Your All-In-One Web Based Project Management Tool

It’s mid-February already? How did this happen!? For many, by this time in the new year, New Year’s Resolutions have already lost most of their steam. Now (and often!) is a good time to review your goals for the new year, track progress and refresh your sense of ambition. New Year’s Resolutions are often hard to keep, but it wouldn’t be as sweet of a victory if you didn’t have to work hard to get there!

Just like successful project management, achieving your goals requires organization, realistic expectations and a positive attitude. Here are a few tips on how to keep your New Year’s Resolutions going all year long:

Be realistic. While being ambitious can be a good thing, setting the bar too high is a resolution killer. For example, instead of eliminating your favorite not-so-healthy food altogether, resolve to eat it less often. Have a realistic view of yourself and your abilities and go from there. If you strive for a goal that is truly attainable, it will be!

Make an announcement. Telling supportive friends and family members about your resolutions will make it official. Not only this, but friends and family can help you stay on track. You can even find someone you know who shares your New Year’s resolution and work to motivate each other.

Make a Plan. Instead of saying you’d like to lose a certain amount of weight by the end of the year, make smaller monthly goals. Decide how you will deal with those days when you just don’t want to go to the gym. Take one step at a time and think of ways to stay encouraged, such as having a set list of reminders of why you have this resolution in place.

Track your progress. Even small successes towards your goal should be accounted for. Make short term goals and keep track of them using an online project management tool, or even a diary. Staying on track and seeing your progress will keep you motivated.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. Keeping up with resolutions is challenging, and there will be the occasional slip. Make an effort not to dwell on mistakes and don’t criticize yourself too much over them. Even if you do fall off the wagon, it’s never too late to start achieving your goals.

It takes commitment to turn a new year’s resolution into a habit. Keep with it, and eventually your resolutions will become positive life changes that are just another part of your wonderful personality!

It’s almost a new year and it’s time to make some positive changes in your life! You’ve studied and evaluated your personal and business methods this year, and you have recognized your failures and successes. Most likely, one of your new years resolutions is to be more organized. But how to go about it? And how to really make it stick?

The secret to actually keeping your new year’s resolutions is to make it simple and easy. Yes, this is possible. Here are 7 surefire ways to get -and stay- organized this year:

1. Use an online project management tool to keep your business’ tasks and projects organized. Staying on track with who is doing what and keeping up with deadlines is essential to getting and staying organized at work. PM tools like SantexQ are easy to use and can give you the visibility you need. Plus, everything is securely saved in your online account so you don’t have to worry about losing access to any information.

2. Commit to your decisions.

3. Clean up clutter. Try to avoid stacks of paper (or anything) in your work spaces. Only keep the things you use frequently close by and store everything - make sure it’s in clearly labeled place so you can easily find it if need there be. The secret to easy and effective clean up/storage is to put things in the proper place right away instead of waiting to organize things after they’ve been sitting for a while and you’ve forgotten what you need them for.

4. Similar to #3, evaluate every document that comes your way - do i need this now? where does it need to go? How often will i need it? etc. For work related information, you can often input data (passwords, client information, project information, due dates, etc.) into your online project management tool. This way you can post the data and minimize paper clutter. The idea is to get rid of anything you don’t need so you don’t end up with a big mess. Ask yourself,  “what’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t keep this piece of paper?” then decide whether or not you can throw it away.

5. Avoid writing things on scraps of paper or post-it notes. If you do, write or type it into an appropriate, easy to access place (such as your personal calender or organizational tool) right away.

6. Prioritize. Determine what you need to focus and try not to get sidetracked with other little things along the way. By going through your to-do list(s) in this way, you can actually get things done instead of getting caught in a web of unfinished tasks.

7. Keep business and personal stuff separate.

If you keep up with these simple rules you’re bound to see a difference. By staying organized you can avoid stress and have a little inner peace. You don’t even have to wait until the new year to start doing these things! Start now and these tips will become habits very soon. Project management will be a breeze!

The interesting thing about project management is that it’s basic principles apply to almost any project. Whether you’re talking about construction, web design, fashion or even your personal life, project management skills can be used to get organized and, ultimately, better accomplish your goals. Wait - did we say project management in your personal life? Yes. And why not?

The holidays can be a very stressful time with buying gifts, planning dinners and entertaining. A lot of tasks need to be done and you need to keep track of everything and everyone as efficiently as possible. Otherwise, you end up with a big headache. If you apply the basic principles of business project management, you’d be surprised how much easier everything will be. Here is a quick guide on how to manage your holidays:

Assign Tasks. Working together with your family or circle of friends to get everything done is a great way to bond. For example, If you’re cooking, give everyone a dish that they are in charge of. Have them find a recipe, make a grocery list, and make them the executive chef on their one dish. You can even hang a big task checklist poster in the kitchen and check things off as you cook. It feels really good to check things off your list! If you like doing things yourself, definitely create a list of tasks (such as list of who you want to buy gifts for, or a list of decoration tasks) and check them off as you accomplish things.

Manage Your Time. Create time estimates for every task or project and try hard to keep within those restraints. Allot a certain amount of time for gift shopping, grocery shopping and schedule your cooking for big meals.  If you have a set amount of time to do something, you will most likely work harder to accomplish your tasks and make much better use of your time. However, the holidays are about enjoying your time together, so if you’ve planned a fun or traditional activity with your family or friends, don’t limit yourself!

Mange Your Clients. Okay, what we really mean is remember that the holidays are about coming together and making happy memories. This time of year can be quite busy, but take a break from all of your holiday rushing around to spend time with your loved ones. They’re the reason you’re doing all of this! If you keep organized you will have the time to take a breath and enjoy all the hard work you’ve put in.

If you’re a tech savvy family (or maybe you’re planning a big Holiday extravaganza at work?) you could use our free online project management tool to organize and assign your tasks and projects. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with how the tool works, plus, it’s absolutely free to use.

Sign up is quick and easy, click here to get started!

To learn more about SantexQ’s online project management tool, visit our website at www.SantexQ.com.

When people come together to work on accomplishing one goal, conflict is bound to happen. We’ve all had different life experiences and have developed different skills that have made us into the people we are today. As a result, we all do things just a little differently. So how are we going to find one way cohesive way of accomplishing the same goal if we all have different work methods? Enter the project manager.

But is formal project management really necessary? A skillful and responsible team may be able to complete a project without a specific project manager directing the process. If a group communicates effectively, is honest and open about their contributions, respectful of various viewpoints and has an easy way to organize their tasks, then success is sure to come.

However, projects without formal project management won’t always work. Larger groups, for example, increase the chance of conflict and make it difficult to communicate effectively. Project managers are usually necessary in the following situations:

• If a group/company needs, or can greatly benefit, from overall assessment of the project.
• If there are multiple business functions impacted by project activities.
• If the project results in a major process change in one or more areas of the business.
• If the completion date is absolutely critical.
• If a large project team works over long distances.

Although formal project management is not absolutely necessary, some form of project management is typically a good idea. Modern projects are often complex and go through many changes and obstacles, which calls for methods that can effectively meet these challenges.

Visit www.santexq.com for more information on our online project management tool.

Many top 10 lists are circulating around the web on why projects fail and one of the top reasons seems to be lack of communication. This is a very logical conclusion. In fact, lack of communication is probably the culprit in most problems involving human interaction. Without adequate communication you are not really interacting, you are just talking to yourself. You can’t manage projects if you’re just talking to yourself all the time. Lucky for you, better communication can be achieved through online project management tools like SantexQ. 

This may seem like an awful lot of plain old common sense, but good communication is a key element of effective project management that is often overlooked. It’s so basic that we forget to focus on it. Take a look at how you communicate with your team members and how they communicate with each other. Is it effective? Are people getting the information they need in order to carry out thier tasks? It might be worth reviewing!

An important benefit of using an online project management tool to manage your projects is the ability to communicate with many people at the same time, and often. By using an online tool you can update others and share information quickly and easily. It may not be the complete answer, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. 

While you get your online project management situation in order, we’ll send you positive communication vibes! Happy projects to you!

Many people wonder if online project management is really more effective than non web-based management. The short answer is that, yes, it’s very effective. It’s also essential. It could easily be said that the effectiveness of online project management and online project management tools depends on the user, but this is the age of the Internet. Since so many businesses use the Web to communicate, you’d be far behind if you didn’t follow suit. We’re all busy and the miracle of email alone has changed the way we conduct business.

Not only this, but online project management tools keep things much more organized. All the necessary information is saved in an easy to access location. You just have to click a few buttons to get the data you need, document progress and keep track of anything involved with your project. Project management is about working with others and sharing information, and that is what the online world is all about. It’s really a no-brainer. If you’re still wondering if online project management is the way to go, just ask yourself this question - do you want to effectively communicate with your team members, business partners and clients, or not?

Once you’ve established that online project management is a necessary component in today’s competitive business world, then you have to get into choosing online project management software (have you considered SantexQ yet?)…but that’s another blog post.

Well, that’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed the Project Management Corner, hope to see you again soon!

Project management is all about organization, planning and processes. While a project needs to be carefully planned, project management itself can also benefit from a defined plan.  In general, effective project management involves four phases - Initiation, Planning and Design, Execution, Closing.

Monitoring and Controlling can be considered a 5th phase, and it occurs during Execution and continues until Closing.

Even if you’ve never heard of these phases, you’re probably already using them in one way or another. It’s pretty much common sense. However, the phases are important to note because if you purposefully go through them, it can help you finish your projects quickly and better achieve your initial expectations.

Initiation
Initiation involves defining the project (its purpose and its ultimate goal) and introducing it to those involved (the powers that be!). This phase also includes creating and informing the project team.

Planning and Design
Planning and Design involves determining the necessary resources, creating a budget or financial plan, creating and assigning tasks, addressing potential risks and communicating with the client or customer. The more detailed and organized the plan, the more likely your project team will be able to follow and execute the defined objectives. Using an online project management tool is an excellent way to create and assign tasks.

Execution
The fun part - actually doing the project! The project team completes all their tasks according to the parameters set up in the Planning and Design phase. Along the way, everything must be monitored and controlled. Monitoring includes managing time, costs, quality of work and whether changes need to be made. If changes do need to be made, or if a certain aspect is not working, the project can return to the planning phase to resolve these types of issues. Online project management tools can also be used in the execution phase to record hours worked and to monitor time spent.

Closing
If all expectations and goals are met, the project can move to the Closing phase. In this phase, the final product is delivered to the intended parties, all contracts and relationships with external resources are concluded and billing invoices are sent.  Afterwards, the project’s process and outcome is fully evaluated. The information gleaned from this evaluation can be used to plan and execute future projects.

The project management phases are simple, but extremely helpful. They can be further enhanced by using an online project management tool to help organize project plans and task tracking.  Just by identifying these phases and shaping your project process around them, you will achieve better results. The phases are pretty general and can easily be tailored to your business or specific project.

On behalf of SantexQ, I would like to wish you some very happy and succesful projects!

If you thought the SantexQ blog was only going to be about project management software, prepare to be shocked and amazed: it’s not! Project management is more than just clicking away on your SantexQ dashboard, so we have decided to include to a few articles on helpful project management tips. For our first PM tips blog, we’ll be discussing effective project management. Ready, set, go!

Project managers. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em.

Maybe you just hate ‘em. No one likes being told what to do, and that’s basically what a project manager does. So, if you want to be a good project manager, all you have to know is how to tell people what to do, but make them feel like you’re not telling them what to do, and get amazing results with the least amount of friction. Piece of cake, right? Right.

To help you along the way, we have compiled a list of ways to become a more effective and, dare we say, amicable project manager. Effective project management may be a simple concept – be organized, be a good communicator, etc. – but there is more intricacy to each of these key concepts.

Avoid micromanagement

This seems like a no-brainer but, as a project manager, it can be difficult to not be informed of every detail. Give your employees some credit. In most cases, they know how to do their job, and checking in on them every time they blink will actually be less productive since they are constantly annoyed or worried that you’re there, watching…waiting…

Communicate effectively with employees

You don’t want to micromanage, but you do want to keep an open flow of communication between you and your employees. Have your casual weekly status update meetings, encourage people to come to you with questions and concerns and do your best to make your team members feel comfortable around you. If you are polite and respectful to your employees, they will respect you in return, which will facilitate a positive working relationship. Note that being polite and respectful doesn’t mean being a pushover.

Engage in team building

Reward achievements, provide feedback, recognize strengths and provide challenges. If your team members feel like their hard work makes a difference, they will be more likely to continue working hard.

Understand the roles of your team members

This means more than just knowing their job title and the bullet point list of their duties. If you know the basics about their area of expertise, you can easily discuss the project with them and better solve problems.

Manage customer expectations

Open communication with your customers and clients is a big part of effective project management. Make sure you know exactly what your client envisions, and make sure your client knows exactly what you can and cannot do with their project. Be realistic about it.

A few other points of advice for the aspiring star project manager:

• Set priorities

• Have a positive attitude

• Be confident in your managing skills

• Be honest

And last but not least, use an online project management tool, such as – we can’t pass up this opportunity – SantexQ! Seriously though, it is near impossible to deny that project management software helps you stay organized. With collaboration software, not only is everyone better informed about the projects they are working on, but you (the uber effective project manager) can see, in words, what is being done, when and by whom – all without having to pester anyone or keep a ton of documents on file. In any case, The Q is free project management software, so try it out and see what it can do for yourself.

Sign up at www.santexq.com, then feel free to come back to The Q blog and give us some feedback. We welcome your comments and continually strive to make SantexQ the best online project management tool out there.