by Kevin Pointer Sr.
Whether you’re an old school creative, marketer, writer, freelancer, or digital enthusiast or whether you have recently emerged, casually poking your head out from some kind of weird, anachronistic version of Jurassic Park, you have probably heard of or perhaps even used one or more of today’s cornucopia of project management tools. You know …. yes you know …. for example Asana, Trello, Podia, Wrike and two project management tools that just very recently jumped back onto this gecko’s radar — Monday.com and And Co.
Microsoft project is your go to PM tool you retort and you also will sometimes lean on Excel for good iconoclastic measure depending on what you’re tracking? A bit 80s and 90ish — but hey — if ain’t broke, and it meets your needs, do you! … Me? …. Within my race to a higher place within the digital organizational pantheon I recently was given an interesting assignment which I loved ….. sort of: To pick any project management tool of my choice to track my educational projects, blog posts, and other deliverables throughout my newly begun online Masters in Interactive Media and Communication Program at Quinnipiac University. Interesting to me because now, like a gecko nudged from his nocturnal mound, I had a real excuse to “wander out” and review, test, and consider some organizational tools, that I have generally known about and had curiosity towards for years, but had no real good reason to invest in! My initial Olympian research, testing, and “intuition warm ups” now concluded — my race for a suitable project management tool for such a creative as I was about to begin in earnest! On Your Mark …. Get Set …. Trello! I chose Trello for now. Yes I did! …. Read on to find out why!
My Process/Results
My process was very much non-linear and actually predates this post. It was sometime, one time? in 2020 right? ….. No, no it was at least three or four times in 2020 where “this certain company” had actually did a flying gecko-like landing into my job’s Outlook inbox! And I noticed! Reversing my normal gecko feet trick — they stuck to me! Yet …. what was the company’s name? I vaguely remembered the primary colors of their logo and having some interest in them based on their colorful ads that sorta spoke to me (and still do). Especially when I considered our relatively new team and some of its early on task tracking challenges.
For heaven’s sake Kevin you even entertained a brief call from one of this mysterious company’s reps! Long before you played a bit with their demo you sensed that their project management tool could bring your spreadsheet-intensive, sometimes old-line utility company kicking and screaming into the twenty first century. It was Monday.com! “Yes” it was “them”! As they say on Atlanta Housewives I’ve got the receipts! (e-mail proof!) that it was “them”! … “Them” that I had in fact had previously thought about contacting a few times in 2020 (as if, some how, you were doubting me … lol) ….. So I started my process by googling Monday.com like first or second followed by variously looking at Asana, Podia, Wrike and, mindful of time, back to Trello’s den . Some of my Google search terms, as you might expect, were: “top project management tools”, THEN “top project management tools 2021 for freelancers” <== (Hello Dr. Bloomer—what tool do you use?); THEN “best project management software for creatives 2021” THEN, finally, “best Trello alternatives for 2021”.
Oddly enough Monday.com seemed to be first or second … or at least in the top 5 of some of my initial google results around top project management tools for 2021. Wrike has recently has also caught my eye again based on a recent review that emerged from the bushes. I have therefore specifically looked at Wrike , as well as Asana, Podia, and even Slack to see if these tools have native invoicing capabilities or Kaban-like—ok post it note like functionality.
Trello’s particular visual approach to project management was indicated in a video by one Pattie Belle Hastings, a Quinnipiac University professor of Interactive Media and Design and Program Co-Chair. Oops … I hope that professor Hastings didn’t unduly bias me in favor of Trello! I don’t think so!
The graphic below captures a few of the key Trello project management tool pros and cons that I have researched that were important to me — and perhaps to you.
Trello — The Long & Short of It For This Gecko
The graphic that follows presents the required capture of my initial Trello set up. It has been mostly fun — in fact I think Trello might potentially be useful not only just for managing, tracking, and enhancing my Quinnipiac University communication product deliverables journey, but for other potential family or entrepreneurial endeavors as well …… Time — no my continued experimentation and use of Trello — or not — will tell!
References
BIT.AI Editorial Team (2020, November 23). 10 best free project management software in 2021 Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://blog.bit.ai/best-free-project-management-software/
BIT.AI Editorial Team (2021, January 12) Top trello alternatives teams can use for project management. Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://blog.bit.ai/trello-alternatives/
Perera, R. (2020, July 23). Best project management software for creatives 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://designshack.net/articles/software/project-management-software-for-creatives/
