Project management and to do list software, android + gmail
June 8, 2018 11:05 AM Subscribe
I would like recommendations for project management and to-do list software for juggling multiple complex projects. It should have an android app, and integration as an app in the new gmail interface would also be good. What are you using and what do you like about it?
I see that there are multiple to-do list and project management programs and apps out there, but I haven't used one before beyond google keep for small things. What Would Metafilter Do?
I see that there are multiple to-do list and project management programs and apps out there, but I haven't used one before beyond google keep for small things. What Would Metafilter Do?
Maybe Trello? Something like JIRA is going to be massive overkill if it's just for you.
posted by chrisamiller at 11:51 AM on June 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by chrisamiller at 11:51 AM on June 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
I love Todoist for everything. I do work and not-work on it. It has a robust free offering and has a chrome, android, etc. app. Project Managers I know swear by it when they need task-based tracking that's not something as complex as a Kanban board or a Gantt chart.
posted by sleeping bear at 11:54 AM on June 8, 2018
posted by sleeping bear at 11:54 AM on June 8, 2018
If you want something intuitive, I'd go with Trello. They have a lot of webinars for learning the basics and the more advanced aspects, and lots of templates. Asana is great, but I have found that the learning curve frustrated many of my clients.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 12:42 PM on June 8, 2018
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 12:42 PM on June 8, 2018
Response by poster: Mainly for me, although I do manage a team and potentially could use it with them.
posted by medusa at 2:48 PM on June 8, 2018
posted by medusa at 2:48 PM on June 8, 2018
I've asked a similar question here before - see here: https://ask.metafilter.com/307053/Individual-task-tracking-system - you can check that thread and see what people recommended there. I would also search AskMeFi on this, as I also did that earlier -- there's quite a few relevant posts on here. I ultimately settled on Todoist as my personal to-do list task/tracker. I find it really intuitive to use, and the mobile apps work great. So far it's traveled with me through 2 jobs and several side projects, plus I've got a ton of personal life stuff in there too. It's easy to put things in projects, prioritize, schedule reminders for yourself, and more. I haven't used it in a team, but I know you can also assign people to tasks and comment on items, etc.
I've had to use Asana for a work project with other project partners, and it just didn't work for me. I feel like it was more complex than we needed, and with disparate, geographically dispersed partners at different organizations, it just couldn't work well unless every individual had perfect buy-in to commit to learning it and using it well. It didn't help me manage my tasks on that project at all, and I didn't see any of the other external partners using it much, so I don't see how much use it was to the lead partner to have us all on it. But, in my own research, I've found that a lot of people love it, so YMMV.
I've also tried Trello, and while I love the simplicity and straightforwardness of it, I haven't integrated it enough into my work to really be able to speak on it intelligently. But the next time I need that level of project management tool, it's the one I'll go to.
As you'll see from the thread I linked, while not explicitly a project management or to-do list tool, OneNote is extremely flexible with barely a learning curve, so depending on your needs, you may find it useful in your case. After getting all the recommendations here, I started using it for another project, and right now the combination of Todoist and OneNote is what's working for me.
Lastly, I've just discovered Airtable, which, again, is not explicitly a project management tool, but rather a supremely user-friendly database too. I've just started using it to manage outreach for my work projects, and it's amazing. If you look through their website guides and templates, you can see how it can be usefully adapted for project management, so again, depending on your needs, it might be a good solution.
posted by leticia at 3:44 AM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've had to use Asana for a work project with other project partners, and it just didn't work for me. I feel like it was more complex than we needed, and with disparate, geographically dispersed partners at different organizations, it just couldn't work well unless every individual had perfect buy-in to commit to learning it and using it well. It didn't help me manage my tasks on that project at all, and I didn't see any of the other external partners using it much, so I don't see how much use it was to the lead partner to have us all on it. But, in my own research, I've found that a lot of people love it, so YMMV.
I've also tried Trello, and while I love the simplicity and straightforwardness of it, I haven't integrated it enough into my work to really be able to speak on it intelligently. But the next time I need that level of project management tool, it's the one I'll go to.
As you'll see from the thread I linked, while not explicitly a project management or to-do list tool, OneNote is extremely flexible with barely a learning curve, so depending on your needs, you may find it useful in your case. After getting all the recommendations here, I started using it for another project, and right now the combination of Todoist and OneNote is what's working for me.
Lastly, I've just discovered Airtable, which, again, is not explicitly a project management tool, but rather a supremely user-friendly database too. I've just started using it to manage outreach for my work projects, and it's amazing. If you look through their website guides and templates, you can see how it can be usefully adapted for project management, so again, depending on your needs, it might be a good solution.
posted by leticia at 3:44 AM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Basecamp is great for project management, and if you want to use it with a team, it's even better.
posted by skilar at 5:50 PM on June 9, 2018
posted by skilar at 5:50 PM on June 9, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by seemoorglass at 11:08 AM on June 8, 2018 [1 favorite]