Project Management or Time Management?

Nearly 10 years ago, my time working for a website provider came to an abrupt end.

During my eight-year tenure with the company, I walked car dealers through the process of brainstorming a website and taking it live.

Behind the scenes, I worked with various divisions to make sure the pieces came together. In essence, I was a project manager.

But I did not have fancy software to setup tasks automatically, like project managers have today. Instead, I had a checklist – a physical checklist – that included every step.

Today, Project Management software comes in many shapes and sizes, and at various different prices.

This week, I looked at three different software packages that were recommended by my professor, in search for a suite that I could use to manage my courses.

The three suites I looked at were Asana, Podio and Trello.

All three had their advantages, but Trello worked better for me than the others.

In Trello, I was able to setup the four remaining course modules at the top level.

Below each module, I broke out everything that was due for that week.

For module four, I started with Week Four Videos because the videos in each module introduce the content.

Inside the Week Four Videos, linked each video so that I could click on them.

After the videos, I added another section called Zoom for the weekly video conference, which was followed by Week Four Readings.

In the readings section, I added a checklist that included the Deep Work assignment, Module Four readings and one additional reading. Each item was checked off when it was completed so that I could keep track of where I was at.

In addition to the readings, I added sections under Module Four for blogs and the project.

This week, we were required to write two blogs, so a checklist was added under the blog section.

Modules 5, 6 and 7 followed a similar format.

While using project management software like Trello can be useful for managing projects in a business environment, or even for school, using the program to keep track of school assignments could be very helpful.

Oddly enough, the timing of being introduced to Trello could not be any more ironic.

In fact, during Week 3, I ordered a refill for my Franklin Planner to help organize my time between work, school and personal life.

The planner that I ordered is considered a page-a-day planner because each day gets its own page.

On the left hand side of each page is a section for prioritized tasks, and to the left of the tasks are two columns – one to prioritize the tasks and the other to mark them as completed, forwarded, deleted, or in process.

Under tasks is a section called Daily Notes and above that to the right is an appointment schedule.

The feature I like best about the prioritized daily task section is that it has my tasks right in front of me at all times, as long as I have my book. I write down each task that I do not complete by the end of the day on the next page.

Call me “old school,” but I believe manual entry is a solid reminder of what needs to be done and when.

I like the idea of being able to setup the course in the project management software, but issues may arise later because it is not always in front of me.

For now, I will just try to use both methods, because it cannot hurt to have as many reminders of due dates as possible – or at least until I get my bearings.