9: How to Find the Right Project Management Tool with Cadri Cunningham

09/11/19 • 56 min

How can you find the right project management tool for your business? What should you look for? What questions do you need to ask before investing money and time into a system? How does the way you think impact the tool you need?

In this episode, certified DOO and founder of Simplified Ops Collective Cadri Cunningham and I talk through what a project management system is, why you need one, and how to pick the right one for you. We share our favorite tools and break down the pros and cons of the top four options in the marketplace.

What is a Project Management Tool?

A project management tool helps you create accountability for yourself, oversight for your projects and tasks, and show you the accomplishments you’ve had in your business.

Project management tools differ from note-taking tools. With a note-taking tool like a Google Doc or Evernote, you can’t track, be held accountable, or share tasks with a team.

Why These Tools are Important

These tools allow you to:

Track deadlines
Connect daily actions to your vision
Provide understanding of all the steps in your project
Outline who owns each task

A system needs to work for those who use it. Don’t go with the shiny new tool. Use what works for you or else it’s ineffective.

Questions to Help You Choose the Right Tool for You Questions a DOO Will Ask

Which project management tool do you use?
Do you really use it?
Who keeps up with the information in the tool? In other words, who “owns” the tool?
Why do you use it?

Questions to Ask Yourself

Is your current tool working for you? Do you check it everyday?
If it doesn’t work for you, what features are missing? What is complicated about your current system?
- To-do list people are often linear thinkers.
- Board view people are often visual thinkers.
- If you’re unsure where you land, ask yourself how you plan your child’s birthday party. Whatever process you use in “real life” will be similar to how you think about your business.
Do you prefer a to-do list or board view?
Do you like a calendar view for tasks?
Do you like a simple system or a more involved system?
Is there a specific project management tool designed for your industry? (Interior designers, attorneys, and home-schoolers have their own tools.)
What document storage program tool do you use and does it integrate with your project management tool?
Do you use a lot of processes and workflows? Do you like your tasks to move from left to right (visual thinker) or top to bottom (linear thinker)?
Do you have a lot of repeated tasks? Does the project management tool allow for that?
Do you need a tool with automation features?
What does your budget look like for systems and tools?

Questions to Ask if You Work with a Team

How many people do you need to communicate with?
Do you need to be able to track time within the project management tool?
How much are you doing together within the tool?

Project Management Tool Options

There are a variety of options for project management tools. We share some of our favorites and the pros and cons of various tools.

Natalie and Cadri’s Top Picks

I default to Trello because I’ve used it for so long. However, I’m also interested in Teamwork because of the messaging capability and task management features. It also has a CRM. ClickUp also has my interest because it can show you all your projects at one time.

Cadri prefers Asana because she loves to-do lists and the clean interface. She can also organize by task and it offers a calendar view. She also loves SubCast because of the to-do list capability.

Pros and Cons of the Top Project Management Tools Trello

It’s good when you have just a few projects, and it allows you to track workflows.
It’s visually stimulating, you can get lost if you don’t set it up well, and there’s no calendar piece.

Asana

It offers a clean interface, to-do list and board views, and the free version is perfect for most organizations.
You can only have a limited number of people on your team and you can’t see timelines.

Teamwork

It allows client and team communication.
It can get pricey an...

What is a Project Management Tool?

A project management tool helps you create accountability for yourself, oversight for your projects and tasks, and show you the accomplishments you’ve had in your business.

Project management tools differ from note-taking tools. With a note-taking tool like a Google Doc or Evernote, you can’t track, be held accountable, or share tasks with a team.

Why These Tools are Important

These tools allow you to:

Track deadlines
Connect daily actions to your vision
Provide understanding of all the steps in your project
Outline who owns each task

A system needs to work for those who use it. Don’t go with the shiny new tool. Use what works for you or else it’s ineffective.

Questions to Help You Choose the Right Tool for You Questions a DOO Will Ask

Which project management tool do you use?
Do you really use it?
Who keeps up with the information in the tool? In other words, who “owns” the tool?
Why do you use it?

Questions to Ask Yourself

Is your current tool working for you? Do you check it everyday?
If it doesn’t work for you, what features are missing? What is complicated about your current system?
- To-do list people are often linear thinkers.
- Board view people are often visual thinkers.
- If you’re unsure where you land, ask yourself how you plan your child’s birthday party. Whatever process you use in “real life” will be similar to how you think about your business.
Do you prefer a to-do list or board view?
Do you like a calendar view for tasks?
Do you like a simple system or a more involved system?
Is there a specific project management tool designed for your industry? (Interior designers, attorneys, and home-schoolers have their own tools.)
What document storage program tool do you use and does it integrate with your project management tool?
Do you use a lot of processes and workflows? Do you like your tasks to move from left to right (visual thinker) or top to bottom (linear thinker)?
Do you have a lot of repeated tasks? Does the project management tool allow for that?
Do you need a tool with automation features?
What does your budget look like for systems and tools?

Questions to Ask if You Work with a Team

How many people do you need to communicate with?
Do you need to be able to track time within the project management tool?
How much are you doing together within the tool?

Project Management Tool Options

There are a variety of options for project management tools. We share some of our favorites and the pros and cons of various tools.

Natalie and Cadri’s Top Picks

Cadri prefers Asana because she loves to-do lists and the clean interface. She can also organize by task and it offers a calendar view. She also loves SubCast because of the to-do list capability.

Pros and Cons of the Top Project Management Tools Trello

It’s good when you have just a few projects, and it allows you to track workflows.
It’s visually stimulating, you can get lost if you don’t set it up well, and there’s no calendar piece.

Asana

It offers a clean interface, to-do list and board views, and the free version is perfect for most organizations.
You can only have a limited number of people on your team and you can’t see timelines.

Teamwork

It allows client and team communication.
It can get pricey an...

Previous Episode

8: Three Productivity Hacks You Haven’t Thought Of

Would you like to be more productive in your business and finally get that long to-do list checked off? Or maybe you want shorter work days or less stressful (and more profitable) launches. If that’s you, listen up.

Today we’re talking all about productivity. But this won’t be what you’re expecting... or what you always hear about on this topic.

While productivity doesn’t necessarily fall inside the realm of operations, planning for it does. Yes, plan for productivity... you heard that right.

Productivity doesn’t just happen. It’s always purposeful, which is why a plan is needed. We’re going to talk about a few things you can do to create a productive culture for your business.

Creating a plan for what you’re going to do takes the emotion out of deciding what to do when you sit down to work. Plus, it allows you to get straight to work and to delegate with confidence.

“There are two things that are contagious in business: productivity and success.” This is what I want for you: productivity that leads to a leaner business, shorter workdays, and larger launches.

3 Productivity Hacks: Create an Ideal Week for You

Your ideal week is a visual map of how you will use your time throughout a week. It should include both personal and professional obligations... oh and some white space too.

How are you going to create your ideal week?

Create a new calendar in Google Calendar.
1. List those priorities out
2. Give each priority a color
Know what your priorities are in this season of life.
Add in your top priorities on the calendar first.
Now add in your work time. Optional: theme your days based on what you want to focus on each day of the week.
Get granular and block off times for the key activities in your business. Caveat: don’t fall into the temptation to remove your personal activities from your calendar to make space for work.
Now look at the color distribution on your calendar. Are you leaving enough white space? Because things are going to come up and things will take longer than you expect
Print it out and/or update your scheduling software (i.e. Acuity/Calendly).
Share you calendar with your team!
Use the calendar and recalibrate as needed.

Create Your Business Hub

So what exactly is a Business Hub? Well, it’s a centralized place for all things business. It’s no secret that to run your business efficiently, a hub with important info or commonly requested items is a time saver.

But deeper than that, it allows you to have one place where these items live so when a new team member joins, there's less strain on you to find or spend hours digging.

So what should be included on your Business Hub? There are some basics that I recommend such as your bio, important links, testimonials, branding information, your MVV, and legal docs like website policies or contract agreements.

To make this super easy for you, I’ve created a template for you that you can easily copy and use for yourself! Go to theopsauthority.com/businesshub to grab it for yourself. This is a Trello board, but if you prefer another tool, you can use the Trello template as an example and create your own in your favorite tool.

Create Your SOPs

SOPs stands for Standard Operating Procedures. This acronym gets tossed around a lot in the growing and scaling business world. And that’s for a reason. As a new business, your focus should be, or is likely, on revenue and visibility.

But after you get your footing and shift to scaling, your operations will soon take over. That’s why documenting your processes is absolutely essential. It will help you scale your business by working smarter, not harder.

You might be wondering where to start with SOPs. These are processes, workflows, or systems that you use to get your work done. Most often they involve administrative activities and have several tasks linked together to reach the outcome.

So how do you get started? Here’s a plan:

Determine the 1-3 processes that you’d like to outsource when the time (and finances) allow. Some examples are email management, sending invoices, and content creation.
Record your process. You can write them out in a list format or a video using something like Loom. Don’t let perfectionism slow you down because these will be updated over time.
Put your processes in your Business Hub.

As a recap, you’ll want to carve out some time and complete these three thing...

Next Episode

10: How to Inventory Your Own Productivity

Do you feel sluggish in your day-to-day work life? Are you curious if you use your time wisely? Are you ready to run a more profitable business? Every small business owner has limited time and desires success, so here’s how you can inventory your productivity and maximize your time.

If you feel like you’re in a work slump and you’re unsure how to get out, start by assessing your productivity. Let’s take a look at how you’re using your time. In this episode, you’ll learn how to assess how you spend your work hours and how to make small tweaks so you stay focused on your goals. If you’re ready for tough love and wise strategy, tune in.

Productivity vs. Hustle

Your day should be designed to fit you. There’s no specific formula of how your day “should” look. Remember that your productive day will look different from others. Instead, examine your work-day patterns.

Productivity doesn’t mean every second is filled with a business task.

When every minute is occupied, that’s hustle and it’s not what I want for you. Hustling leads to frustration, burnout, and overwhelm.

There will be times of seasonal hustle, e.g. a launch or putting out a new product. However, hustling should not be your norm because it is unsustainable for long periods of time.

How to Know If You’re Intentionally Productive

If you feel sluggish or unproductive, audit your time. Record what you do in your business for three to five days. How?

Grab this download, created just for you.
Set a timer for 60 minutes.
When the timer goes off, record what you did for the last hour.
Hit repeat on your timer.
Continue this process of recording what you do 60 minutes at a time throughout your workday.

Once you’ve tracked your time for three to five days, ask yourself:

What category does each task belong to, e.g. meeting, creation, scrolling, personal?
What strategic objective does this task fall under?
Where do I see patterns?
When do I attack tasks I put off?
Does where I spend my time match my #1 priority?

Follow These Suggestions to Maximize Your Productivity

As I’ve tracked and tweaked how I spend my time, here are a few best practices to make your workday even more productive:

Think through if you want to batch your days or do you like your current system.
Block off one or two “Get It Done Days” per month. Batch administrative activities.
If you find yourself switching back and forth between communicating with clients through email, Voxer, or calls, stop the madness by creating an expectations document for your clients that outlines when you’re available and through which platform. Another option is to set aside time each day for returning messages.
Set up a time each day to housework, e.g. putting away the dishes or throwing in a load of laundry.
Hire help for housework if you have the revenue to do it.
Train your family to help you with housework.
Spend time documenting what you do every day.

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