Popular Project Management Applications to boost your productivity

Planning in advance and having a road-map to navigate against is key to successfully achieving your goals. Project Management is the process that lists all tasks necessary to achieve a larger goal or complete a project. The Project Management process allows you to keep track of your progress against timelines while managing constraints or any obstacles which may arise. By measuring yourself against your project plan, and continually recalibrating, you are able to increase your productivity. We all want to work smarter, and get the most out of our time, whether in our personal endeavors or in our business teams! Here are some of the most popular Project Management applications to keep you or your team accountable and to achieve your goals.

Trello

Trello is one of the most popular Project Management applications in use today. The platform is intuitive, fast, easy to use and great to keep track of workflow. Information is organized in a visually appealing bulletin board format, which is far easier to digest than a spreadsheet. It uses the Kanban boards system to track a task through various stages. Each task (or card) can be moved between  “To do, “Doing” and “Done” status. Tasks can be assigned to different team members, can be color-coded and files can also be attached (up to 10MB in the free version). Comments are recorded with date stamps so you can keep track of all previous communications relating to the task.
The great news is that you can use Trello for free forever. The free plan is very comprehensive. But if you want to upgrade it will cost you $9.99 for Business Class. With this, you have unlimited Power Ups (such as integrations with Google Drive, MailChimp, Slack, Dropbox or Salesforce), can attach files up to 250MB, as well as other additional features.

Asana

Asana is another popular Project Management application. It has a slick looking interface and sorts tasks into tabs for “Today,” “Upcoming,” and “Later,”. You can add sub-tasks under each parent task, and easily drill down for detailed information such as the due date and commentary. You can also add milestones relating to each task. Additionally, you are able to share your to-do lists with other team members. Asana has the added functionality of switching between views for instance from the to-do list view, to Kanban board view or to the calendar view. The timeline feature helps you to keep your work on track as unforeseen changes crop up! Asana makes use of color-coded calendars, project templates, and Gantt charts.
There is a free version of Asana for small teams. Asana Premium costs $9.99 per user per month and has advanced features such as advanced search and reporting, custom fields and premium content. There is also a Business and Enterprise version available for larger organizations

Wrike

Wrike is a leading work management system to enable collaboration, streamline workflow and simplify planning. Work can be organized via campaigns, projects, office departments, or any other criteria. The free version is for teams of up to 5 users. It includes file sharing and basic integrations, for example with Google Drive and Dropbox. Tasks are viewed in spreadsheet view and you receive 2GB of storage with the free version. The Professional version is best for teams of up to 15 users and costs $9.80 per user per month. This version includes full project planning and collaboration capabilities. For instance, subtask’s, advanced integrations, Gantt charts, shareable dashboards, and unlimited collaborators. You receive 5GB of storage on the Professional version. Business, Marketing, and Enterprise versions are also available for larger teams.

Basecamp

Basecamp is a widely used Project Management system, ideal for teams working across locations. It aims to increase productivity and collaboration across teams. Each project consists of tasks and sub-tasks which can be assigned to various team members. The system allows for each team member to see how their contribution impacts the larger project plan. Team members can comment on the tasks and start discussion threads. Features in Basecamp include to-do lists, file sharing, notifications, message boards, group chat, check-in questions, sharing with clients, daily digest emailed to you and search. It costs $99 a month for unlimited projects and tasks and has 500GB of file storage. Basecamp offers a free trial period of 30 days.

You can’t go wrong when using any of the above-mentioned applications to organize your task list and easily manage your projects. All of the above will help you achieve your goals and projects more efficiently. All (except Basecamp) have a free plan you can test before you commit long term. When choosing a Project Management system, it may simply boil down to your personal preference and which interface visually appeals to you more. But one thing is certain, your productivity is sure to be boosted when you start using a Project Management application! Which Project Management system do you prefer?