The Way I Manage My Projects with brightpod
We work in a ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) environment, where we can work wherever we want, whenever we want, as long as we get the work done. But, Doug and I like to go to the office to collaborate a couple of times a week, so every day is different.
I start my morning by checking email and then making lists of things I have to do. I put tasks into Brightpod and delegate. I still have my list on hand though in case I need something for quick reference. Since I'm client-facing, I generally have meetings or calls with clients at the office, then I'll get back to writing strategies, curating blogs, working on infographics, or whatever is currently on my plate with clients. I finish my day by updating my list if new tasks come up, then putting those tasks into Brightpod.
1. Lists at the beginning at end of the day. It is so much easier and you feel so much more organized when you have a list, instead of trying to just get through emails.
2. Managing meeting times. I try not to exceed 4 hours of meetings a day, because then I would never get anything done! Also, I try to push back when a meeting isn't needed - like if something can be accomplished by email.
3. Turn my phone on silent if I want to get stuff done. I don't want to be distracted by my phone. If I'm working on something critical I will turn my phone on silent until I take a break.
We currently have 5 team members and 27 projects, but the number of projects go up and down all the time. We manage everything from content, design to development in Brightpod. Anything that needs to be tasked, we use Brightpod.
We were using Basecamp, but the time management functionality wasn't what we were looking for. We needed a way to see everyone's tasks on the calendar and what was coming up next.
There was a minimal learning curve with Brightpod. After we understood the idea of "pods" we were good to go.
It would definitely be tough. Since I'm managing these timelines, I keep my email cleaned out. But using email for project management is pretty ineffective, so it would make my life a lot harder.
The only thing I would like to see is a way to look at solely one individual's tasks. I like seeing everyone's, but having a list for an individual helps us prioritize that individual's list.
