Why You Need A Project Management Tool

Whether you’re just starting your business or have had it for a decade. It’s never too late (or early) to start using a project management tool. The important thing to remember with a project management tool is that it will only be as complicated as you make it. Tools like ClickUp or Asana will grow with you. But there’s no harm in just starting to use them for your daily to-do list. The sooner you start using a project management tool, the sooner you’ll gain confidence in using it. This means the sooner you’ll be able to leverage all the advanced tools, automation, integrations, and workflows these tools have to offer. 

If you already feel overwhelmed, I promise you can do this. Organizing and optimizing your business processes starts here. 

In case you’re not already convinced, here are a few reasons why you should start onboarding a tool ASAP.  

Say goodbye to digging through email threads.

One of the biggest reasons to start using a project management tool is for organizing your processes with clients and team members. Project management systems keep all communication and task management in one streamlined location. No more getting conversations and essential documents lost among endless email threads!

If you’re a solopreneur, a project management system will help you organize communication with clients, collaborate smoothly, and keep timelines and due dates very clear.

Most project management tools allow you to assign tasks to people, with due dates associated, making it very clear how to keep the process moving smoothly. 

If you run a team or even have contractors, staying organized in a project management tool helps collaboration, efficiency, and timeliness.

Project management tools can be great for outlining standard operating procedures (SOPs); sharing project calendars, essential contacts, or important documents; tracking project progress closely; managing team workload, and so much more. 

When you can organize your tasks and subtasks, add assignees and due dates, you’re able to set expectations with your clients and team. This takes the guesswork out of project timelines and deliverables.

Use a project management tool and stop wasting time planning your next steps.

If you’re still writing your to-do list on paper every day, this one’s for you to hear. Your daily operations deserve better – and so do you! 

Whether it’s getting reminders to do your monthly expenses, organizing your step-by-step process for projects, or outlining your quarterly goals through an action plan, a project management tool will optimize the full process and help you make sure things don’t fall through the cracks. Workflows, dependencies, due dates, and other elements of project management tools take the guesswork out of what to do next. Eliminate decision-making time and save you the mental space we all need as business owners! 

There comes the point in every business owner’s journey when you think I need to be more organized.

We’ve helped so many business owners start leveraging a project management tool (and using it correctly for their business needs). We know your stress will lower, you’ll save time, and you’ll finally have the mental capacity to do more of what brings you joy. 

Automate where it makes sense 

Simple automation, such as reminders of due dates, or notifications of dependencies in timelines, helps keep projects on track. You can receive automated messages when clients or teammates complete steps in the project, automatically send messages to Slack when you complete a task, organize your to-do list by urgency, and oh so much more.

We won’t get too deep into automation in this blog, but later I’ll talk more about why it’s important to know when not to automate something. Automation can increase productivity and decrease error risk, but it can also take the human element out of critical processes — more on this in another post!

Where to start using a project management tool:

Some of my favorite project management tools we recommend to small business owners are Monday.com, Asana, and ClickUp. The reason we recommend these three the most is that they can grow with your business. Each offers a free option! You can jump right in and begin getting comfortable with the platform before fully committing to it for your business and team. Since these tools have many foundational and advanced capabilities, it can be overwhelming when you first start using them. Just start with simple list-making, watch tutorials online, and let us know if you have any questions!

In case you have questions on how to begin to make the shift into using a PM tool send me a message. The consulting services we offer are an excellent fit for business owners who need a little guidance to get started. If you’re ready for support with building out your project management system, then our systems development services would be great for you!