Who’s managing these projects anyway?
I have never been the best at project management. In jobs where I had to be Superwoman, project management was like kryptonite. Maybe it’s the Sagittarius and adventurer in me, but I love “winging” it. Whether it’s a vacation or a story I am crafting, I often find myself avoiding the planning stage and “full-sending” it into the deep end. I understand that this is reckless and usually leads to sleepless nights where I stress about work, but it’s something that I have been navigating for years. As I’ve climbed the ladder into a leadership role in my career, I do find myself getting better at managing my projects. Now that I am in graduate school, and my workload has doubled, one thing has become abundantly clear:
I MUST BECOME A MORE EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGER
Every successful leader knows how to properly manage projects. According to Project Management Institute, there are key aspects in project management. They are as followed:
- Define project scope
- Identify deliverables
- Manage risks
- Effectively communicate across teams
These key aspects are what take an idea and turn it into a product or deliverable. They also represent all the attributes of an effective leader. At work, I spend a lot of time taking ideas and turning them into videos for our audience to consume. At school, I have to shape my ideas into words and thoughts. The more organized I am, the easier the work becomes. Easier said than done sometimes, right? Well, if you’re like me, I am eager to tell you that there is hope. There are tools that help people like us succeed in project management. This past week, I discovered Trello.
Trello is an online project management tool that uses a kanban system to help people organize ideas into boards and lists. For the longest time my to-do lists have been in my head or scattered across multiple calendars. It’s easy for me to double-book or even forget certain events. With Trello, I have a clear visualization of everything I need to get done in an organized way. I can create multiple boards for different projects and set due dates for specific agenda items. Even though I just started using this tool, I can already see an improvement in the way I tackle my work. I noticed that I stress a lot less when I can visualize all the due dates in one singular space. The work becomes less daunting and more achievable.
So, if you’re like me and terrified of starting projects, give Trello a try! Or any of the other project management tools out there. I will leave you with a list of other web-based tools so you too can go forth and bring your big ideas to life without “full-sending” yourself into the deep end unprepared:
