Must-Know Free and Practical Project Management Tools - Slack/Trello/Todoist

For many PMs, managing multiple projects is inevitable. Learning how to control the timeline of each project is a valuable lesson. When individuals or teams use tools that clearly control project timelines, they can greatly improve team efficiency and reduce a lot of rework. This article will introduce three project timeline management tools that will not only make managing project timelines easier but also help organize tasks very systematically.

Benefits and Advantages of Using Project Management Tools

PMs use project management tools in many situations. When do ordinary people use project management tools? In fact, project management tools are important for everyone. When handling various tasks in life, such as planning a camping trip or organizing a wedding, project management tools help us consider all aspects, provide necessary functions, plan all available resources, and take all stakeholders into account.

In addition to being able to track the progress and schedule of each project, project management tools strengthen the connection between each task and piece of information, making communication more efficient. Unlike files coming from all directions, project management tools offer a fixed project management space to share information and files, enabling team members to communicate and share more conveniently on the platform, resulting in better collaboration.

Tips for Commonly Used Project Management Software

After understanding the many benefits and advantages that project management brings to our lives, let's introduce three commonly used project management software: Slack, Trello, and ToDoist. We'll not only show you how to use these tools but also introduce some must-know advanced features!

Slack: Introduction, Usage Guide, and Advanced Features

Slack is an internal communication tool designed for business use, initially developed to replace email as the main internal communication tool for companies. But why do most companies choose Slack instead of LINE, which is also a well-known communication software?

Using LINE as an internal communication tool has several drawbacks:

1. LINE groups often get flooded with messages, making it hard to catch important updates.
2. To discuss sub-items of a project, new groups have to be created, resulting in too many groups for one project.
3. LINE is typically used for personal life, and mixing it with work groups can be inconvenient.

Slack, as a business communication tool, addresses these issues:

1. Slack allows you to discuss with team members or project personnel through workspaces and channels, sharing necessary documents in these channels.
2. In Slack channels, messages can be threaded, allowing discussions on subtopics without affecting the main conversation, making the layout more organized.
3. Slack is usually dedicated to business, making it clear to separate work from personal life.

An advanced feature of Slack is its ability to integrate with third-party software, including Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, or Trello! Simply go to "Browse Slack->Apps" and choose the app you want to install.

Slack offers both free and paid versions. The main difference is that the free version only retains the last 10,000 messages, so older messages might get lost. The paid version offers workflow automation and enhanced security and data protection.

Slack official website: Slack

Trello: Introduction, Usage Guide, and Advanced Features

Trello is a very practical tool for tracking project progress, featuring a Kanban-style format with boards, lists, and cards. Similar to sticky notes, you can simply drag and drop to move projects to their current status, providing a clear overview of progress (e.g., not started, in progress, completed). It's a very intuitive project management tool.

Trello is suitable for both large projects like concert planning and small projects like organizing orientation activities. For instance, if you're planning an orientation event, you can set up stages such as planning, process, finance, and manpower allocation, with each stage as a separate list, creating a very straightforward workflow.

If you're unsure where to start, Trello offers official templates and user-shared templates. You can apply these templates to begin scheduling your projects. Additionally, Trello can integrate with third-party software like Google Drive, Slack, Jira, or Adobe XD, making it very convenient.

Trello also has an advanced feature called Butler, which automates repetitive actions on the board by detecting them and suggesting automation rules for subsequent tasks. For example, Butler can automatically add a meeting time for next Tuesday, tag it with discussion labels, set a reminder for meeting notes, and move the card to the top of the list.

Trello official website: Trello

ToDoist: Introduction, Usage Guide, and Advanced Features

ToDoist is a simple and convenient task management tool with a hierarchical task system that allows for layered management of large and small projects. It also has a filtering system to focus on specific tasks. A very useful advanced feature of ToDoist is its collection plugin, which helps quickly add emails and web pages to the to-do list for follow-up work.

ToDoist is more suitable for those accustomed to using calendars, as it can integrate with Outlook or Google Calendar, allowing comprehensive viewing of schedules and to-dos, helping you better manage your time and tasks.

ToDoist also has a unique motivational feature called Karma Review, where you earn Karma points by completing tasks. The more Karma points you earn, the more advanced features you unlock, such as task labeling or natural language parsing.

ToDoist official website: ToDoist

Conclusion

Each tool serves different scenarios: Slack is great for team collaboration, Trello is ideal for breaking down tasks beyond the timeline, and ToDoist is perfect for managing tasks and schedules together. Choose the project management software that best fits your needs!