Tips for staying organized and managing time on multiple projects?

Paper_Chase

Paper_Chase

brb gym
Apr 23, 2009
1,504
21
0
Vancouver, Canada
Hey guys,

I seem to constantly have multiple projects in different niches/verticals on the go. The problem I have is staying organized with each one and figuring out how to divide my time up.

Are there any offline or online tools you guys use to stay organized? I've read that I should divide my day into 1.5 hour chunks and focus on one thing at a time.

What do you guys find works best?
 


I've found that none of the bullshit methods that I read online work. No task manager, whiteboard, reminder list, etc helps me manage my time better.

The only one I like is Pomodoro's method because it makes me feel like I'm wasting too much time when I'm forced to take breaks so I end up working more efficiently because I'm worried that I won't have much time. I haven't used that in awhile though.
 
You don't need any online tool/organizer so stay organized.

I recommend you just make a list with pen and paper withe the tasks you would like to do that day and then write them in the order of importance or time frame you have for them. Then just complete the tasks.

Don't time yourself, doing this only causes pressure and ultimately bad results.
 
Similar to jhoffy, I haven't been able to buy into any online task managers any longer than the initial honey moon period. Bringing things back to basics has given me the most consistency.

I set goals Eat That Frog style on pen and paper, then pin them to my bulletin board. Each day, at whatever time I've decided to stop working, I'll write down my tasks for tomorrow with pen and paper into a notebook. Each page fits 2-3 days. My most productive days also include the Pomodoro method.
 
I use Jiffy on my phone (Android) for time tracking but I often forget to use it. Occasionally Nag (its just a basic timer/alarm on Mac) for the pomodoro technique if at risk of getting burnt out. I use Trello to keep tasks nice and visual, but it is essential to create a specific to-do list everyday to keep on track. Just spending 2 minutes at the beginning of the day or night before to set out tasks and timeframe is the most important bit and obviously that can be listed on paper or anywhere. Whenever I forget to do that my day feels a mess and unproductive but when I do it I feel organised and it seems to free up time
 
I get overwhelmed looking at a long list of things that need to be completed. But I get stressed out that I will forget what needs to be done if I don't write it down.
 
Paper_Chase said:
Anyone successfully use an online tool like Basecamp to keep on top of multiple projects?
Click to expand...

I've used Basecamp and I can see how it'd be better for a bigger business, but I think Trello is much nicer. Either way you might want to invest in Harvest too for time tracking too.

I lose my shit if it's not organized in something now.

Edit: It's also nice to point out that you can look over the month and see what was taking up the most time and find ways to lean down.
 
There is an upper bound to how much work we can do before it all falls apart or we become suicidal.

I have tried to simplify everything and do less of the repetitive, low value, bullshit stuff.
 
I drove myself off a cliff, and a big part of the reason was my poor time management.

I'm still struggling from time to time, but it's a hell of a lot better since a few months back.

To be honest with you, I've tried Basecamp, Mavenlink, ApolloHQ, and a few others. One would have a feature that the other wouldn't. I rationalized that it was the software, but honestly, it was me.

Microsoft Excel is fucking amazing. You don't need anything else. Just a bunch of rows and columns, and an idea of what items you care to track.

I've prettied up my own templates just to make them easier on the eyes (the pure white background kills me), but other than that, I love it. A few macros, and I am insta-notified of due dates coming up.

All ya need.
 
Yes, I use basecamp for all of my client projects. I even throw my personal projects in there.

I sort each section by client, then within each client I open documents for things like "links, social, logins, etc." Then I upload relevant media such as logos or documents such as press releases etc.

basecamp has literally saved my life.
 
boatBurner said:
Microsoft Excel is fucking amazing. You don't need anything else. .
Click to expand...


Also I do agree with this to a point, and did this for a while.

I got lost when I moved into an office and started working from home and the office. Add in traveling and I always had to remember to upload to FTP or whatever cloud. Also Excel cannot manage files such as logos, documents, and media.

So if you are looking for "information management" than Excel will do just fine. If you need to manage more than just text, I highly recommend a project management solution such as Basecamp.
 
I too tried Basecamp and a few others but nothing stuck. I found being accountable to other people is what keeps me on track. If one of my employees is waiting on me to finish a task so that they can proceed with their part then I am focused on getting it done on time, don't want to pay them to dick off.

Same goes for my clients, if I know I've promised them something on a certain day then I better move my ass. Really they are self imposed deadlines though, in theory they have no idea how long things take so I set the day for myself.

My best tip is to know yourself. If you know you are easily distracted surfing and goofing off then block those sites when you need to get shit done.

Do you work alone? That was always tough for me, no structure. This isn't my first company, but I did things differently this time. I spent a month setting everything up before I hired my first employee or took on my first client. I wrote job descriptions and manuals for all the employees I knew I would hire. I wrote step by step instructions for each job. I also wrote an operations manual with company policies. I know that can seem counter-intuitive in this industry of lone wolves but I knew I wanted to grow so I planned big from the start. I put systems into place so that when the workload increased and I added people the transition was smooth.

I like to work at full capacity, taking on as many clients as I can possibly manage then adding staff as I go. For me personally I know that the less I have to do in a day the more I will procrastinate, I need to have deadlines and clients nipping at my heels to perform my best. I need to have payday looming and people looking to me for money. So basically, get the adrenaline pumping, make it do or die and you will do :) JMO
 
BabyGotBacklink said:
I too tried Basecamp and a few others but nothing stuck. I found being accountable to other people is what keeps me on track. If one of my employees is waiting on me to finish a task so that they can proceed with their part then I am focused on getting it done on time, don't want to pay them to dick off.

Same goes for my clients, if I know I've promised them something on a certain day then I better move my ass. Really they are self imposed deadlines though, in theory they have no idea how long things take so I set the day for myself.

My best tip is to know yourself. If you know you are easily distracted surfing and goofing off then block those sites when you need to get shit done.

Do you work alone? That was always tough for me, no structure. This isn't my first company, but I did things differently this time. I spent a month setting everything up before I hired my first employee or took on my first client. I wrote job descriptions and manuals for all the employees I knew I would hire. I wrote step by step instructions for each job. I also wrote an operations manual with company policies. I know that can seem counter-intuitive in this industry of lone wolves but I knew I wanted to grow so I planned big from the start. I put systems into place so that when the workload increased and I added people the transition was smooth.

I like to work at full capacity, taking on as many clients as I can possibly manage then adding staff as I go. For me personally I know that the less I have to do in a day the more I will procrastinate, I need to have deadlines and clients nipping at my heels to perform my best. I need to have payday looming and people looking to me for money. So basically, get the adrenaline pumping, make it do or die and you will do :) JMO
Click to expand...

I like, I like. I'm the same way. If other people are involved, I hustle. Anything else, and I tend to slack (and rationalize procrastination).

Y'all are making me realize how absolutely fucking disorganized I am.

This is going to change.
 
I wanted to clarify, I don't mean outsourcing bullshit work.

Don't do anything bullshit. Don't get caught obsessing about things that don't matter or being OCD about minutiae.

Don't use CMSes that need perpetual maintenance. Setup auto renew on your domains, and dump any domain you've had for 13 months and not developed at all.

IMO, the answer to managing a lot is to manage a little, not to manage a lot better.

I am on a real anti-efficiency kick lately. Efficiency can be ok in small doses, but as soon as you become hyper-efficient, you become very fragile to any disruption.

If you work 6 hours a day, try to plan to get 4 hours of work done. If you're trying to do 6 hours each 6 hour work day, you have very little flexibility, and you're susceptible to falling (perpetually) short of your goals.
 
As far as information management and organizing media like Shawnhag mentioned, use dropbox and do something stupid-simple like integrate it into your desktop/laptop so that you can work out of it whenever you need to.

I got into a really bad habit of saving mockups, images - anything really - to my desktop. This wasn't a huge deal until I improved my process a bit.

To caveat on what BGB said, accountability is great (if you're in client work). So what I do is start a new folder in Dropbox, upload a project-specific excel sheet built from my task management template (the name makes it sound fancy, it's not), and share it with the client. Boom, accountability, organization, and simplicity. There goes 5 minutes.
 
Managing time is not done by some online tool.

You need to know how to set up your personal system and then, all you need is pen and paper (or an online tool)

I highly recommend the GTD methos (Getting Things Done) by David Allen.

His new book is basically GTD 2.0, so I would recommend reading that instead.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143116622/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0143116622&linkCode=as2&tag=blindapeseo-20]Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life: David Allen: 9780143116622: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

::emp::
 
I used to be extremely messy around 2 years ago. I can't say I'm perfect now but I'm getting a ton of stuff done every day. My setup is a bit crazy but is as follow:

Personal tasks: Omnifocus

Omnifocus is a mac only software, it also has an iphone app that can trigger geo located tasks or queue tasks up with Siri amongst other awesome features. Obviously it works only if you're an apple fanboy although you can probably swap it for rememberthemilk and its free.

Group projects: Basecamp

Simple but sleek, this allows to create todos for others, shared calendars, easy reply to thread from emails, this is how we manage clients and stay accountable to them (and keep them accountable to us). It's obviously not free but the starter packages are low enough to be acceptable. If you really want a free alternative I'd consider using Asana.

On top of that to stay accountable and have a better idea of the time I might be losing if I'm not working I use Rescue time. The free version is good enough if you're on your own. For my part, the whole team is on it so they get an idea of their own productivity level.

On top of that, Rescue time offers a "get focused" option that blocks all very distracting sites such as youtube, facebook or... Wickedfire for a certain period or time.

One thing that you have to understand is that there is no "godly" system and the best system is the one you will stick to. I suggest starting simple with maybe the free version of rescue time and rememberthemilk (install the gmail add on to have it all in there). One thing that will help you a ton in not getting distracted as well is using inbox zero to manage your email.

Overall as well I'd say get involved in less projects. Us marketers tend to think we can take on a lot more than we really should. Focusing on quality work on a few projects has certainly made me a LOT more successful than having a ton of things going on at once.

If you need some more advice on personal productivity, I think I can help so add me on Skype: Fhenrir76.

-F
 
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