Task management apps are an essential tool for sustaining your and your team's productivity by solving various time management needs, including:
- Preventing tasks from slipping through the cracks
- Aligning everyone on priorities and progress
- Keeping critical information and files in one place, so nothing gets lost
However, one of the biggest challenges people face when deciding they want to adopt a task management tool is that there are so many options. In addition to the handful of popular ones, dozens of niche apps promise to solve a slightly different pain point.
In this article, we'll dive into how to choose the best task management tool and our top picks.
Determine Your Must-Have Features
Before you even start looking for a task management tool, you need to clarify what you're looking for. Every app has different strengths and weaknesses, and if you're not sure what you need, it's impossible to which one is the best fit.
Take some time to reflect on the goals and pain points you're trying to address and create a list of features that address those needs, including:
- Built-in time tracking
- Gannt charts
- Reporting capabilities
- Integrations
- Team oversight features
You can also mark which features you'd like to have but aren't necessary.
This list gives you a strong foundation to get started since you can eliminate apps that are missing requirements.
Prioritize Simplicity Vs. Customization
Once you generally know what you're looking for, the next thing to consider is how much effort you're willing to invest in getting it. Task management apps are all across the spectrum in terms of customization options. Some limit you to default features with minimal opportunities for changes, while others allow you to build custom apps on their system.
If you have a highly specific use-case or are looking for something that can be rolled out to every team in your organization, you'll likely want something highly customizable. This will allow you to create a system that perfectly fits your needs.
However, if you don't have the time or need for a custom set up, you'll want a more straightforward tool with lots of built-in templates that allow you to get started quickly without putting much thought into the details.
Evaluate User Interface Intuitiveness
The last thing to consider is highly subjective but equally important, especially if you're adopting a tool for personal use: user interface intuitiveness. Some systems click better for certain people than others. Look for a system that makes sense to you because it will increase your likelihood of sticking with it.
Luckily, nearly every task management tool offers a free trial, so you can evaluate each of these factors from within the systems instead of relying on demos and documentation.
If you're planning to roll out a task management app for your team or our entire organization, create a committee of people who represent a variety of roles and/or personalities. This gives you a range of opinions that will help you narrow down which tool is will be intuitive for the greatest percentage of people.
Review Our Top Task Management Tools
At Prialto, we work with a ton of different task management tools for our clients. While each system works great with its' target audience, we've found that our top picks work well with a variety of businesses and personality types, so they're a strong place to start if you don't know where to begin searching.
#1 Monday - Best for Company-Wide Implementation
Monday is a task management tool that we recently rolled out internally. It's been a huge help for our team.
Here are some of the reasons why we like it:
- It's highly customizable. This allows us to adapt the tool to meet the needs of teams with different workflows and reporting requirements.
- It has robust team features. Not only is it easy to collaborate within the tool, but it also has many management tools so that our leaders can more efficiently support their teams.
- Many integrations allow us to use Monday to track work occurring in our other systems.
Keep in mind that, depending on your needs, these benefits may also be detractors. The fact that it's so customizable means that you have to invest effort into setting it up in a way that maximizes your team's productivity.
#2 Asana - Best for Teams
Asana is a favorite among our clients because it's highly affordable and easy to use. Here are some of the best features:
- It displays tasks in board, list, and timeline layout so you can track progress in whatever way makes the most sense for you.
- Its' automation and form features eliminate many of the tedious responsibilities associated with using a task management system.
- It has several ways to visualize individual and team workload, making it easier to plan projects and ensure that everyone is busy but never overworked.
Overall, Asana is an excellent tool if you want something that can do a little bit of everything and is easy to adopt.
#3 TickTick - Best for Individual Productivity
TickTick is a task management tool highly recommended by our partner and productivity coach, Alexis Haselberger. It's a super efficient tool for people who want to boost their personal and/or work productivity.
Some of TickTick's key features include:
- Automatic and repeating reminders to prevent tasks from slipping through the cracks
- Built-in productivity tools like a Pomodoro timer and white noise.
- Stats that track your productivity improvements over time.
Though it has some collaboration features, TickTick is the best fit for people who want a user-friendly personal task management tool.
Want help adopting one of these systems and support in boosting your overall productivity? Our virtual assistants are trained to help busy professionals and teams better utilize technology, build better habits, and focus on what they do best. Contact us for a free consultation to learn more about how we can support you.