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20 Best Task Management Software Tools to Elevate Your Workflows [2024 Edition]

Sarah Burner

ClickUp Contributor

March 30, 2024

Is your personal or team workload spiraling out of control? We’ve all been there! What’s worse is the anxiety-inducing feeling of dread that follows when you have a bunch of unattended tasks, gradually leading to a lack of motivation . In fact, recent research reveals that 41% of workers find heavy workloads to be the main cause of workplace stress. 😖

However, more often than not, it’s not the amount of work that makes you or your employees feel overwhelmed—it’s poor task management. For instance, setting unreasonable deadlines or delegating tasks without considering team availability may lead people to burnout faster than you can blink. 

Luckily, using the right task management software can help you prevent this chaos! We’re here to introduce you to the 20 best task management software that can assist you in assigning tasks and optimizing priorities effectively in 2024. Learn about their key features, limitations, and pricing before you pick your ideal task manager tool. 🌻

What Should You Look for in a Task Management Tool?

• 1. ClickUp—best overall project & task management software

2. Asana—best for remote teams

3. jira—best for experienced professionals, 4. monday.com—best for marketing and pmo teams, 5. trello—best for small teams, 6. hive—best task management software for team collaboration, 7. meistertask—best for kanban task management, 8. ntask—best task management software for scheduling, 9. zenhub—best for software teams, 10. zoho projects—best for complex project management, 11. activecollab—best for personalized task management experience, 12. wrike—best for workflow management, 13. todoist—best for teams on a budget, 14. proofhub—best for task tracking, 15. smarttask—best for managing multiple projects, 16. hubspot (hubspot task management)—best for crm tasks, 17. paymo—best for client tasks and bookings, 18. timecamp—best for time tracking and billing tasks, 19. any.do—best for creating to-do lists, 20. smartsheet—best for spreadsheet-style task management.

Task management software helps identify, monitor, and manage tasks efficiently . It goes beyond a simple to-do list and offers features to let you collaborate on elaborate workflows for effective goal completion .

Naturally, the best task management software allows you to set deadlines, prioritize tasks , track progress, and adjust schedules with ease. Other useful functionalities include:

• Flexibility: A good task management software has a user-friendly interface and runs smoothly on all major operating systems across devices, allowing you more control over your work
• Time tracking: Choose a task management solution that lets you improve your time management through seamless time tracking
• Task automation: The best task management software lets you automate recurring admin tasks, leaving everyone more time to focus on cognitively demanding, high-level assignments
• Communication support: If you’re running a team, look for a tool that supports productive task-related discussions, file sharing, and instant announcements
• Reporting and analytics: Quality task management software provides reporting features to record and analyze information (like clock-in/clock-out data, absence, and overtime hours) for productivity analysis, invoicing, and payroll management
• Integration with other tools: Pick a task management system that integrates with other software you use, like messaging apps , project management software , and writing assistants

20 Best Task Management Software for Balanced Task Planning and Execution

There are tons of task management apps available on the market, but they’re not all cut from the same cloth—for instance, some are versatile tools, while others focus on specific functions like task dependencies.

We’ve chosen the 20 best task management software to help you find the perfect app for your business needs. These are expert-vetted options, cherry-picked after considering criteria like feature set and affordability.

Let’s dive in! 🧐

1. ClickUp —best overall project & task management software

Why end with a bang when we can start with one? 💥

Introducing ClickUp —the best task management solution for individuals, professionals, and teams. It’s not just us; even G2 considers it to be the best-rated task management and team task management software , ranking it #1 in 15+ competitive categories in 2024!

What makes ClickUp click is its AI-enabled, end-to-end support for managing tasks and priorities, monitoring progress, and staying productive.

Leverage ClickUp Tasks for task planning, scheduling, and tracking within a centralized hub. Easily categorize team tasks by type, set Custom Task Status from To Do to Done , and use Custom Fields to set deadlines, add assignees, and track details. For each task assignment, you can: 

• Add links and comments to centralize contextual knowledge and discussions
• Specify task dependencies, subtasks, and checklists
• Use @mentions and action items to delegate tasks and share updates

ClickUp’s Calendar View comes with drag-and-drop capabilities for granular task planning. You can also ClickUp’s Recurring Tasks to schedule routine stuff, like meetings and sprint retrospectives, and visualize or adjust your day-to-day on the Calendar.

Stay on top of task lists with ClickUp Reminders that you can create from any task comments or notifications and manage seamlessly from any device.

Prefer a visual task manager? ClickUp’s got you! This adaptable task management software offers 15+ Views for managing tasks on Kanban boards, sorting tasks in the List view, or visualizing timelines with colorful Gantt charts. 🌈

And, if you’re dealing with an overwhelming workload, identify what to prioritize and deprioritize using ClickUp Task Priorities and its color-coded tags. You can also lighten the workload for your employees with ClickUp Automatons , which lets you automate time-consuming tasks like checking emails or organizing documents.

Embrace stress-free productivity with ClickUp Brain and pre-made templates

Beyond tracking and prioritizing tasks, ClickUp also lends a hand with Project Management . For instance, you can employ ClickUp Brain , the platform’s AI assistant, to automate project summaries, task planning, and task standups and updates.

ClickUp Brain is a neural network connecting your tasks, documents, and discussions on the platform—it helps you extract and summarize information and action items through simple prompts and questions.

Take your productivity to new heights with numerous customizable ClickUp templates to help you standardize task assignments immediately! The ClickUp Task Management Template is a great starting point. With this template, you can organize your tasks into Lists like Action Items , Ideas , and Backlog for easier navigation and open separate views to track assignments by department or priority label. 🚩

ClickUp best features

• 1,000+ templates to kickstart skillful task management
• Supports time tracking and time blocking
• ClickUp Dashboards for real-time task tracking and productivity metrics
• ClickUp Goals to set measurable task KPIs
• Task Checklist feature for easy to-do list creation
• Multiple project views like List, Table, and Timeline
• Custom task statuses to complement your workflow
• A Bulk Action Toolbar to edit multiple tasks at once
• Automates recurring, error-prone tasks
• Built-in task prioritization levels  
• Universal Search and Tags to access tasks quickly
• Supports task generation directly from ClickUp Docs and Whiteboards
• Integrates with 1,000+ apps like Slack, Gmail, Zoom, Outlook, and HubSpot
• Dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android
• Compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux
• Built-in chat and file-sharing options for task collaboration
• Easy-to-use, no-code interface

ClickUp limitations

• It takes time to explore all its task management features
• A dedicated subtask reporting feature would be a great add-on

ClickUp pricing

• Free Forever
• Unlimited: $7/month per user
• Business: $12/month per user
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing
• ClickUp AI: Add to any paid plan for $5 per member per month

*All listed prices refer to the yearly billing model

ClickUp ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.7/5 (9,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (4,000+ reviews)

Asana is an online task management software that lets you document all assignments in one location. Like ClickUp, Asana makes creating tasks a breeze. Add task descriptions in the form of bulleted lists, embed files to add context, set due dates, and add assignees in a few clicks. You can also create subtasks, identify blockers, and quickly streamline approvals on task changes.

This quality task management software features a My Tasks list , which helps you prioritize work by auto-promoting tasks based on due dates.

What makes Asana stand out among its alternatives is the Workflow Builder feature , which allows you to create workflows without coding, helping you automate routine tasks and expedite projects. You can even track the same task across departments to avoid work duplication.⚡

Asana is a collaborative task management tool —it lets you communicate with your team directly within the app, encouraging cross-functional collaboration . For added transparency, add relevant collaborators to your team’s tasks to keep them updated on progress.

Asana best features

• Templates for task management
• Remote-friendly collaboration tools
• Zero-code workflow builder
• Search and filtering options for simpler navigation
• Integrates with apps like Slack and Dropbox
• Mobile app for Android and iOS

Asana limitations

• May be challenging to implement for large teams
• Storage and collaboration features could use improvement

Asana pricing

• Personal: Free forever
• Starter: $10.99/month per user
• Advanced: $24.99/month per user

Asana ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (9,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (12,000+ reviews)

While not as beginner-friendly as most alternatives due to its complex features, Jira is a popular task management software option among seasoned professionals in industries like IT, finance, marketing, and HR. It was first launched by Atlassian as an issue-tracking tool for software developers but has branched out to become a useful tool for project managers and task managers alike.

Jira is a handy tool for agile project management , allowing teams to break a complex project into manageable sprints . Its multiple views, like boards and timelines, help track sprint tasks and identify roadblocks to ensure continuous improvement .

Jira also supports team collaboration by allowing members to brainstorm and exchange task information across departments through shared workflows.

Jira, like ClickUp , lets you update task statuses in real time, while its automaton feature helps you run manual actions in the background. Plus, project managers can automate work using its numerous task management templates . 😀

Jira best features

• Workflow automation support
• Multiple task views for agile teams
• Templates for niches like human resources , marketing, and IT
• Integrates with Atlassian Work Management and other popular apps
• Task management apps for Android and iOS

Jira limitations

• The system can be slow at times
• The user interface and dashboard design could be improved

Jira pricing

• Free: Up to 10 users
• Standard: $8.15/month per user
• Premium: $16/month per user
• Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing

Jira ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (5,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (13,000+ reviews)

Check out these Jira alternatives !

Using Monday.com to manage tasks can make Mondays less dreadful! This simple task management software provides all key features, from multiple task views to task templates, that you’d find in most Monday alternatives .

Still, Monday.com stands out with its smooth interface . Its Work Management feature lets you create no-code workflows. Even project managers enjoy an intuitive layout that allows them to make informed decisions by accessing quick overviews of task progress on a dashboard. 📈

Monday.com allows you to organize workspaces into projects with individual tasks and subtasks, complete with color-coding options to help you track task priorities and statuses easily.

The software offers specific task management features for marketing and PMO teams . For example, marketing teams can benefit from key features like brand asset management , robust Gantt charts, and campaign tracking . Meanwhile, PMO teams rely on features for monitoring OKRs , identifying dependencies, and tracking time for future task planning.

Overall, it’s a well-rounded task management tool—quite similar to ClickUp and Plaky in terms of design and feature set.

Monday.com best features

• Includes 200+ automation options
• Color-coded task statuses and priority levels
• User-friendly 
• No-code workflows setup
• Offers a mobile app for iOS and Android
• Integrates with over 200 apps

Monday.com limitations

• The initial setup tends to be overwhelming
• Some users struggle with custom reminders and experience delays in notifications

Monday.com pricing

• Free: Up to two users
• Basic: $9/month per user
• Standard: $12/month per user
• Pro: $19/month per user

Monday.com ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.7/5 (10,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)

If you’re a fan of Kanban boards, you’ll have a blast using Trello. This task management software is all about moving tasks like sticky notes on a drag-and-drop Kanban board for easier status tracking.

Individuals can use it to create personalized task lists, while team members can rely on advanced checklists to add context to tasks by adding due dates and assignees. 

This software supports task prioritization through labels like high, medium, or low priority—filter the labels to access a specific batch of tasks . It also has a no-code automation tool called Butler, which lets you create rules, buttons, and commands to automate select recurring tasks.

Trello lets you view your tasks on calendars, timelines, and neatly organized tables, which is often more than enough to manage workloads in a smaller team. However, if you’re running a larger team that may prefer more flexibility and a wider variety of project views, Trello alternatives with enterprise features may be a better option.

Trello best features

• Butler—a no-code automation tool
• Kanban-based task tracking software
• Includes checklists, calendars, and timelines
• Color coding helps prioritize tasks
• Android and iOS mobile apps

Trello limitations

• Gets costly as users increase in number
• May not support complex project management

Trello pricing

• Standard: $5/month per user
• Premium: $10/month per user
• Enterprise: $17.5/month per user

Trello ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (13,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (23,000+ reviews)

Hive is an all-encompassing project management software that provides any hybrid team with a task management platform to:

• Assign, track, and execute tasks together, regardless of location
• Monitor upcoming tasks across departments
• Collaborate async or live with Hive Notes and Text and Voice Chat

This software lets you observe your tasks from multiple angles . For example, use the Portfolio view to get a detailed overview of tasks across projects or the Label view to categorize subtasks. Focus better by activating the My Actions view to display your task assignments in a concentrated way. 

Rely on key features like task status to easily track progress, templates to customize project layouts, and notifications to never miss a beat.

Plus, Hive offers Workflows App —a no-code task automation tool to help you cut down on manual labor and design personalized automated workflows. 

Like ClickUp, Hive supports project collaboration by letting teammates communicate across projects by leaving comments on action cards or tagging team members.

Hive best features

• Collaborative task management tool
• Supports individual, group, or project discussions
• AI assistant ( HiveMind ) and templates to support standard tasks
• My Actions view tracks all the tasks assigned to you 
• Includes a no-code task automation tool
• Integrates with Dropbox and Google Drive

Hive limitations

• The mobile app has limited functionality
• UX may get compromised with many collaborators

Hive pricing

• Starter: $5/month per user
• Teams: $12/month per user

Hive ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.6/5 (500+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (100+ reviews)

Check out these Hive alternatives !

Most alternatives to MeisterTask include Kanban boards as one of their key features. However, MeisterTask excels as Kanban-based task management software because of how user-friendly and intuitive it is. 😻

It provides customizable Kanban-style boards that let you organize and monitor task cards to mark if they’re In Progress , Done , or on the To Do list. These boards keep your work centralized and let you communicate effectively through task comments.

You can mention teammates in the comments, add them as project watchers, and assign them tasks directly from the board. Activate real-time notifications to keep everyone in the loop about the latest project updates.

Besides collaborative boards, the software offers personal pinboards called Agendas, where you can organize all the tasks assigned to you, as well as access additional details like due dates and important files faster.

MeisterTask best features

• Easy-to-use Kanban boards for organizing tasks
• Can serve as a personal task management software
• Task-related collaboration through comments
• Dashboards to track upcoming tasks, time-tracking data, and notifications
• Lets you automate recurring tasks
• iOS and Android mobile apps

MeisterTask limitations

• The software could benefit from adding a workflow calendar to its features
• Notifications may be delayed on mobile devices

MeisterTask pricing

• Basic: Free
• Pro: $6.50/month per user

MeisterTask ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.6/5 (100+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (1,000+ reviews)

nTask serves as a central hub for tracking and scheduling tasks . Use it’s task scheduling software to assign project tasks or entire task lists to your teammates and set real-time notifications to ensure no action remains overlooked.

Its robust time-tracking capabilities can help you monitor time spent on tasks and estimate the amount of time you’ll need for future tasks and projects. 

nTask is a visual task management tool —it lets you plan and prioritize tasks, manage interconnected delivery timelines, and visualize projects with color-coded Gantt charts. Plan your projects easily by creating tasks and adding descriptions and assignees.

Schedule tasks by setting planned and actual due dates and creating task dependencies and milestones to ensure timely completion. Then, set priorities and track their progress using custom statuses.

nTask best features

• Offers multiple project views (board, grid, list, and calendar)
• Comprehensive task tracking
• Visual task management and task scheduling through Gantt charts
• Recurring tasks feature with daily, weekly, or monthly repeats
• Integrates with 1,000+ tools like Apple Calendar, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams
• Android and iOS support

nTask limitations

• Attaching documents and photos may be challenging
• User interface could be more intuitive

nTask pricing

• Premium: $3/month per user
• Business: $8/month per user

nTask ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (10+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.2/5 (100+ reviews)

ZenHub is a project management solution that primarily caters to software development teams. It provides a native GitHub integration via a browser extension for Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. This helps reduce context switching by keeping project tasks connected with GitHub code. 

Plus, ZenHub offers automatic task updates as users complete issues in GitHub, streamlining task completion by eliminating manual status check-ins from your team’s to-do list. There are also automated hand-offs to update all connected workspaces.

This online task management and software development tool brings tasks together on intuitive, drag-and-drop Kanban boards , allowing you to view all current tasks and their status.

Use these boards to prioritize tasks, track projects, and attach pull requests to corresponding issues. Group related issues into Epics or connect various private and public GitHub repos to a single board. 👨‍🏫

Additionally, ZenHub offers sprint planning features, making it a handy tool for agile teams . It lets you set automated sprint cycles, auto-generate new sprints with prioritized and unfinished tasks, and receive periodical reports on progress.

ZenHub best features

• Various key features for agile teams
• Native GitHub integration
• Provides spring planning and tracking
• Boards for easy task management 
• Automate repetitive tasks and hand-offs
• Acts as a visual task management tool with roadmaps and timelines
• Integrates with Figma, Miro, and Loom

ZenHub limitations

• Steep learning curve
• The interface may be challenging to navigate

ZenHub pricing

• Free: 14-day free trial
• For Teams: $8.33/month per user (annual billing)
• For Enterprises: Contact sales for pricing

ZenHub ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (30+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (30+ reviews)

Zoho Projects is a project management software with features such as issue tracking, team monitoring , project timesheets, and resource utilization charts. It helps you manage projects in industries like marketing, construction, IT, and consulting.

It also offers a comprehensive toolset for task management that assists you in breaking projects down into milestones, task lists, and subtasks for simpler tracking.

This task management platform is all about details—each task can have attributes like assignees, work hours, priorities, and reminders. Use timesheets and timers to record time spent on each task.

Like many Zoho alternatives , this tool simplifies task organization by providing Kanban-style boards with drag-and-drop task cards and flexible statuses. As for planning and tracking, use Gantt charts to identify your team’s tasks, set dependencies, and monitor deadlines to ensure everything is done on time. ⌛

The software lets you schedule tasks on a calendar, which provides an overview of team members’ capacity. That way, you enjoy balanced task planning and avoid the risk of team burnout. 

Zoho Projects best features

• Quick-access Gantt charts
• Supports versatile task management use cases
• Highly customizable workflows
• Easy task scheduling on calendars
• Integrates with various Zoho, Google, and Microsoft apps 
• Task management apps (iOS 9.0+ and Android 4.1+)

Zoho Projects limitations

• Initial setup may be challenging
• Software customization can be time-consuming 

Zoho Projects pricing

• Free: Up to three users
• Premium: $4/month per user
• Enterprise: $9/month per user

Zoho Projects ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (300+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (400+ reviews)

ActiveCollab is all about increasing productivity and meeting deadlines. The tool lets you add due dates, assignees, and detailed task descriptions. Break down complex actions into subtasks, ensuring all assigned tasks get done as planned. You can also:

• Group tasks based on different criteria
• Duplicate repetitive tasks

This online task management software offers three project views to choose from, which is less than what ActiveCollab alternatives typically offer. Still, it includes frequently used views—the Kanban board, Gantt chart, and List view. 📝

ActiveCollab helps you reduce manual labor by automating recurring tasks. And, if you need to ensure actions are completed in a fixed order, just create dependencies between multiple tasks.

ActiveCollab stresses the importance of a personal task manager —it provides a My Work page where you can find and organize your task assignments by project or due date. 

This page also serves as your personal timesheet, offering an overview of all your time records. You can revisit your activity in terms of the comments posted, tasks created or closed, or due dates modified.

ActiveCollab best features

• Excellent personal task management software
• Automation for repetitive tasks
• Dependencies for order-specific actions
• Android and iOS smartphone apps
• Integrates with other task management tools like Asana and Trello

ActiveCollab limitations

• The file-sharing feature of this task management software could be simpler to use
• Adding more customization options could be beneficial 

ActiveCollab pricing

• Plus: $9.5/month 3 users/month
• Pro: $8/month per user/month
• Pro+Get Paid: $11.75/month per user

ActiveCollab ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.2/5 (90+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (300+ reviews)

Wrike is well-known for its robust task and workflow management features. It allows you to prioritize work on personalized dashboards by pinning important tasks from your to-do list and automatically sorting them by priority and due date.

Like most of Wrike’s competitors , Wrike supports strong teamwork —it lets teams collaborate on real-time project plans, task assignments, and decision-making within the platform.

Wrike’s workflows adapt to your needs, so regardless of your project management methodology, you can visualize your tasks in views like Gantt Chart, Kanban, and Calendar.

Plus, the software includes built-in proofing tools for quick yet detailed task feedback, task automation to save time, and collaboration tools to increase work efficiency.

Additionally, Wrike allows project managers to build customizable reports on task and team performance. They can further optimize workflows by analyzing relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) on dashboards.

Wrike best features

• Comprehensive project dashboards with personalized reports
• Supports feedback-friendly team collaboration
• Multiple project views
• 400+ integrations
• Task automation

Wrike limitations

• Could use more custom display options
• Some users experience task syncing issues

Wrike pricing

• Team: $9.80/month per user
• Business: $24.80/month per user
• Enterprise and Pinnacle: Contact sales

Wrike ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.2/5 (3,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (2,000+ reviews)

While many Todoist alternatives on this list offer additional project management features, Todoist is purely focused on task management. It assists you in creating detailed daily to-do lists to ensure optimal day-to-day organization.

The tool is simple to use—just create tasks and subtasks, determine priorities, add due dates, and set reminders to ensure nothing goes overlooked. 👀

Although it’s primarily a task management app, Todoist can help you manage projects as it includes goal-setting features , labels to categorize tasks, and task descriptions to keep information centralized.

You can use its Upcoming calendar view to see which tasks are due urgently and use a drag-and-drop function to reschedule assignments. If you need to focus on tasks that are currently due, simply go to the Today view .

While Todoist’s simple navigation and low price make it a handy tool for personal task management, it’s also a good to-do list app for teams on a tight budget . Its project management features aren’t too comprehensive, but you can still assign tasks and leverage comments for better teamwork and transparency. 

Todoist best features

• Efficient daily task management
• Multiple task views (including Kanban boards and lists)
• Basic team collaboration support
• Easy navigation
• Integrates with various productivity and time-tracking apps
• Has a to-do list app for Android and iOS

Todoist limitations

• Integrating the software with some apps may be challenging
• It would be beneficial if the app displayed tasks when you’re offline

Todoist pricing

• Beginner: Free
• Pro: $4/month per user
• Business: $6/month per user

Todoist ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (2,000+ reviews)

Besides being a task management tool, ProofHub is a task tracking software that lets you easily create task lists and individual tasks, assign them to team members, and closely follow due dates and priorities across task categories . Got complex tasks? Divide them into subtasks for simpler tracking.

Similar to ProofHub alternatives , the software is fully customizable —it lets you build personalized workflows and use custom fields to capture any task-related data you deem important. Custom fields enhance task tracking —because you can customize them to track virtually anything, be it deadlines or output.

Speaking of tracking, ProofHub has a feature for creating task dependencies to help you ensure tasks are completed in a predetermined order. If you want to offer more clarity to assignees, leave comments on tasks or use mentions to guide them.

Additionally, ProofHub offers various reporting options to help you gain insight into your project’s progress. You can enhance resource allocation by analyzing resource utilization reports or tracking project-specific progress with task completion reports.

ProofHub best features

• Multi-faceted task tracking software
• Customizable workflows
• Supports task-related discussions through comments and mentions
• Reports to gauge task progress
• Various project views like Kanbans and tables
• Mobile-friendly

ProofHub limitations

• Notifications can get difficult to manage
• Some users find its customization features complex

ProofHub pricing

• Essential: $45/month 
• Ultimate Control: $150/month (or $89/month for a limited time offer)

ProofHub ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.5/5 (80+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (90+ reviews)

SmartTask includes all key features you’d typically find in a task management tool—it lets you create subtasks, set deadlines, add dependencies, and manage tasks in views like calendar, list, and board.

However, this software especially stands out with its tools for managing multiple projects simultaneously in a cross-functional setup. Its Project Portfolios feature allows you to create multiple boards to track separate goals, aligning your marketing, sales, and design teams. To play it safer, you can even share task lists across teams to prevent orphaned actions. 

SmartTask supports team collaboration by letting you comment on tasks and generate real-time notifications for updates. You can also invite clients, vendors, and external stakeholders to collaborate on any task or project by sending them an invitation.

Plus, it provides reports on both project tasks and sales that you can easily find through its advanced search bar. 🔎

SmartTask best features

• Internal and external team communication
• Set recurring tasks (daily, weekly, or monthly)
• Task and sales reports
• Supports managing tasks across projects
• Time tracking for individual tasks
• Task management tools for iOS and Android

SmartTask limitations

• The UI and UX could use some improvement
• Adding more integrations would be useful

SmartTask pricing

• Premium: $7.99/month per user
• Business: $10.99/month per user

SmartTask ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (60+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (30+ reviews)

HubSpot Task Management is far from a traditional task manager—it’s a suite designed to help marketers streamline Customer Relationship Management (CRM) processes. Effective CRM depends on properly storing, tracking, and managing lead- and customer-based activities. HubSpot helps you streamline these scattered tasks to boost revenue.

The software reduces the need to switch between multiple tabs when talking to prospects by providing dashboards that centralize all your work. Use them to track your to-do list items, view prospect details, and stay on top of meetings. 

Need to create new tasks? Do that directly from your workflows, email inbox, or to-do list. If you need insights from past task performances, like deals made and activities completed, leverage HubSpot’s reporting tools.

This platform simplifies communication with email templates (for sending messages in bulk) and real-time team chat. 

While sales and marketing teams may enjoy HubSpot’s task management style, some of HubSpot’s alternatives could be a better choice for companies in IT or finance.

HubSpot best features

• A wide array of CRM functionalities
• Live team chats
• Dashboards to centralize prospect-related work
• Integrates with apps like WordPress, Gmail, and Zapier
• iOS and Android mobile app for HubSpot CRM

HubSpot limitations

• Limited option to prioritize tasks
• Workflow automation is limited on the free plan

HubSpot pricing

For individuals and small teams:

• Starter: $15/month
• Professional: $800/month

HubSpot (CRM) ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (11,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (4,000+ reviews)

Paymo is a simple task management software designed for professionals who want to manage client work and resources within one platform . It lets you automatically set up ghost bookings based on the task details you’ve entered in the past and receive a visual overview of all bookings for the entire team on a single screen. 🖥️

Paymo also simplifies managing resources by allowing multiple managers to work on schedule to avoid overbooking or underbooking. You can:

• Book time for time-sensitive tasks by the hour
• Accommodate unscheduled tasks with a simple drag-and-drop function
• Visualize your team’s availability on timelines
• Send booking notifications only to relevant team members

The platform lets employees view their tasks in a single view, while task managers monitor both their personal tasks and team’s work in separate views. Like with most Paymo alternatives , you get project views like Gantt charts, Tables, and Calendars to visualize tasks.

It also encourages team collaboration, offering a detailed Task View to chat in real-time about the latest task updates. Finally, Paymo provides task priority levels like critical, high, normal, or low across teams.

Paymo best features

• Timelines to assess employee availability
• Allows booking time for client tasks by the hour
• Real-time chat
• Project views like Gantt chart and Kanban board
• Integrates with apps like Slack, Google Calendar, and JotForm
• Mobile app support for iOS and Android

Paymo limitations

• The mobile app may be tricky to navigate
• Takes time to train employees to use the platform

Paymo pricing

• Starter: $5.9/month per user
• Small Office: $10.9/month per user
• Business: $16.9/month per user

Paymo ratings and reviews

• Capterra: 4.8/5 (400+ reviews)

While most TimeCamp alternatives on this list include typical task and project management features, TimeCamp shifts its focus to time tracking instead.

With its robust time-tracking capabilities , you can track your team’s working hours, standardize times for specific jobs, plan task assignments, and monitor each team member’s productivity.

TimeCamp also provides features for measuring the profitability of your projects and tracking billable hours, streamlining invoicing and resource management. Basically, the tasks you had to do manually, like creating invoices and approving timesheets, can be automated with TimeCamp.

Although this software highlights time tracking, it’s still a task management tool. Its TimeCamp Planner product helps you organize tasks and monitor their progress on Kanban-style boards. 

If you’re dealing with repeatable tasks, automate them by specifying information like due dates, assignees, and progress statuses. Plus, you can switch from team task overview to your own using the My Tasks feature , which displays your assigned tasks on a list, calendar, or timeline view.

Note that TimeCamp’s time tracking and task management features are available on separate pricing plans .

TimeCamp best features

• Comprehensive time-tracking tools
• Kanban board for easy task tracking
• Personal task lists
• Can automate repeatable tasks
• Includes apps for Android and iOS
• TimeCamp (not the TimeCamp Planner) integrates with tools like ClickUp, Google Calendar, and Slack

TimeCamp limitations

• The user interface and server load time could be better
• The tool may be buggy at times

TimeCamp pricing (for TimeCamp Planner)

• Pro: $2.99/month per user

TimeCamp ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.7/5 (100+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (500+ reviews)

Any.do specializes in providing easy-to-use to-do lists to help you achieve personal or professional goals efficiently. You can organize your to-dos in separate lists and projects, all color-coded to set clear priorities and determine task categories. Enhance your task lists with:

• Subtasks and attachments for added task awareness
• Deadlines and reminders

Sharing responsibilities is also simple—just share a task list with your teammates or family to collaborate on task completion . For example, you can assign different items on a grocery list to family members and track the list to ensure they complete the task successfully. If there’s an urgent matter you wish to discuss, use the chat function to communicate in real time.  

For companies looking for a task management tool with project management capabilities, Any.do is a solid choice as it also offers features like customizable workflows, pre-made templates, and powerful integrations with other work tools.

If you want more comprehensive workflow features, though, explore some more advanced Any.do alternatives .

Any.do best features

• Provides simple to-do lists
• Great as a daily task manager
• Lets you share lists with teams, family, and friends
• Reminders for timely task completion
• Has apps for iOS and Android
• Integrates with other task management tools like ClickUp and Asana

Any.do limitations

• Some users desire more integrations (like with Microsoft Calendar)
• Limited advanced features for this price range

Any.do pricing

• Premium: $5/month per user
• Family: $8/month per four users
• Teams: $5/month per user

*All listed prices refer to approx values billed annually

Any.do ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.2/5 (100+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (100+ reviews)

Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-like task management tool . It’s great for those who are comfortable tracking tasks in Excel but are open to switching to a tool with less complicated calculation work.

Like ClickUp, Smartsheet offers comprehensive project and task management tools for handling different workflows. For example, it lets you schedule tasks, create subtasks, allocate resources, and track assignments efficiently from one platform. ✅

Here, tasks are represented on spreadsheets for individual projects. Like most Smartsheet alternatives , you can add basic task information, like due dates and assignees, in clear fields or columns.

However, these aren’t traditional spreadsheets—they also provide the advanced features of a modern task management tool. For instance, you can use checkboxes, dropdown lists, and comments to interact with tasks on Smartsheet.

This is a great task management software for teams working on extensive projects as it includes templates for agile project management, OKR tracking, budgeting, and resource management.

It also supports task automation, real time collaboration , and advanced analytics. Plus, it integrates with services you may already use, like Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams.

Smartsheet best features

• Spreadsheet-based project management tool
• Advanced functionalities for monitoring complex projects
• Supports real-time team communication
• Templates for agile project management
• Integrates with numerous communication, data visualization, and project delivery apps
• Available as an iOS or Android mobile app

Smartsheet limitations

• There may be a steep learning curve for users figuring out advanced features
• It could benefit from adding more template options

Smartsheet pricing

• Pro: $7/month per user
• Business: $25/month per user

Smartsheet ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (14,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (3,000+ reviews)

Leveraging the Best Task Management Software: Which Tool to Pick

Since all the products on our list are rated well by users, it’s natural to be overwhelmed by the choices. So, what do you really prioritize in a task management platform?

The answer is straightforward— great task management software provides features that help you plan, organize, track, and assign tasks, but you shouldn’t have to pay a fortune for these functions. Don’t settle for a tool that doesn’t include the bare minimum, i.e., reminders, automations, task views, and collaboration features.

Lastly, task management tools are supposed to make your life easier, not vice versa, so ensure your chosen tool is easy to implement and fun to work with! 🥳

If you can’t make a choice, try ClickUp ! It’s got all the features you’ll need to streamline task management with minimal effort. Whether you want to set goals, track and assign tasks, manage time, reduce manual labor, or communicate with your team, the possibilities are endless.

Sign up to ClickUp today and enjoy the best toolkit a free task management software has to offer! 💖 

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The Ultimate Guide to…

Task Management

Brought to you by projectmanager, the online task management tool used to plan over 2 million projects..

What Is Task Management?

• Why Manage Tasks?

Common Task Management Tools

What is task management software, benefits of task management software, how to manage tasks in projectmanager, how to manage your team’s tasks.

• What You See On a Task Management System
• How To Track Task Progress

How Often Should You Update Your To-Do List?

Should you share task lists, how to save time with task management tools, next steps for task management.

Projects are made up of tasks, and knowing how to manage your tasks and team members is the secret to getting your projects completed on time. At its simplest, task management is having a to-do list, but you’ll soon find that to-do lists aren’t going to cut it for managing project workloads.

Task management is a process where a project manager identifies, monitors and progresses the work that needs to be done during the day. In terms of project management, task management is how the workflow is efficiently organized. It’s task-oriented, detailed and part of the larger scheduling of a project.

Tasks come in all shapes and sizes, and so should task management software. ProjectManager is online project management software that helps teams manage their tasks in real time. Assign and prioritize tasks, set up recurring tasks and give teams a collaborative platform to share files and comments. More than a mere to-do list, our tool also helps track your tasks in real time to keep you on track. Get started for free today.

A task, just like a project, has a life cycle. It starts when the task is ready, then it’s assigned, started, finished and verified. It can also be terminated, expired, paused or failed. Some tasks can be dependent on others to start or finish. The process of monitoring them is known as task tracking and it’s an important aspect of project management.

Task management is a complicated discipline, one that requires great attention to detail, flexibility and the right project management tools.

Why Should You Use Task Management Tools?

You can’t be efficient if all you do is react to whoever shouts the loudest at work. You can’t be efficient purely by answering the next email in your inbox. And data from the Pew Research Center points to another reason that you might not be as good at managing your tasks as you think: 70% of Facebook users spend time on the app every day.

You have to manage your tasks as a group because what comes in next might not be the most important. You have to manage your time to spend the right amount of time working on the priority tasks.

To keep things organized you’ll need a task management tool to help you prioritize tasks, track progress and collaborate with your team. Our free Related: task tracking template is a great place to start monitoring your project tasks.

Task management tools let you stay on top of all your work and help your team hit their deadlines too. The benefits of task management are:

• You can see everything you are working on at once
• You know what your priorities are
• You know how much time you’ve got to do those tasks
• You can group tasks together to work on similar things at the same time

Some project management tools also offer resource management, time tracking, and team collaboration features so that you can manage your projects.

Above all, you can keep a balanced workload so that you can adjust or delegate tasks and deadlines⁠—preventing you from being overworked.

There are lots of project management tools for managing your tasks. We’ll outline a few of the more common tools below.

To-Do Lists

At the simplest, you’ve got a notebook and pen and you can write down your to-do list. The downside of this simple approach is that it’s hard to move tasks around to group them and prioritize them. Today most task management apps come with a to-do list feature that helps you better track, prioritize and assign tasks.

Online Task Lists

The online task list is a step up from a to-do list. Since it’s online, it can be accessed from anywhere, and it can be updated and edited easily.

ProjectManager’s online task list lets you have complete control over your tasks. Add due dates, priority levels, attachments, notes and even tags for easy sorting. Plus, you can set recurring tasks so you don’t have to keep adding them to the project. If you’re working on a team, you can assign tasks to other team members to help carry the workload.

Online Kanban Boards

If task lists just don’t do it for you, try using kanban boards to manage tasks. Kanban boards are a popular project management tool that provides a visual means to manage your project tasks. Tasks are created using kanban cards, which are then placed in relevant columns.

Kanban board columns are typically labeled as “to do, doing, done,” but with ProjectManager you can customize your columns to say whatever you want. Plus, just like with the task list feature, you can add files, comments, priority levels and more to your tasks. The user-friendly interface allows you to quickly track progress levels for tasks, and where a bottleneck or overdue task might be lurking.

Task management software streamlines the process of managing tasks. It gives project managers more control over project tasks and teams the means to work better together to complete those tasks.

Comprehensive task management software , like ProjectManager, lets you use all of the most common task management tools in one software. Task management is more than just making a to-do list and crossing out those tasks once they’re complete. It’s controlling your work, prioritizing tasks, collaborating with team members and tracking progress.

Watch the video below to learn more about task management, and how a well-organized task list can set you up for success.

Powerful task management software can offer a path for your teams to work more productively. A task management tool that is integrated with other project management features is even better and can help you better manage tasks and projects.

Here are some key benefits to look out for when choosing the best task management software to manage your work.

• Track time spent on work
• Collaborate with teams
• Organize, prioritize and assign tasks
• Monitor progress in real-time
• Update status of tasks online
• Attach notes, files, links and make comments to tasks
• Share tasks with the team
• Create personal to-do lists within tasks

Must-Have Task Management Software Features

Prioritize Work & Set Recurring Tasks

More than a to-do list, you need project management software equipped with a task list where you can assign tasks, track progress, set priorities, attach files, share comments and list due dates. Set recurring tasks for repeated work to save time. You want the ability to create your own private task lists and migrate them to Gantt charts too, so you can organize your work.

Visualize & Customize Workflow

Kanban boards visualize workflow and should be easy to use with drag and drop cards. Your kanban board columns need to be customizable so you can align the tool to your project’s production cycle. They can be great to organize tasks, collect product backlog items and plan sprints.

Stay Updated on All Changes

Staying updated with everyone’s work facilitates team collaboration and gives project managers real-time data to make better decisions. Changes to tasks can trigger email alerts to keep everyone on the same page. In-app notification is even better.

Work Better Together

Give your team a collaborative project management platform and they’ll be more productive. Online task management software connects teams anywhere and at any time, to let them comment on their tasks and attach relevant files to foster teamwork.

Get Real-Time Data on Task Progress

To stay on schedule you need to keep an accurate time tracking record of your team’s logged hours on tasks. There are also the costs associated with resources, which must be tracked to stay on budget. An online task management tool can monitor progress and track performance.

Find Tasks Quickly & Easily

Projects have many tasks and you want to be able to find the one you need when you need it. That’s where tags come in. By tagging tasks by priority, department or deliverable, you can quickly filter your work and see just what you want when you want it.

ProjectManager gives you all the task management tools you need to collect, assign and track tasks through every phase of their life cycle.

Here’s a step-by-step list of how to manage your tasks in ProjectManager. Sign up for a free trial and follow along to take control of your project tasks.

1. Import Task List or Start a New One

Tasks are the small jobs that lead to the final deliverable. You break down the larger project into these more manageable tasks, which is called a task list.

In ProjectManager, you can easily import your task list from any spreadsheet or even from another project management software, once it’s been exported. Or you can open a new project and start your task list in the software.

ProjectManager allows you to visualize your task list using multiple project views such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, project calendars or the task list view.

2. Prioritize Tasks

Tasks can be overwhelming unless you first determine what must be done, what’s important and what can be ignored if there’s no time. That’s called prioritization.

ProjectManager has a pulldown menu that can indicate priority. There are preset priorities with symbols and color codes. Now you can filter your task list to see what to work on next.

3. Add Task Descriptions

Tasks should come with directions. Teams shouldn’t be micromanaged, but there is usually project management documentation that clarifies expectations. That frees up both the manager and the team member.

Our project management software has unlimited file storage, so managers and team members alike can attach as many documents and images that they need to the task. Team members can even manage their own tasks by adding to-do lists or comments.

4. Assign Work

No task gets done unless there’s someone assigned to it. Assigning work is what triggers that task’s execution. No amount of direction or organization is going to overcome a lack of accountability.

ProjectManager’s task management tools make assigning tasks easy. Once you’ve invited the team into the project, they’re all collected in the dropdown menu on the task. Simply select one or more team members and they’ll be alerted by email.

5. Switch to Kanban View

Not all team members are going to work the same way. Managers and stakeholders tend to respond to the timeline view of a Gantt chart. Team members, however, want a project view that helps them track tasks and manage their work. Kanban boards are a great task management tool to visualize production cycles and automate workflows .

ProjectManager has a kanban board view that’s fully customizable. Team members can organize their tasks into columns, such as to do, doing and done. Then they can just drag and drop their task card to the appropriate kanban board column. This helps them stay focused on what’s high priority, while providing transparency into what everyone is working on.

6. Set Up Filters

On big projects, tasks are going to need more identifiers than just priority levels, or else they’ll fall through the cracks. Plus project managers will want their team to update their statuses with notes and progress levels.

With ProjectManager’s task tracking features, team members can indicate their status on a progress bar, noting how much work they’ve done. Managers can filter by progress to see what work has been started. You can set custom tags for better categorization, too.

7. Stay Productive with Collaboration Features & Email Alerts

Team collaboration is what makes projects more productive. Getting team members to work better together leads to greater efficiencies and quality deliverables. Being able to give teams collaborative tools is essential to any successful task management.

ProjectManager’s task management tools facilitate collaboration at the task level by giving teams a project management platform to communicate. When a comment is added to the task, an email notifies the other person. If that person isn’t assigned to the task, you can still bring them into the conversation by tagging them in the task list, kanban board, Gantt chart or project calendar view. While it can be difficult to search out these dialogues on email, they’re all tethered to your task and easy to find on ProjectManager.

8. Track with Dashboard

Managing tasks means tracking progress. If your tasks aren’t performing as planned, then your project is in trouble. A task tracking dashboard collects project metrics to give you a high-level view of the project.

ProjectManager has a real-time project management dashboard, so the data collected isn’t from yesterday, but as current as the most recent status update. It then takes all that information and crunches the numbers, displaying the results in user-friendly graphs and charts that can be shared with stakeholders.

9. Get Detailed Reports

Dashboards are good for broad strokes, but managing tasks means getting into the weeds sometimes.

ProjectManager has easy reporting features that can be filtered to show just the data you want. Get reports on tasks, seeing due dates, milestones summary and more. There are also project management reports on variance, workload, availability and others.

ProjectManager gives you much greater flexibility than paper to-do lists and task management apps, and it’s not only about making sure everyone has access to the ‘master’ list of tasks. You can:

• Use kanban boards, Gantt charts, task lists and project calendars.
• Turn task lists into projects
• Export and import lists from Excel or MSP
• Define custom kanban board views
• Filter lists by day/week/month
• Drill down into the details of a task from the task list
• Manage dozens (and even hundreds) of tasks from multiple projects easily with only a few clicks.

If you need a task management software that lets you manage tasks in multiple ways, and roll those tasks up into full-blown projects with resource management, task tracking and reporting tools, then sign up for a free trial of ProjectManager .

One of the big challenges for project managers is making sure that tasks are done by others. When it’s your responsibility, you know that you will get around to it, but when you need to delegate tasks—let’s face it, they probably need a little chase every now and then, even if it is an action that has been recorded in the minutes of a meeting.

When other people take an action in a meeting, make a note of it and add it to your task management app. Assign it to the right person and it will show up in their personal to-do list. Then they won’t forget!

With a project management software like ProjectManager, you’ll be able to monitor progress and see how your team members are doing. Filter the project’s task list by resource to see what work everyone has got on: this gives you an at-a-glance view of the workload for each person. You can then remind them from time to time about what they agreed to do, making sure it is completed before the deadline.

The cool thing here is that it means your simple to-do list is linked to resource management reporting. You can pull up details of who has too much to do and who has some capacity to take on more work, using the information in your task list, Gantt chart or kanban board. It saves a lot of time and duplication of effort.

ProjectManager lets you see your team’s workload at a glance with our resource management tools. Our colorful resource chart indicates if any team member is over or under allocated, and then lets you reassign tasks with just a few clicks to balance the workload.

How to Use a Task Management Software

The main things you’ll see in your task management tool are – obviously! – the tasks. Make the Tasks page of your project management tool the first place you go every day.

You’ll see the work you have assigned to you that day, their percent complete , and the upcoming tasks so you can check that the priorities align to what you feel you need to work on and make any changes to your task list as necessary.

Click any task and you will see the details about that piece of work. In ProjectManager you can go even further, sequencing tasks , sharing status updates, adding links, uploading files and audio messages to your task. It’s a great way of keeping everything to do with that activity in one place.

Tasks that are overdue will be highlighted automatically by the task management app. This is helpful to see what you should have completed by now but haven’t. You can either agree with your team that the due dates for completion needs to be changed or get cracking on making sure that work is finished off. It’s a very visual reminder of what needs to be done!

Pro Tip: Don’t let a long task list overwhelm you. Stay focused and avoid multitasking .

How To Use Task Tracking Features

On your task management tool you’ll see a column for ‘Progress’. This is an indication of how far through you are with the work. Anything that is greater than 0% means the task has started and when it gets to 100% the task life cycle will be considered complete.

In ProjectManager, your team members can update their tasks’ life cycle manually by expanding the task and updating the progress timeline. The task tracking data flows through to the timesheets and updates your project schedules to reflect how the team is getting on with the tasks allocated to them.

The easiest way to stay on top of your deadlines and tasks, and those of your team, is to update your to-do list once any individual item on it is completed. If that sounds like too much to remember, check your to-do list at the end of every day and mark the tasks you finished that day as complete. Mark anything that you started as ‘in progress’.

It will take you a minute or two and it means that tomorrow you’ll be starting work with a clear idea of what you are in the middle of and what should be your next priority.

Pro Tip: Book a 15 minute slot in your calendar at the end of every day to update your task list. If you are using timesheets (and you should be) then you can fill them in at the same time.

Yes! Task management works best when everyone can see what needs to be done. Online task management software makes this easy because your project task list can be shared with the team. Don’t worry about people getting confused about what they personally need to do: each task will be allocated to an individual so you get the whole picture for the project while still knowing what you are personally responsible for.

The exception to this rule is that you will probably want to keep your personal tasks separate from project tasks. Items like completing your expenses, that meeting with HR you’ve been meaning to organize or providing a reference for someone who has just left are tasks that you don’t need to share with your team.

Managing your tasks, and those of your team, takes up valuable time in the day. You may be wondering if it’s worth it. When time is money, are you really going to get a return from spending so much time on managing your workload?

The answer is easy: Yes! Not managing tasks is a recipe for missing deadlines and feeling overwhelmed. You’ll spend more time working out your priorities every week and dealing with the fact you’ve spent time on the less important tasks while ignoring a looming deadline. Ultimately that will cost you money, time and stress.

You can still cut down the amount of time it takes to manage your tasks by using the right project management tools. Here are 5 tips for saving time on task management activities.

• Tip #1: Use Your Project Calendar What gets scheduled gets done. Use your project calendar or project schedule to add deadlines for your tasks. Then you can forecast when you might be busy and when you’ve got extra capacity.
• Tip #2: Stick With One Method Forget sticky notes on your monitor, a list on your tablet, scribbled notes on a piece of paper… you need one to-do list. Using online task management software or an app is the best way because you’ll probably always have your phone or laptop with you. You can quickly open the task management app on your smartphone or tablet and record the task.
• Tip #3: Prioritize your tasks We mentioned this earlier but it’s worth mentioning again. Creating one central list of tasks for you and the project team is a big help, but then you need to think about the right way to tackle that long work management list. Prioritize your tasks. There are two ways to do this: what’s urgent and what’s important. Of course, a task can be urgent and important at the same time and the priority of tasks can change from day to day!
• Tip #4: Track your time Using timesheets for time tracking is a great way to manage tasks. Why? Because it helps you see exactly where you are spending your time during the day and this information lets you prioritize effectively.
• Tip #5: Delegate Finally, look at what you can delegate. You don’t have to do everything on the project yourself. Projects are a great development and learning opportunity for your team members too, so think about what you can delegate to others. Not only can you pat yourself on the back for helping develop their skills, it is also work off your to-do list that you don’t have to do!

If you haven’t already found the task management app that works for you, now is the time to test drive a few products and find one that suits your style.

ProjectManager is easy to use, quick to set up and lets you manage task lists with your team from wherever you are.

Start your free 30-day trial

Task management resources.

• How to Estimate Tasks and Dependencies
• 5 Ways to Improve Time Tracking
• 10 Tips for Better Task Management
• How to Link Tasks on a Project
• Project Management Trends (2022)
• How to Prioritize With Personal Kanban
• How to Schedule Different Project Tasks
• How You Can Manage Task Dependencies
• 5 Tips for Task Estimating
• What Is Batching and How Can I Use It to Get More Done?
• How to Make & Maintain a Project List

Deliver faster, collaborate better, innovate more effectively — without the high prices and months-long implementation and extensive training required by other products.

Project management

Task Management: Tips, Best Practices, Tools & More

Ever wonder how the most powerful people on earth actually get so much stuff done ?

People like Bill Gates and Elon Musk haven’t been super successful in their lives by accident. They’ve done it by organizing every hour of every day—scheduling their time so they’re productive and reaching their goals. 

This way of thinking is the crux of task management. After all, everybody has the same amount of hours in their day, but it’s how you organize those hours that determine how much you actually get done. 

The way we organize our working days comes down to strategy. Some people will stick to a to-do list , while companies may find it more useful to use task management tools to organize their calendars. In fact, companies that use techniques like task management spend 28x less money than those who try to deliver projects without a real plan or strategy. 

In this piece, we’re going to take a deep dive into: 

What is task management?

Why you should start thinking about task management

Three different ways you can manage tasks

The advantages of using a task management tool

How to choose the right task management tool.

Let’s get organizing

Robust task management software

Plan, track, and monitor all aspects of your tasks across every project or break them down even further with subtasks.

Track tasks with Teamwork

What Is Task Management?

Task management is where every task is scheduled and managed using details and deadlines to deliver projects on time. 

Task management isn’t as complicated as it sounds. It’s just a fancy way of planning how tasks are handled from the moment you put them into a schedule until they’re completed. We’re talking about setting deadlines, collaborating with team members, and creating project schedules that allow you and your team to be as productive as possible. 

When it’s done well, task management allows you to:

Manage your workload: See what’s on your calendar, what items you need to prioritize , and what deadlines you have looming

Boost productivity: When every task is organized, you’ll know exactly what you need to be working on and what needs to get done. All of the information for every task will be in one place

Create collaboration channels: Task management is about team management. Your team will have a better idea about who is working on what and when you expect them to collaborate on a task to get it completed quicker

Be more time efficient: Instead of deciding what task you should do next or what is more urgent, task management eliminates wasted thinking time. You’ll always know what you should be working on. 

What’s baffling is the number of businesses that still don’t have a process in place to organize and complete tasks in their pipeline. PMI's 2017 Global Project Management survey found that 37% of executive leaders admitted the biggest cause of failed projects was a lack of clearly defined objectives and discipline when implementing strategy.

In other words… not planning well enough. 

Why you should improve your task management process

Ever wonder how teams like Microsoft manage to release new products and features all the time? 

It’s no accident that their 3000-person team of developers is so meticulous that they’re able to release brand new versions of every one of their projects every three weeks. Their tasks are managed down to the finest details. Everyone knows what needs to be done, who will be doing it, and when tasks need to be delivered. 

You see, task management is just one part of the overall puzzle of project management . MetaLab Project Manager Kyria Brown put it best when she compared the planning, completing, and delivering projects to flying a plane. 

“At the most basic level, a Project Manager’s role is to ensure things run smoothly so the pilots and flight crew can do what they do best while the passengers feel safe knowing they’re not going to fall out of the sky or crash mid-flight,” she says.  

“None of us would make good pilots anymore than we’d make good designers or developers, yet as Project Managers, we get to be the shepherds of their successes and live our creative dreams vicariously through them.”

However, successfully landing that plane highlights the benefits of task management. Not only can task management help you see from 10,000 feet what everyone on your team is working on, but it’ll also give you a better idea of their capacity and what tasks they’re prioritizing. 

The good news is that task management isn’t exactly rocket science. On the surface, it involves three simple steps: 

Step #1. Create tasks: The first step is unpacking a project and creating individual tasks to deliver it. Once you know what these tasks are, you can turn them into actionable items by creating deliverables and setting deadlines

Step #2. Organize and prioritize: Think about every roadblock you might come up against during the project. Could a team sickness derail certain tasks? Does your team have the capacity to get them all done? Schedule the tasks on your team's schedule based on who has spare time 

Step #3. Monitor and update: Here’s where task management really comes into play. Once a project kicks off, you can use task management to monitor each task and change things in real-time. If a team member is running behind, you can re-allocate a task to another team member or change tasks around so the most important gets done first. 

The best way to actually manage tasks, however, is still up for debate.

How to manage tasks

We know you’ve heard it before, but it needs to be repeated— failing to plan is planning to fail. 

It’s obvious that task management is a crucial part of delivering a successful project, but it’s up to you to decide which method is best for your team. The most common methods for managing tasks can be put into three different categories: 

Manual: To-do lists, anybody?

Electronic: Spreadsheets/apps

Online: Cloud-based task management tools

The truth is that if you don’t have a way to manage your tasks, it’ll be an uphill climb to get everything done on time. Here are some ways to turn that pile of tasks into an organized timeline. 

1. Write an old school to-do list

Ahhh, the to-do list. 

It’s the simplest way to manage your tasks, and the good news is that all you need is a pen and paper to create one. If your task list is fairly light or straightforward, this method may be enough for you to organize your schedule. 

Simply write down each task you need to get done, add a deadline, and tick them off as you complete them. 

If you like the idea of planning tasks on a to-do list but you want to do it digitally, you can use an app like Todoist . In the app, you can create tasks, set deadlines, and have access to your digital to-do list no matter where you are. 

The good news: To-do lists are the task management equivalent of going off-grid. You don’t need an internet connection or to pay for an app to organize your tasks. 

The bad news: To-do lists are very basic and if you are managing anyone other than yourself, it’s not ideal. 

2. Use a kanban board

Kanban boards were developed in the 1940s by Toyota. In Japanese, Kanban means signboard—which is exactly what this task management system is. 

A Kanban board is basically a digitized post-it note board, and they normally look like this:

Managing tasks this way helps you to visualize every task inside a project and break them up into columns. For example, you can use columns to represent stages of a project’s workflow. Inside each column will be a card that represents an individual task. 

Let’s say your team is doing a website redesign . To get the project done, your team will have to complete tasks like selecting typefaces, collecting images, and building a mood board. Using a tool like Teamwork.com, you can organize these tasks into separate columns on a Kanban board: 

Once the project kicks off and the team starts working on each task, they will slowly make their way down the Kanban board into the completed column. Teamwork.com’s triggers also cut out the manual admin work by automatically re-assigning tasks and changing due dates when a task moves from one column to the next.

However, Kanban boards do more than just keep your tasks organized. It can also help you spot bottlenecks and raise the alarm if deadlines aren’t being met. If a task is overdue, your team will get a notification automatically and you can quickly address the problem before the entire project gets derailed. 

The good news: Kanban is a great way for your team to visualize every task inside a project. It gives everyone a clear idea about their workload, due dates, and how a project is progressing. 

The bad news: For big, complicated projects, Kanban boards can get busy and look overwhelming. 

3. Use a task management tool

A task management tool is the easiest way for teams to manage multiple projects at once. 

Not only will every team member have access to their own account, but they will be given their own schedule, task list , and due dates for every task assigned to them. It’s the easiest way for teams to collaborate and get projects done without having to waste hours every week in planning meetings. 

You will also have a 10,000 feet view over every project in your pipeline. A task management tool shows every task and which team member is working on them so you can better estimate your capacity for future projects, and you can also schedule people to work on multiple projects at once.  

The good news: Task management tools are perfect for teams who need to collaborate on projects and plan tasks based on capacity. 

The bad news: These tools will probably cost a little more than a pen and paper

When it comes to managing tasks at a team level, it’s a bit different from managing a shopping list. 

Small businesses managing tasks will look a lot different from companies with 50 projects in their pipelines. Even so, managing tasks using methods like spreadsheets, whiteboards, and post-it notes can be a recipe for disaster. 

Nobody wants to walk into the office on Monday morning and find this.

The big pull of investing in a task management tool is that it helps deliver projects successfully by recognizing that task management is team management. 

Before Telecommunications company Strencom started using a task management tool, they were trying to deliver hundreds of projects by using traditional tools like email, spreadsheets, and documents.

Not only were they struggling to deliver all of their projects on time, but their communications with clients also suffered. The company’s Director of Operations, Colum Buckley, says the company reached a point where managing projects using email and spreadsheets had become a total nightmare. 

So, they started searching for a task management tool that would keep tabs on deliverables, tasks, and deadlines, as well as involving their clients in the process. 

The company invested in Teamwork.com. Not only does the tool give them real-time insight into their pipeline, but it involves their clients, who can not track their project’s progress without the need for an official update from a project manager.

The result? 

Strencom has tripled its NPS score — a metric used to measure customer loyalty — in just five years. 

“Not only are we completing more projects in less time, but we’re getting a reputation for on-time delivery and reliability,” Buckley says. 

“Our project delivery is now a real value add, which is good for us in Operations and for everyone in the business.”

Picking the right task management tool for your specific needs is super important, so you need to do your research. 

Some tools out there are basic, and others have everything but the kitchen sink. So, it’s important to know exactly what you need before you invest. To do that, you should compile a “must-have” features list by asking yourself: 

What types of projects do you normally have in your pipeline? 

Does your team collaborate often and would you benefit from features like notifications and automated triggers?

How many people are on your team? (this will impact how much the tool will cost)

Do you need reporting and analytics features? 

Will you need time-tracking features? 

Would you benefit from project templates to improve your task management?

Will the tool integrate into your existing tech stack? 

Whatever task management tool you pick, make sure that it ticks all of the boxes on your list and doesn’t break the bank! 

For more details about getting started with a task management tool — check out Teamwork.com .

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