar applications like Google Calendar and Outlook, facilitating efficient scheduling and resource allocation.

Teamdeck may require a learning curve for those who are not familiar with its interface and features. The plan Basic Resource starts at 0.9$ per month, with some limitations, and the Team Member plan starts at 3.60$ per month.

5. Resource Guru

Resource Guru is a top resource planning tool designed to help businesses effectively allocate and manage their workforce and equipment.

This is a tool that mostly benefits organizations that rely heavily on resource management, such as:

creative agencies
consulting firms
event management companies
software development teams
businesses of all sizes: from small startups to large enterprises

Resource Guru stands out for its user-friendly interface that allows users to easily schedule and assign resources to projects, tasks, or specific time slots.

This tool helps to perform one of the main project manager responsibilities: planning. It allows the project manager to view resource availability, book or reschedule appointments, and ensure that resources are utilized optimally.

Adding to this, the software enables seamless collaboration among team members by providing a centralized platform where they can access schedules, make updates, and communicate effectively. This promotes transparency and improves coordination across projects and teams.

Resource Guru also sends automated notifications and reminders to keep team members informed about their upcoming schedules, changes of schedule, etc., to reduce scheduling conflicts.

It’s possible to integrate Resource Guru with project management tools like Asana, Trello, and Basecamp, enabling seamless data synchronization and coordination between systems.

While it does provide a solid set of resource management features, some businesses may find the lack of advanced functionalities, such as advanced reporting or customization options as a limitation.

When companies choose to pay yearly, plans start at 4.16$ per person, per month (Grasshopper plan). The Blackbelt and Master plans go for 6.65$ and 10$ per user per month. To each plan, it’s also possible to add non-human resources.

6. GanttPRO

GanttPRO is an online project and resource management software that specializes in creating and managing Gantt charts. It allows businesses to plan, schedule, and track their projects visually and intuitively.

This tool is particularly interesting for businesses involved in project-based industries such as construction, software development, marketing agencies, event planning, and product manufacturing, catering to teams of all sizes.

As the name indicates, GanttPRO enables users to create dynamic Gantt charts that visualize project milestones, timelines, and dependencies. This visual representation helps teams understand project progress and allocate resources according to their necessities.

The software allows the user to create and assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and track progress. It includes other features such as comments and notifications for team collaboration, as well as the possibility to assign resources to tasks, track resource availability, and balance workloads.

GanttPRO integrates with popular tools such as Jira, Asana, and Trello, allowing teams to synchronize data seamlessly between platforms and with file storage and sharing services like Google Drive and Dropbox, facilitating easy access to project-related documents and files.

This tool offers a rich set of features, which can result in a steep learning curve for new users, taking some precious time to get used to.

The Basic plan at GanttPRO starts at 7.99$ per user per month, with more advanced packages going for 12.99$ (PRO) and 19.99$ (Business), also per user per month.

Summing up, GanttRO is one of the best online project management software you can use.

Free eBook: How to work smart, not hard

Get your free copy and discover top productivity tips for teams and their leaders

7. ClickUp

ClickUp is a reliable team management software and collaboration platform designed to help teams streamline their workflows and manage tasks.

It offers a wide range of tools and functionalities to facilitate not only project management actions and communication among the team and with clients.

It’s suitable for teams and businesses of all sizes and industries, including software development, marketing, creative agencies, remote teams, and any organization that requires effective task and project management.

With ClickUp it’s possible to allow teams to create, assign, and track tasks easily, set due dates, priorities, and assignees, add attachments, and set dependencies to ensure smooth task progression.

It’s also possible to create project hierarchies, set milestones, and track project progress using Gantt charts or Kanban boards.

Kanban board: what is, types, benefits and how to use

Read our article and learn everything you need to know about Kanban boards.

ClickUp prides itself on its robust collaboration features, including comments, file attachments, and real-time chat. The tool allows the user to automate repetitive tasks and workflows, saving time and increasing company efficiency.

Custom automation can be created based on triggers and actions, such as sending notifications or updating statuses.

ClickUp integrates with numerous tools and platforms, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Trello, and Asana.

On the other side of the spectrum, it’s important to note that ClickUp’s wide range of features and options may be overwhelming for small and simple projects that require minimal management.

It is best suited for complex projects or teams that require advanced functionalities. There is a completely free plan that can be used forever but is limited to 100 MB of storage. Paid plans start at 5$ per user per month (Unlimited), with the Business plan costing 12$ per user per month. For Enterprise solutions, the ClickUp team must be contacted.

8. Smartsheet

Widely used as a project cost management software, Smartsheet is a cloud-based collaboration tool and one of the best project and resource management software.

It provides a flexible and intuitive platform for managing tasks, projects, and workflows, allowing businesses to streamline their operations and drive productivity.

As a tool, Smartsheet is suitable for a wide range of industries and teams, including:

marketing
construction
IT
operations
project management

This resource planning tool is a solution that caters to businesses of all sizes, from small teams to large companies.

Smartsheet offers a wide range of project and task management features, allowing teams to create and assign tasks as well as set deadlines, and track their progress. It’s possible to establish dependencies, set priorities, and visualize project timelines using Gantt charts or Kanban boards.

With Smartsheet it’s possible to track resource availability, assign resources to tasks, and balance workloads to avoid major discrepancies between team members.

Some features facilitate seamless collaboration and communication among team members, from sharing files, and adding comments, to requesting updates within tasks or sheets, ensuring everyone stays informed and aligned. Reporting and analytics are also valuable additions.

However, these extensive features may be overwhelming for users who are new to project management software. Adequate training and support may be required to maximize its potential and ensure smooth adoption. It’s also important to note that its customization capabilities are limited.

Smartsheet offers a free plan, limited to only one user. From here, the Pro Plan costs 6$ per user per month (for a maximum of 10 users), and the Business Plan goes 22$ per user per month (minimum of 3 users). For a larger scale plan, there as customized options.

TIP: If you want to maximize your team productivity, start by doing an employee workload analysis.

Resource management software comparison

SOFTWARE	CUSTOMIZATION	INTEGRATIONS	FREE TRIAL/PLAN	REPORTING	PRICE
Monday.com	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	starting at 8$/month
Wrike	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	starting at ~10$/month
Runn	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes	starting at 8$/month
Teamdeck	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	starting at ~1$/month
Resource Guru	Limited	Yes	Yes	Limited	starting at ~4$/month
GanttPRO	Limited	Yes	Yes	Limited	starting at ~8$/month
Clickup	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	starting at 5$/month
Smartsheet	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes	starting at 6$/month

What should businesses look for in a resource planning tool

When selecting a resource planning tool, businesses should consider apps that align with their specific requirements, enhancing good resource management practices, and enabling them to optimize their operations, improve project outcomes, and achieve their goals efficiently.

These are the key factors to look for. Use it as a checklist when searching for the best resource management software and planning tool for your team:

Resource allocation and scheduling – the tool should provide robust functionality for allocating resources to tasks, projects, or activities and enable efficient scheduling, allowing businesses to assign resources based on availability, skills, and work priorities.
Real-time visibility – the chosen tool needs to offer real-time visibility into resource availability and utilization. This includes features such as a centralized dashboard or a comprehensive calendar view that displays resource allocations, bookings, and conflicts. It should also allow for quick adjustments when needed.
Skills tracking – a good resource planning tool should allow businesses to define and track the skills and qualifications of their resources. This ensures that resources with the right expertise are assigned to appropriate tasks.
Collaboration and communication – look for tools that facilitate collaboration among team members and stakeholders involved in resource planning. There should be certain features readily available like commenting, notifications, and task-specific discussions that can enhance team coordination.
Integration with project management tools – consider a resource planning tool that integrates seamlessly with existing project management software used by the organization. This allows for smooth data exchange and synchronization between resource planning and project execution.
Reporting and analytics – the tool should also provide robust reporting and analytics capabilities to track resource utilization and monitor performance. Having visibility over this data helps with decision-making, identifies bottlenecks, and helps optimize resource allocation and project planning.
Customization capabilities – consider whether the tool can scale and adapt to the growing needs of the business. It should accommodate different team sizes, project complexities, and industry-specific requirements.
Training and support available – when choosing the best resource planning tool consider the availability of training resources, documentation, and customer support provided by the vendor. Adequate training and reliable support can assist businesses in onboarding and maximizing the tool’s potential, addressing any issues or questions that may arise.

Conclusion

Effective resource management is crucial for organizations to optimize their operations and achieve their goals efficiently and as we saw, there are many options in the market for all sorts of industries and types of businesses and companies.

The resource management software and tools discussed in this article offer valuable solutions to address the challenges of resource allocation and planning needs across various projects.

They offer a wide range of features and functionalities, including task and project management, resource allocation and scheduling, collaboration and communication tools, reporting and analytics capabilities, and integration options with popular project management and communication tools.

As each tool is different and caters to different industries, team sizes, and project demands, remember to get as acquainted as possible with each before making a final choice.

If you don’t know how to choose the best resource planning tool for your company, have a second look at our list and consider factors such as resource allocation and scheduling capabilities, real-time visibility, skills tracking, etc.

From Monday.com’s visual and customizable platform to Runn’s intuitive interface for project-based work, businesses can find a resource management tool that suits their specific needs.

Whether it’s Wrike’s comprehensive project management features, Teamdeck’s focus on resource and schedule management, or GanttPRO’s specialization in Gantt charts, these tools offer flexibility and versatility.

Resource Guru’s emphasis on efficient resource allocation, ClickUp’s wide range of project management and collaboration tools, and Smartsheet’s cloud-based platform for managing tasks and workflows further contribute to effective resource management.

You might be interested in:

The post The Best Resource Management Software and Planning Tools in 2024 appeared first on Timeular.

The Best Project Management Books to Read in 2024

Timeular — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:16:43 +0000

As a successful Project Manager, you’re continuously looking to update your management style, have successful projects and seek a new team’s strategy.

And what simpler and more effective way there is than delving into a project management book?

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

Get your step-by-step guide to master time tracking as a Project Manager

Management books help you gain a fresh perspective on how to better manage projects, while gaining practical advice through understanding real world examples.

We know managing projects is not a breeze, that is why we handpicked a selection of the top project management books out there to help you become a better project coordinator, equipped with as many project management principles as possible.

With that in mind, dive into the synopsis of each book, and you’ll discover which is the right one for you.

The 28 best Project Management books

1. Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

This handbook delivered by Timeular, can be your practical guide about time tracking on your projects, while finding helpful insights. Keeping track of time for project management professionals is essential as it helps deliver projects on time, holds the team productive and will help you estimate your new project plan.

It can hep too identify and prevent project problems timely, bill clients accurately and measure success.

Chapter One explores the importance of time tracking for Project Managers. Also, you’ll gain an overview of three time tracking methods and their pros and cons.

Chapters Two and Three provide practical guidance, helping you choose the right software and leverage time tracking data for project success.

Chapter Four covers strategies for motivating your team to track time and avoiding common pitfalls in time tracking for Project Management.

We trust that this handbook will serve as a valuable vademecum as you embark on your time tracking journey, providing you with essential step by step process and core concepts on tracking.

2. Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide by Greg Horine

This guide demonstrates that Project Managers are not not born, and you shouldn’t have been an experienced project manager before.

This project management absolute beginner’s guide shows you how to work on the team dynamics, a budget, everyone’s schedule, and how to properly track the project progress.

You also look at many Project Management techniques, such as traditional, agile, and hybrid.

3. Be Fast or Be Gone: Racing the Clock with Critical Chain Project Management by Andreas Scherer

This project management book dives into critical chain Project Management, which is primarily used by big companies worldwide.

The author elaborates on the one of the major concepts of management: monitoring resources and prioritizing resource allocation effectively, while based on that, making a project plan.

Improve your management skills by reading our blog about the best prioritization techniques.

4. The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights by Douglas R. Conant

According to the author, this book guides you to embark on a self-reflection journey regarding your work method and personal productivity through these six steps:

Reach High – Envision;
Dig Deep – Reflect;
Lay the Groundwork – Study;
Design – Plan;
Build – Practice;
Reinforce – Improve.

5. Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself by Wes Bush

This is one of the project management books through which project managers learn how to improve their product and service.

Its primary focus is to retain the value of focus vs. effort and acquire clients much faster and longer term.

The top project management apps that any project manager needs.

6. Doing Agile Right: Transformation Without Chaos by Darrell Rigby, Sarah Elk and Steve Berez

For this book, the authors spared no expense to shine a light on the agile management method.

Their goal is to explain, in an practical fashion, the advantages of agile for any given project, how agile teams work, and the work quality itself.

7. Driving Digital Strategy: A Guide to Reimagining Your Business by Sunil Gupta

The author demonstrates how you improve your project through a digital strategy, while keeping the same resources more or less.

He explores many features, mainly the business model, customers, and the company itself.

8. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager by Kory Kogon, Suzette Blakemore and James Wood

This book is perfect for those who were not trained for a PM job but are doing it in every project, the undercover professionals that have project management skills, so to say.

The book guides you into the job’s requirements, gives your practical advice and shows how you can excel at it, without being experienced project managers.

9. What the Heck Is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS by Gino Wickman

We’d highly recommend this book to project managers using EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) in the company.

You’ll get to discover all about this concept, what’s an operating system, with real life examples and why your company has established it. You’ll see its advantages and the impact on a Project Manager’s performance.

10. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

This book puts into perspective the reality of the factors and elements contributing to your success as functional managers – it’s one of the top management helping get a reality check on effective project management, by understanding the distractions you face on a daily basis.

In essence, it helps project managers forget all the rules, remind themselves of the human nature and its impact in our work, while re-focusing on interpersonal skills too.

11. Advanced Multi-Project Management: Achieving Outstanding Speed and Results with Predictability by Gerald I. Kendall and Kathleen M. Austin

This is one of the top Project Management books out there, especially when managing multiple projects. It’s the ultimate tool for you to perfect your project management skills.

The authors approach multi-Project Management, which could be the solution to ensure that you succeed in your projects.

When looking for consistency and results in a quick and effective way, you can’t lose the opportunity of learning from this book.

12. Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management by Scott Berkun

Scott Berkun explores the concept of Project Management through new ways of thinking to improve your work method and experience project management differently.

You’ll develop skills that can help you significantly, such as outstanding leadership, creativity, making it to deadlines, and readiness if things don’t work out.

13. Agile Project Management with Scrum by Ken Schwaber

Through exciting case studies, Ken Schwaber demonstrates the impact of scrum in agile Project Management.

Discussing the good and the bad of this concept, the book introduces you to how to adopt agile methodologies in your projects, as well as touching subjects such as coaching agile teams.

Allow yourself to be better by embracing scrum into your journey and team’s work environment.

14. Epiphanized: A Novel on Unifying Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Six Sigma, Second Edition by Bruce Nelson and Bob Sproull

This is one of the best Project Management books as it takes on a fresh approach to the concept of improvement methodology, joining the forces of the theory of constraints with lean and six sigma.

While the lean and six sigma methodologies are opposite in balance, the authors wrote a detailed book on how to take advantage of each of these methods.

Through the usage of each method’s best principles, ultimately, there will be substantial growth in your projects.

15. The Lazy Project Manager: How to be twice as productive and still leave the office early by Peter Taylor

This is not one of your traditional project management books, however, draws attention to the word “focus” and how essential it for every project you may have.

Peter Taylor wanted to demonstrate that a lazy PM can succeed once the mental framework would change, no more, no less.

You’ll get expert tips on improving your project while being a “lazy” PM.

16. The Agile Mind-Set: Making Agile Processes Work by Gil Broza

The Agile Mind-set is one of the best Project Management books for those who find Agile hard to implement in their work method.

The author intends for you to get comfortable with this concept, what it entails, its impact on your way of working, and the project itself.

Invest in Agile Processes and learn how to work, plan and make better time estimations time for a project, whether developing software or being in charge of supply chain management.

17. Project Management Case Studies by Harold Kerzner

This book features case studies that are extremely helpful for you to fully comprehend the role of a Project Manager in a company in the context of a project.

Harold Kerzner also approaches indicators that are crucial to a company, such as risk management, crisis plans, innovation techniques, and many more.

Read our blog and learn how to lead a team effectively.

18. Project Management for Non-Project Managers by Jack Ferraro

The author’s goal is to pass on the knowledge that will be life-changing for every Project Manager or for someone that aspires to be just that. Through his narrative, you’ll get to be inside his mind and learn from the absolute best how to improve your soft and hard skills as a manager.

You’ll also get to explore his step-by-step techniques as well as impressive methods that you can take on.

19. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) by Project Management Institute

According to Jeff Sutherland, there’s almost a magic sense about Scrum in the way it has transformed project methodology.

With a firm belief in this notion, the book demonstrates its concept and what it has done to the extreme growth of productivity and perfection of the management process.

20. Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland

According to Jeff Sutherland, there’s almost a magic sense about Scrum in the way it has transformed project methodology.

With a firm belief in this notion, the book demonstrates its concept and what it has done to the extreme growth of productivity and perfection of the management process.

21. Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams by Terry Schmidt

This book is the perfect answer to the question – “Why has my project failed?”.

Some companies and projects like to stick to traditional values and plans, while experienced managers already adopt newer methodologies.

With that in mind, the authors intend to help companies and projects worldwide by renovating techniques for their managers and teams.

22. Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure by Todd Williams

This complete guide helps you understand new techniques to establish in your work method, thinking ahead at every step.

You’ll be able to improve your manner of tracking your and your team’s progress and decide what’s best to do according to the results.

TIP: Read our blog if you want to how to measure a team’s productivity.

23. Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done by Brett Harned

Ultimately, this book helps you better integrate a Project Manager’s personality traits. As you have already seen, the selection of methods is continuously growing as we speak, but it’s also essential to develop psychological features to succeed.

Brett Harned wants to instruct you on becoming more communicative and present so that you’re ready to take on significant challenges.

24. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by Dave Allen

Dave Allen wants to give you the opportunity of being productive and getting tasks done, but also with the possibility of relaxing ahead.

Productivity and stress shouldn’t hold hands, so this book aims to teach you how to prioritize tasks in your project correctly.

Through this reading, you’ll learn how to delegate, review and plan tasks and/or actions within every given project.

Do you want to increase your productivity? Then you need to know our list of the best productivity books.

25. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling by Harold Kerzner

This book is the ultimate tool to improve your planning, scheduling, and controlling skills as a Project Manager overviewing any project.

In this book, you’ll find many industry case studies that will serve as an example for you to follow to develop your own projects.

Did you know that Velociteach is one of the top online project management courses because it covers the 49 processes in the PMBOK?

26. Guide to Project Management: Getting It Right and Achieving Lasting Benefit by Paul Roberts

Every project aims to implement something better than the last, to surpass what was achieved initially. But the truth is sometimes; those projects end up dying due to a lot of internal and external factors.

Through this Project Management book, you’ll be able to master the art of organization as a Project Manager. The main goal is to get your project to a safe zone and to implement it fully in your company.

27. Brilliant Project Management: What the best Project Manager know, do and say by Stephen Barker and Rob Cole

The stress that you may experience while managing these projects shouldn’t bring you down because projects may work just like you wanted in the first place.

This book teaches you to do just that, ensuring that your project sees the light of day. Delight yourself on new methods and techniques that could change your project’s longevity, and then share with senior management your new results.

28. Project Management Lite: Just Enough to Get the Job Done…Nothing More by Juana Clark Craig

The goal of this book is to teach you everything you need to know to be the best Project Manager.

Invest your time in practical examples, case studies, and new management methods that could be inspiring to improve your work quality.

29. Project Management JumpStart by Kim Heldman

The goal of this book is to teach you everything you need to know to be the best Project Manager.

Invest your time in practical examples, case studies, and new management methods that could be inspiring to improve your work quality.

Conclusion

As you have had the opportunity to scroll through this must-read list of the Project Management books, we’re hoping you already decided which one to start with.

And regardless if you’d like to jump start your career as software development project manager, or dream of becoming one of the renowned alpha project managers, you’ll find a suitable book in this list.

You might be interested in:

The post The Best Project Management Books to Read in 2024 appeared first on Timeular.

The Best Workload Management Tools in 2024

Timeular — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 10:39:40 +0000

In the constantly evolving and demanding environment we nowadays work in, juggling multiple tasks and deadlines can become extremely overwhelming.

Effective workload management is crucial for professionals seeking to optimize productivity and stay on top of their responsibilities. The challenge lies in finding the right tools to assist in this process.

Workload management tools are specifically designed to help individuals and teams organize, prioritize, and streamline their tasks and responsibilities.

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Get a free copy of the eBook and learn top productivity tips for teams and their leaders

These tools play a crucial role in optimizing productivity, minimizing stress, and ensuring that important tasks are completed on time. With a wide range of workload management tools available, it’s essential to carefully consider the options to find the best fit for your needs.

In this article, we will show you the best workload management software that can help you streamline your productivity and conquer your daily tasks efficiently.

What is workload management?

Workload management is the process of organizing, prioritizing, and distributing tasks efficiently within a given time.

It involves:

prioritizing tasks,
allocating resources effectively,
managing time,
promoting collaboration,
tracking progress,
and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

The goal is to optimize productivity, meet deadlines, and achieve the desired outcomes while avoiding overwhelm and burnout.

What are workload management tools?

Workload management tools are platforms designed to assist individuals, teams, and organizations in organizing, tracking, and optimizing their workload and tasks.

These tools provide features and functionalities that facilitate efficient task management, resource allocation, scheduling, collaboration, and progress monitoring.

Workload management tools can range from simple to-do list apps to more complex project management platforms, offering various features such as task tracking, prioritization, time tracking, team communication, automation, and reporting.

How to prioritize work and tasks

If you want to master the art of prioritizing, then you need to read our guide.

The benefits of using team workload management tools in 2024

Team workload management tools play a crucial role in enhancing productivity, collaboration, and overall team performance.

Here are some key reasons highlighting their importance:

Task organization and prioritization

Workload management tools enable teams to centralize and organize tasks in just one place. This allows team members to have a clear overview of their responsibilities, deadlines, and priorities.

It helps prevent tasks from falling through the cracks and ensures that everyone is aligned on what needs to be done.

Resource allocation and work balancing

These tools provide insights into team members’ workloads, making it easier to allocate tasks based on individuals’ availability, skills, and capacity.

By balancing workloads, teams can avoid overburdening certain individuals while ensuring that tasks are distributed fairly and efficiently.

Read also: Find the balance that your team needs by creating an effective schedule for team members.

Collaboration and communication

Team workload management software often includes collaboration features such as task comments, file sharing, and team messaging. These features make communication and collaboration a lot easier, allowing team members to discuss tasks, share the necessary updates, and seek clarifications.

It promotes transparency, reduces miscommunication, and promotes a sense of teamwork.

Progress tracking and accountability

These tools enable teams to track the progress of tasks and projects. Team members can update task statuses, mark completed items, and track time spent.

This promotes accountability and visibility, allowing team leaders and members to monitor progress, identify blockages, and take necessary actions to keep projects on track.

Workflow efficiency and automation

Many workload management apps also work as a task automation tool, allowing teams to streamline repetitive tasks, notifications, and reminders.

By automating routine processes, teams can save time, reduce manual errors, and focus on more important activities. It increases overall workflow productivity and business efficiency.

Performance analysis and insights

Workload management tools often provide essential analytics and reporting features. These insights help teams evaluate their performance, identify areas for improvement, and make quick data-driven decisions.

It allows teams to optimize their work processes and workflows, identify potential bottlenecks, and enhance productivity over time.

Work-life balance and overall well-being

Effective workload management tools promote a healthy work-life balance by providing visibility into individual workloads.

It helps prevent excessive work time, burnout, and stress by enabling teams to distribute tasks more evenly and ensure that no team member is overloaded.

Top best tools for workload management

Timeular

Timeular is the best time tracking app for workload management that brings the power of a time management cube tracker along with user-friendly software.

While Timeular primarily focuses on time tracking, it can be a powerful aid in workload management when used in conjunction with other tools and strategies.

By providing accurate data, visualization, and insights into how time is allocated, Timeular assists in optimizing productivity, prioritizing tasks, and improving overall workload management practices.

How is a time tracking tool like Timeular useful for workload management?

Accurate time tracking helps you understand how much time is being allocated to specific workloads, providing insights into where your time is being utilized effectively or inefficiently.
By tracking your time, you gather valuable data about your work habits and patterns. This data can be analyzed to identify areas of improvement, optimize workflows, and make data-driven decisions about resource allocation and workload prioritization.
Timeular offers visual representations of your time allocation, usually in the form of pie charts or graphs. These visualizations give you a clear overview of how your time is distributed among various tasks or projects and help identify bottlenecks or areas where adjustments can be made to optimize workload management.
Integrations with popular project management and productivity tools allow you to sync your time-tracking data with other systems. These integrations enhance the overall workload management process by streamlining data flow and providing a holistic view of your work across different platforms.
Collaboration features enable team members to track their time, share insights, and coordinate workloads. This promotes transparency, facilitates effective workload distribution, and encourages collaboration within teams.

Lighten your team’s workload by tracking the time assigned to each client, project and activity

Key features

Ease and accurate time tracking: You can easily track the time of your tasks and projects thanks to a user-friendly interface, smart time tracking methods, and the physical Tracker. With Timeular, time tracking takes you no more than 1 minute a day.
Track billable vs. non-billable hours: You can mark each logged activity as billable or non-billable to increase billable hours, invoice your customers accordingly, and get paid fairly.
Automated time tracking: See which apps, docs, and websites you’ve used at which time and what was in your calendar (Apple, Outlook, Google, CalDAV).

Mobile and desktop apps: You get access to Timeular’s mobile and desktop applications so that you can track time from anywhere at any time.
Leave and PTO tracking system: Timeular allows you to effortlessly track all types of leaves and absences, which helps you to create a more balanced workloads.
Work hours tracker: Adopted by over 50,000 users, Timeular is a hassle-free way to precisely monitor work hours that helps to make better time estimations and more insightful time audits.
Fast, detailed, and accurate reporting: You’ll be able to generate detailed and accurate reports that will grant you an overview of the time spent on specific tasks and projects. You can create both individual and team reports and export them to PDF, XLSX, or CSV.
GDPR compliant & Protected employee privacy: Timeular is fully compliant with GDPR regulations, ensuring that user data is protected and privacy rights are respected. Additionally, it has a 24-hour delay for time entries to appear on the manager’s side to prevent micro-management.

	Timeular
Pros	Intuitive and 100% user-friendly time-tracking solution Accurate time tracking Seamless integration with +3,000 apps Physical Tracker Insights & analytics Automatic time reports Automation of workflows GDPR compliant, protects employee privacy
Cons
Price	30-day free trial. Basic plan starts at 6.30€ per month

Trello

Trello is a project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help individuals and teams organize and prioritize tasks in a visual and collaborative way.

Some users and companies use Trello as a time-blocking app.

Key features

Kanban-style boards for task organization
Collaborative features for team projects
Integration with various apps and platforms
Customizable workflows and automation

	Trello
Pros	Intuitive interface Collaborative functionality Extensive integrations
Cons	Limited reporting capabilities Advanced features require a paid plan
Price	Free for basic features Paid plans start at $5/user/month

Asana

Asana is designed to help individuals and teams track and manage their work by providing tools for task management, project planning, and collaboration in a centralized platform.

Key features

Task and project management with multiple views
Collaboration and communication tools
Timeline visualization for project planning
Features of a project cost management software
Automation and integration options

	Asana
Pros	Versatile project management capabilities Intuitive interface Robust integrations
Cons	Steep learning curve for complex projects Advanced features require a paid plan
Price	Free for basic features Paid plans start at 10.99€/user/month

Time tracking in Asana

Get to know the best and the most accurate way to track time in Asana.

Integrate Timeular with your Asana account to track time automatically

Monday.com

Monday.com is one of the best tools for PM because it enables teams to plan, track, and organize projects and tasks in a visual and collaborative manner, providing a centralized hub for team communication and project management.
Key features

Customizable project boards and templates
Collaborative features with real-time updates
Automation and integration options
Reporting and analytics for performance tracking

NOTE: Despite being a good workload management tool, Monday.com has several limitations in time tracking. Get to know the best way to track time on Monday.com.

	Monday.com
Pros	Highly customizable User-friendly interface Extensive automation options
Cons	Higher pricing for advanced features Limited in-app communication capabilities
Price	30-day free trial Starts at 8€/user/month

Todoist

One of the greatest remote team management tools, Todoist helps individuals and teams to organize, prioritize, and track their tasks and projects across multiple platforms by offering features such as reminders, due dates, and collaboration tools.
Key features

Task management with due dates and priorities
Collaboration and shared projects
Integration with various platforms
Goal tracking and productivity insights

	Todoist
Pros	Simple and intuitive Great for individual task management Affordable pricing
Cons	Limited features for complex projects Some advanced features require a paid plan
Price	Free for basic features Paid plans start at 4€/month

Wrike

Also used as a remote employee time tracker, Wrike allows teams to streamline their workflows, track tasks, manage resources, and communicate effectively, providing a comprehensive solution for project planning and execution.

Key features

Project management with task dependencies and timelines
Collaboration and communication features
Workflow automation and customization
Advanced analytics and reporting

TIP: Get to know the best time tracking integration for Wrike.

	Wrike
Pros	Robust project management features Flexible customization options Detailed analytics
Cons	Complex interface for beginners Advanced features require a paid plan
Price	Free for basic features Paid plans start at $9.80/user/month

ClickUp

ClickUp is a good productivity planner that offers a wide range of features for project management, task tracking, collaboration, and communication, allowing teams to centralize their work and streamline their workflows in a customizable and intuitive interface.

Key features

Task and project management with multiple views
Collaboration and communication tools
Automation and integration capabilities
Reporting features

Read: Tracking time in ClickUp

	ClickUp
Pros	Feature-rich platform Customizable workflows Affordable pricing
Cons	Steep learning curve Overwhelming for simple task management
Price	Free for basic features Paid plans start at $5/user/month

Jira

Jira is a powerful project management and issue-tracking software widely used in software development and Agile teams, providing comprehensive tools for planning, tracking, and managing tasks, as well as facilitating team collaboration and workflow automation.

Key features

Agile project management with Scrum and Kanban boards
Issue tracking and workflow customization
Collaboration and communication tools
Integration with development tools

	Jira
Pros	Powerful for software development teams Extensive customization Detailed issue tracking
Cons	Complex for non-technical users Limited reporting capabilities
Price	Free for up to 10 users Paid plans start at $77.50 monthly total

Integrate Timeular with Jira to track your time automatically

Notion

Notion is a versatile all-in-one workspace that combines note-taking, task management, and collaboration tools, allowing individuals and teams to organize their work, documents, and knowledge in a flexible and customizable environment.

Key features

Flexible workspace for notes, tasks, and databases
Collaboration and communication features
Database customization and templates
Integration with various tools

	Notion
Pros	Versatile and customizable Excellent for documentation and personal use Affordable
Cons	Less suited for complex project management Learning curve for advanced features
Price	Less suited for complex project management The learning curve for advanced features

Evernote

Evernote allows users to capture, organize, and synchronize their notes across different devices, providing a convenient platform for storing and accessing information on the go.
Key features

Note-taking and organization with tags and notebooks
Collaboration and sharing features
Integration with various apps and platforms
Web clipping and document scanning

	Evernote
Pros	Powerful note-taking capabilities Extensive integrations User-friendly interface
Cons	Less suited for complex project management Learning curve for advanced features
Price	Free for basic features Paid plans start at 8.33€/month

Slack

Slack is a top group communication app and collaboration platform that enables real-time messaging, file sharing, and integrations with various productivity tools, fostering efficient and organized communication among team members in both small and large organizations.

Key features

Team communication and collaboration platform
Channel-based organization and direct messaging
Integration with numerous tools and services
File sharing and search functionality

	Slack
Pros	Real-time communication Extensive integrations Seamless file sharing
Cons	Primarily focused on communication, limited project management features
Price	Free for basic features Paid plans start at 6.75€/user/month

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform that combines chat, video meetings, file sharing, and integration with other Microsoft products, providing teams with a centralized hub for communication, collaboration, and project management within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Key features

Team collaboration and communication tools
Channel-based organization and direct messaging
Integration with Microsoft 365 apps
Video conferencing and file sharing

	Microsoft Teams
Pros	Integration with Microsoft ecosystem Robust collaboration tools Extensive features
Cons	Microsoft 365 subscription is required for full functionality
Price	Included in Microsoft 365 plans Standalone plans start at $4/user/month

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite):

Google Workspace is a collection of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools, including Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and more.

Google Workspace allows individuals and teams to create, store, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and emails in a seamless and integrated manner.
Key features

Collaboration tools, including Docs, Sheets, and Slides
Real-time editing and commenting
Shared calendars and file storage
Integration with Google services

TIP: If you are a Workspace user, the Google Calendar time tracking integration with Timeular is perfect for you.

	Google Workspace
Pros	Seamless collaboration Familiar Google interface Comprehensive suite of tools Extensive integrations
Cons	Limited project management features Advanced features may require add-ons
Price	Starts at $6/user/month

Small business tools for business growth

Google Workspace is one of the best apps for business growth. Discover more apps to lead your business to success.

Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the greatest team management software that offers features such as task tracking, file sharing, messaging, and scheduling, providing a centralized platform for teams to organize and streamline their projects and communication.

Key features

Project management with to-do lists and message boards
Document and file storage
Communication and collaboration tools
Calendar and scheduling features

	Basecamp
Pros	Simple and straightforward interface Unlimited users Inclusive pricing
Cons	Limited customization options Lacks some advanced project management features
Price	$99/month flat fee for unlimited users

Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a resource management software and a planning tool that allows teams to plan, track, automate, and report on their projects and tasks using spreadsheets, Gantt charts, and other intuitive tools, providing a flexible solution for managing and coordinating work processes.

Key Features

Project and task management with Gantt charts
Collaboration and communication tools
Automation and integration capabilities
Reporting and analytics for performance tracking

	Smartsheet
Pros	Robust project management features Visual Gantt charts Extensive automation options
Cons	Higher pricing compared to other tools Complex for beginners
Price	Paid plans start at 6€/user/month

Free eBook: How to work smart, not hard

Get a free copy of the eBook and learn top productivity tips for teams and their leaders

What are the top features you should look for in a workload management tool?

When selecting a workload management tool, it’s important to consider several key characteristics and aspects to ensure it aligns with your specific needs and requirements. Here is a list of aspects to pay attention to before deciding:

Task management capabilities: Evaluate the tool’s ability to handle task creation, organization, and tracking. Look for features such as task assignment, due dates, priorities, subtasks, and the ability to create task dependencies.
Collaboration and communication: Consider the tool’s features for team collaboration and communication. Look for capabilities such as task commenting, file sharing, team messaging, and real-time collaboration to foster effective teamwork.
User interface and ease of use: A user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation are essential for seamless adoption and efficient use of the tool. Consider the tool’s design, customization options, and overall user experience.
Integration and compatibility: Check whether the tool integrates with other applications and platforms that you frequently use. Integration capabilities enable smooth data exchange and workflow continuity across different tools.
Reporting and analytics: Assess the tool’s ability to provide insights and analytics on task progress, team performance, and workload distribution. Robust reporting features help you track productivity, identify bottlenecks, and make informed decisions.
Customization and flexibility: Look for a tool that allows customization to match your specific workflow and preferences. Flexible features, templates, and customizable workflows enable you to adapt the tool to your team’s needs.
Automation and workflow efficiency: Consider the tool’s automation capabilities to streamline routine tasks and workflows. Features such as task reminders, recurring tasks, and automated notifications can save time and reduce manual effort.
Mobile accessibility: If you require on-the-go access to your workload management tool, ensure it offers a mobile application or a responsive web interface that supports mobile devices. Mobile accessibility allows you to manage tasks and collaborate from anywhere.
Security and data privacy: Evaluate the tool’s security measures to protect your sensitive data. Look for features such as data encryption, access controls, and compliance with industry standards like GDPR.
Scalability and pricing: Consider whether the tool can scale with your team’s growing needs. Assess the pricing structure, including any additional costs for advanced features or team member additions, to ensure it fits within your budget.
Customer support and documentation: Check the availability and quality of customer support provided by the tool’s vendor. Look for resources such as user guides, knowledge bases, and community forums that can help you maximize your tool usage.
Reviews and recommendations: Research and read reviews from other users or trusted sources to gain insights into their experiences with the tool. User feedback can provide valuable information about the tool’s strengths and limitations.

By considering these aspects, you can make an informed decision and choose a workload management tool that best suits your team’s requirements, enhances productivity, and contributes to successful task and project management.

Conclusion

In conclusion, choosing the right workload management tool is vital for optimizing productivity and achieving desired outcomes.

There are workload management software with different purposes, such as task management, communication and collaboration, time tracking, and time management, etc.

Assessing characteristics such as task management, collaboration, and ease of use, among others, will guide you in selecting the most suitable and the best workload management software for your team’s needs.

You might be interested in:

The post The Best Workload Management Tools in 2024 appeared first on Timeular.

The Best Tools to Manage Remote Employees in 2024

Timeular — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 12:37:34 +0000

How to manage remote teams? As organizations continue to embrace remote work as a viable solution, the need for practical remote work tools has become more pronounced than ever.

Looking for the most effortless and accurate time tracking tool for your remote team?

“I am not one that finds joy in tracking my time. Thankfully, I can now simply flip the Timeular Tracker.” – Melissa, Senior Analyst in Health

If you are looking for the ultimate remote workforce management software, you are in the right place!

In this article, we’ll explore a range of cutting-edge software designed to enhance your company’s remote team management, offering insights into how these tools can streamline processes, increase employee engagement, and ensure seamless workdays for your remote workforce.

Best remote team management tools

In the list below, you will find various types of remote team management software that will help you track time, manage projects, and keep your team productive. Hopefully, with the right stack, your remote workforce management

1. Timeular: The most effortless time tracking software for a remote environment

Timeular is the ultimate time tracking tool for teams seeking an effortless and precise solution to monitor billable hours, boost productivity, and generate meticulous client reports. It seamlessly integrates intelligent timekeeping methods into a single platform, allowing you to track time in just a few seconds a day.

With Timeular, your team can easily work more efficiently, applying top time management techniques.

Learn more: Top time management techniques

Effortless and automated time tracking

With Timeular, tracking time becomes a breeze! The software automatically records the time of different tasks and activities based on app usage, visited websites, and scheduled calendar events.

A variety of intelligent time tracking methods cater to the needs of different team members to ensure that each of them will find the most convenient approach.

Read more about Automated time tracking in Timeular.

Empowering remote team

Timeular has been embraced by over 50,000 teams that rediscovered the joy of time tracking. Timeular lets team members track time and customize their time entries with notes and tags, which can be easily shared. Unlimited users can track time with their colleagues using shared folders and create detailed reports.

Read more about how Timeular supports team time tracking.

Budget insights

Timeular equips you with quick insights into project budgets, billable vs. non-billable hours ratio, time allocation, and overtime, giving you the right tools to make swift, informed business decisions. This helps to keep up with resource management, as well as expense management and invoicing.

Track work time, overtime, and all types of leaves

Beyond work hours, Timeular works as an overtime tracker and also as a leave tracker, providing comprehensive control over your remote work schedule.

The Tracker: Your remote companion

At the core of Timeular is the physical Tracker, an 8-sided dice that rests on your desk, fostering a habit of accurate time tracking. This intuitive tool simplifies the process, ensuring that your reports are relevant and precise.

Alternatively, opt for the digital Quicktrack feature, which lets you initiate time tracking with a simple keyboard shortcut.

Track time with a physical Tracker that sits at your desk

Tracking time has never been so easy!

Over 3,000 integrations

You can easily combine Timeular with other remote team tools to automatically track time of tasks and projects assigned to specific customers. Integrate Timeular with your project management tool or expense management software to gather all the features in one place.

Why choose Timeular as your time management tool?

Timeular streamlines time management and team time tracking effortlessly
Save time with automated tracking, requiring only seconds per day
Build a strong time tracking habit with the physical Tracker
Automated reminders to track time
Enjoy seamless compatibility on both desktop and mobile devices
Benefit from over 2,000 integrations with task management tools and other remote work software to streamline your data.
As it’s not an employee monitoring tool, it gets a high employee buy-in.

Turn time tracking into a task so easy that your team will enjoy it

“We are much better at accurately tracking our time, which improves client billing. It also helps our team focus on their work rather than skipping around from one task to another.” – Michele C., Founder

2. Asana – an effortless project management tool

Asana is a collaboration tool offering robust project management features that enhance efficiency and organization. Its user-friendly interface and flexible tools are designed to streamline workflows, making it a favorite among users.

With Asana, teams can easily create tasks, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and track progress. Additional context and details can be added through descriptions, attachments, and subtasks, providing a comprehensive view of each task. Tasks can be visualized on timelines or calendars for better planning.

Asana keeps remote distributed teams connected and informed through notifications, ensuring everyone stays updated on task changes, comments, and updates. Its seamless integration with apps like Slack and Google Drive facilitates smooth information sharing across platforms, catering to teams of all sizes and industries, from startups to enterprises, marketing teams to development teams.

Read about tracking time in Asana.

Why you should use Asana as your team collaboration tool:

Effortless project management: Asana simplifies remote task creation, assignment, due date setting, and progress tracking, streamlining remote team coordination.
Real-time collaboration: Stay connected and informed with instant notifications about task updates, comments, and team member actions, ensuring effective collaboration.
Seamless integration: Integrate Asana with essential remote work apps like Slack and Google Drive to facilitate smooth information exchange and enhance remote productivity.
Versatile for all teams: Regardless of team size or industry, Asana offers tailored solutions to efficiently meet the diverse needs of teams, from startups to enterprises.
Flexible desktop and mobile access: Collaborate seamlessly on both desktop and mobile devices, providing remote teams with flexibility and accessibility.

Integrate Asana with Timeular to track time more effortlessly

3. Trello – the ultimate project and task management tool

Considered one of the best free digital planners, Trello is a valuable tool for remote teams. Its board, list, and card system provides an intuitive way for individuals and teams to organize tasks and projects. This flexibility allows users to create multiple boards for different projects, add lists for workflow stages, and create cards for tasks.

Trello’s Kanban board approach simplifies workflow management, aiding remote employees in staying on top of assignments. Users can create lists within boards to represent different project phases and drag-and-drop cards to indicate task progress.

This user-friendly interface makes Trello accessible, even for distributed teams with minimal training. Trello also integrates with third-party apps, streamlining workflows. While not ideal for complex projects, Trello remains a valuable visual and flexible task management tool.

Why you should use Trello when working remotely:

Visual task and project management: Trello’s boards, lists, and cards provide a highly visual and intuitive way to manage and track tasks, making it easy for teams to stay organized.
Customizable boards: Tailor each board to your specific project, define columns, assign tasks to individuals, and use tags and labels for clear project differentiation.
Collaborative workflow: Trello encourages collaboration among remote teams through its visual organization, allowing for easy monitoring of project development.
Integration capabilities: Seamlessly integrate Trello with other applications, enhancing its functionality and adaptability to your remote work ecosystem.
Flexible pricing: Trello offers a range of pricing options, from free plans to premium and enterprise options, accommodating teams of various sizes and needs in remote work environments.

TIP: Boost productivity with this Trello time tracking integration.

4. Todoist

Todoist is a task management software that aids individuals and remote teams in staying organized and efficient. It simplifies task tracking and project management by allowing users to create, prioritize, and organize tasks and projects, fostering real-time collaboration.

With its synchronization capabilities across devices, Todoist ensures easy access and manages their responsibilities, making it a valuable tool for individuals, small teams, and larger organizations in various industries.

Its intuitive design facilitates quick adoption, task sharing, collaboration, and delegation, although its free plan offers limited integrations and features.

Why you should use Todoist as a management tool:

It helps you get a visual representation of your, and your team’s, to-do list for the day, week, and month;
It tracks your productivity and completed tasks
It helps to manage the workload
You can manage your to-do lists and collaborate on tasks in real-time
User-friendly interface

TIP: Increase employee productivity with this Todoist time-tracking integration.

5. Slack – a team’s favorite communication management tool

Slack is a versatile team chat app and collaboration tool that significantly improves remote work by bringing remote employees together and simplifying their workflows.

Key benefits for distributed teams include real-time messaging, organized channels for specific projects or topics, seamless collaboration through integrations, virtual meetings, and emojis and reactions to add a touch of informality and engagement to communications.

Why you should use Slack when working remotely:

Real-time communication: Slack offers instant messaging and chat, enabling swift and efficient communication and reducing reliance on lengthy email exchanges.
Organized channels: Slack’s channel-based structure allows teams to create dedicated spaces for projects or topics. This organization ensures discussions and files are well-categorized, making it easy for remote workers to find and access relevant information.
Seamless collaboration: Through integrations and file-sharing capabilities, Slack enables seamless collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Remote teams can work together on shared files, edit them in real-time, and provide feedback, promoting a sense of teamwork despite physical distances.
Virtual meetings: Slack supports voice and video calling, making it convenient to hold virtual meetings fostering deeper connections and collaboration.
Emojis and reactions: Emojis and reactions in Slack add a touch of informality and enjoyment to communications, contributing to a more engaging and pleasant work environment.
Get to know the best team communication apps to use in your work.

Read: The best Slack time tracking integration

6. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is one of the most popular management tools for remote teams, known for its seamless communication and collaboration. It unifies teams, enabling efficient communication, file sharing, and teamwork. Its robust virtual meeting capabilities, including video conferencing and real-time document collaboration, foster connection and cooperation among geographically distributed teams.

Teams also offer a chat feature for quick communication and channel organization for focused discussions. Meeting recording simplifies review and sharing, while automated transcription aids note-taking during virtual meetings, making it comprehensive for remote employees.

Why you should use Microsoft Teams as your team management software:

Seamless communication: Microsoft Teams offers efficient communication tools, including chat and video conferencing, enabling remote teams to stay connected and engaged.
Organized collaboration: The platform’s channel organization helps teams categorize discussions and files, ensuring better organization and easy access to relevant information.
Real-time collaboration: With video chats and document sharing, Teams supports real-time project collaboration, fostering teamwork.
Meeting efficiency: Teams’ meeting recording and automated transcription simplify review and sharing, enhancing meeting efficiency and accessibility.
Comprehensive remote tool: Microsoft Teams provides a complete set of features for teams, making it an ideal choice for remote collaboration and communication.

TIP: Improve employee productivity by tracking time in Microsoft Teams.

7. Zoom – one of the most popular remote working tools

Zoom is a popular video conferencing tool offering robust features to enhance team meetings and collaboration. It provides high-quality video and audio conferencing, fostering transparent and connected communication.

Real-time document collaboration and document sharing make remote teamwork efficient, replicating the in-office experience. Zoom also adds fun and professionalism to calls with virtual backgrounds and filters, allowing users to customize their backgrounds for privacy while working from home.

Additionally, Zoom excels in meeting recording, aiding later review or sharing with absent colleagues, with automated meeting transcription for accessibility and note-taking. The built-in chat feature promotes quick and efficient communication. Zoom’s scalability for large group meetings and mobile app support for on-the-go collaboration make it an ideal choice for remote teams seeking flexible communication and collaboration.

Read about how to lead a meeting.

Why you should use Zoom when working remotely:

High-quality video and audio conferencing fosters team connection.
Real-time document collaboration and screen sharing make remote teamwork efficient.
Virtual backgrounds and filters add fun and professionalism to video calling, offering customization and privacy.
Zoom’s meeting recording and transcription features aid review and accessibility.
The built-in chat feature promotes quick and efficient communication.
Scalability for large group meetings, mobile app support, and flexibility make Zoom ideal for remote working.

8. Skype

Skype, a well-known communication tool, is a great ally for remote teams. It offers free voice and video calls, which are particularly handy for collaboration. The ability to make free calls, no matter where your team is located, is a fantastic advantage for remote working. Skype’s free calling feature encourages smooth communication, helping your team members feel connected even when they’re far apart.

What’s more, Skype goes the extra mile with its document-sharing feature, which adds another layer of usefulness for a distributed team. This feature lets you share documents, presentations, and ideas in real time, making discussions and teamwork more productive. Since Skype works on various devices, including smartphones, it ensures that your employees can stay connected and engaged wherever they happen to be. It’s an invaluable tool for international teams looking to communicate and collaborate effectively.

Why you should use Skype for remote team management:

Free voice and video calls foster seamless communication, irrespective of location.
Screen sharing enables real-time sharing of documents and ideas, enhancing collaborative work.
Accessibility on various devices, including smartphones, ensures your team can stay connected and engaged from anywhere.
Remote teams benefit from Skype’s ability to transcend geographical boundaries, promoting global collaboration.
The user-friendly interface makes Skype a straightforward choice for effective remote team communication.

9. Google Drive

Google Drive is a versatile cloud storage and file synchronization service that proves invaluable for remote teams, simplifying collaboration across various locations. It offers an initial 15 GB of free storage and seamlessly integrates with other Google Workspace apps like Docs, Sheets, and Slides, enabling real-time collaboration.

Its adaptability caters to a broad user base, from students to seasoned professionals, all of whom appreciate Google Drive’s reliability. It empowers employees by enabling access to files from any internet-connected device, while its version history feature ensures easy retrieval of previous file versions, adding a safety net to document management.

However, businesses dealing with substantial data may need to invest in additional storage, and Google Drive’s limitations with offline access could be considered a drawback. Nonetheless, it remains a valuable asset for remote teams, facilitating efficient and synchronized work across different locations.

Why you should use Google Drive as a remote work software for cloud storage:

Seamless real-time collaboration: Google Drive supports simultaneous real-time editing and commenting on documents, streamlining teamwork.
Universal access: Its cloud-based nature allows remote workers to access files from anywhere, enhancing flexibility.
Secure sharing of files: With customizable access levels, it’s ideal for sharing sensitive information securely.
Automatic syncing and offline work: Changes sync automatically, and offline access ensures uninterrupted work.
Google Workspace integration: Google Drive smoothly integrates with other Google Workspace apps, improving workflow.

10. One Drive

OneDrive, a part of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, plays a crucial role in facilitating virtual team collaboration and productivity. Much like Google Drive, it provides a secure and accessible cloud-based storage solution for documents and files. However, its seamless integration with Microsoft Teams and Outlook sets it apart as an ideal choice for your virtual team heavily reliant on Microsoft’s suite of productivity tools.

OneDrive’s integration with Microsoft Teams ensures that remote team members can effortlessly access, share, and collaborate on documents within the Teams environment. Whether it’s co-authoring documents in real-time or sharing files directly from OneDrive, this synergy enhances communication and teamwork.

Additionally, OneDrive’s compatibility with Outlook simplifies document sharing through email, allowing it to send large files conveniently. With its intuitive interface and robust security features, OneDrive becomes an indispensable asset for remote teams seeking efficient document management and collaboration within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Why you should use OneDrive when working remotely:

Seamless Microsoft 365 integration: OneDrive’s integration with Microsoft Teams and Outlook streamlines collaboration within the Microsoft ecosystem, making it an excellent choice for teams already using these tools.
Cloud-based storage: With secure and accessible cloud-based storage, each team member can store, access, and share documents from any location, ensuring easy and flexible document management.
Real-time collaboration: OneDrive enables real-time co-authoring and document sharing, enhancing remote team communication and productivity.
Simplified file sharing: You can send files through email via its integration with Outlook, making sending and receiving large files convenient.
Intuitive interface and security: OneDrive offers an intuitive user interface and robust security features, ensuring efficient document management while protecting sensitive data.

11. Dropbox

Dropbox is an invaluable tool for remote teams due to its efficient file-sharing capabilities and seamless synchronization. Whether your team works from their computers or mobile devices, Dropbox provides accessible storage for various file types, from documents to videos and images.

One of its key strengths is the synchronization ability, ensuring that all files on a user’s computer’s Dropbox stay up-to-date, eliminating the hassle of manual transfers.

Moreover, Dropbox’s version history tracking feature enhances collaboration by allowing to monitor document changes over time. This feature ensures transparency and accountability within the team, making it a valuable asset for efficient collaboration.

Why you should use Dropbox as one of your remote work tools:

Seamless file synchronization across devices ensures everyone can access the most up-to-date files.
Accessible storage for various types of documents, promoting efficient collaboration on a wide range of projects.
Version history tracking feature enables transparency and accountability by monitoring document changes over time.
Simplifies document sharing, facilitating quick and efficient collaboration.
Compatible with both desktop and mobile, making it a versatile and accessible tool for remote work.

12. TeamViewer

TeamViewer is an essential tool for remote working, simplifying communication and collaboration by enabling remote control of colleagues’ computers. This functionality facilitates troubleshooting, task collaboration, and remote assistance, promoting seamless teamwork across geographic distances.

TeamViewer streamlines remote work processes with an intuitive interface and a drag-and-drop feature for effortless file sharing. Moreover, its cross-platform compatibility makes it adaptable for Windows, Linux, and Mac devices, enhancing versatility in remote work scenarios.

Why you should use TeamViewer for managing remote teams:

Seamless remote collaboration: TeamViewer simplifies collaboration by allowing team members to connect and share screens instantly.
User-friendly interface: TeamViewer boasts an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it accessible for both tech-savvy and less tech-savvy teams.
Effortless demonstrations: It empowers remote workers to effectively explain or demonstrate tasks, processes, or software on another person’s computer, regardless of their physical location.
Drag-and-drop sharing: The tool offers a convenient drag-and-drop feature that allows users to transfer files between connected computers effortlessly.
Cross-platform compatibility: TeamViewer stands out for its compatibility across multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac devices.

13. Evernote Business – the ultimate employee app for notes

Evernote Business is a powerful tool for virtual teams due to its versatile features and user-friendly interface. This all-in-one platform allows remote team members to seamlessly take notes during virtual meetings, brainstorm ideas, and organize tasks, enhancing workflow efficiency.

It offers an array of additional capabilities, including a task planner and calendar, making it a comprehensive solution for team collaboration and productivity.

Moreover, Evernote Business fosters cooperation, providing a virtual whiteboard for sharing ideas and insights. Its intuitive design ensures remote workers can quickly adapt to the tool, making it a valuable asset for teams looking to streamline communication, enhance collaboration, and stay organized while working from different locations.

Did you know that Evernote is one of the best and most used productivity apps on Mac?

Why you should use Evernote Teams for remote work collaboration:

Comprehensive features: Evernote Teams offers an extensive set of features, including note-taking, task planning, calendaring, and web clipping, providing a one-stop solution for remote team collaboration.
Streamlined collaboration: It encourages seamless cooperation by functioning as a virtual whiteboard for sharing ideas, making it ideal for brainstorming sessions and virtual meetings.
User-friendly interface: Evernote Teams’ intuitive design ensures ease of use, allowing remote team members to adapt to the platform and boost productivity quickly.
Enhanced organization: With Evernote Teams, you can efficiently organize and manage your notes, tasks, and important information, keeping everything in one accessible location.
Improved workflow efficiency: By offering tools for note-taking, task management, and web clipping, Evernote Teams helps teams work more efficiently and stay organized, even when working from different locations.

Conclusion

In 2024, managing remote employees remains a challenge. In this article, we’ve explored a variety of software solutions designed to streamline remote workforce management and enhance the productivity of remote employees.

From Timeular’s innovative time tracking to Asana and Trello’s project management capabilities, these tools cater to diverse remote team needs. Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Skype support your entire team in communication within multiple time zones. Evernote Business and Todoist help to keep track of complete tasks, while Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox simplify document management and sharing.

With the right remote workforce management software, managing remote teams is possible and productive.

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The post The Best Tools to Manage Remote Employees in 2024 appeared first on Timeular.

Project management Archives - Timeular

Project Management Videos: The Best YouTube Channels in 2024

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

The 8 best Project Management video channels on YouTube

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

Other Project management videos you should watch

Conclusion

The 10 Best PMP Certifications of 2024

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

10 best PMP certifications to try in 2024

1. PMI — Project Management Professional (PMP)

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2. PMI — Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

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3. PRINCE2® — 6th Edition Foundation & Practitioner

4. ScrumAlliance — Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

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5. IAPM — Certified Project Manager

6. BVOP — Project Management Certification

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7. Cornell University: Project Management Certificate Program

8. Coursera – Google Project Management Professional Certificate

9. Associate in Project Management (APM)

10. AIGA Project Management Certificate

FAQs

Is PMP certification still relevant in 2024?

What’s the most affordable PMP certification?

Conclusion

Project Managers’ Roles and Responsibilities in 2024

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

What is a Project Manager?

Project Managers’ roles and responsibilities

Free eBook: The Project Manager’s Handbook on Time Tracking

What is the role of a Project Manager?

Planning

Organizing

Monitoring

Leading and motivating

Communicating

What are the responsibilities of a project manager?

Creating a project plan

Time management

Looking for the most effortless and accurate time tracking tool for your team?

Budgeting

Documentation

How to become a Project Manager?

What are key Project Management skills?

Risk management

Communication

Conclusion

FAQ

How to Delegate Tasks Effectively [GUIDE]

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What is task delegation?

Why is delegating work important?

Would you like to track the time spent on delegated tasks?

Why do managers avoid delegating tasks?

How to delegate tasks effectively

1. Identify the tasks

2. Choose the right team member

3. Define the desired outcome

4. Offer support

5. Establish clear communication

6. Leave room for failure

7. Be patient

8. Provide feedback and ask for feedback regularly

9. Recognize and give credit

Most common errors and when you shouldn’t delegate

Not delegating enough

Micromanaging

Not providing clear instructions

Not delegating to the right person

Not providing adequate support

When managers shouldn’t delegate tasks

Conclusion

Workload Management Guide: How To Master Work Planning

Understand your team’s workload

What is workload management?

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