As a product manager, you have a lot of responsibilities on your plate and many stakeholders to juggle. From project management to time management, communication to documentation, and file storage, you need to work with a great combination of tools to accomplish your tasks efficiently. Fortunately, there are several productivity tools available that can help you manage your workload, streamline your workflow, and increase your productivity. In this article, we will discuss seven essential productivity tools for product managers.
You have a lot to manage as a product manager. In addition to managing the product roadmap, working with cross-functional teams, and making sure your product is satisfying consumer expectations, you are in charge of creating and releasing new products. With so much to accomplish, it's simple to become worried and overwhelmed.
Productivity tools can help with it. The purpose of productivity tools is to make your work more efficient. Productivity tools can keep you ahead of the game by automating tedious chores, organizing your workflow, and enabling real-time collaboration.
You may create and assign tasks, establish deadlines, and monitor progress in real-time using project management apps like Asana and Trello, for instance. This keeps you organized and guarantees that everyone on your team is following directions.
No matter where you are in the world, you can work with your team in real-time with communication technologies like Slack and Microsoft Teams. You may communicate visually, share files, and get immediate feedback on your work.
You can track how you spend your time with time management programs like RescueTime and Toggl, allowing you to spot areas where you're wasting time and modify your workflow.
You may save time, lessen stress, and enhance your overall effectiveness as a product manager by employing productivity tools. Let's now examine some of the most well-liked productivity products on the market.
Project management is one of a product manager's most important responsibilities. You may optimize your process and make sure that you achieve your project goals by using efficient project management solutions. You can utilize the following two well-known project management tools.
You may arrange your projects into boards, lists, and cards using Trello, a visual collaboration platform. Each project can have its own board in Trello, and each board can have a variety of lists for the various phases of the project. You may, for instance, create lists for tasks that are to-do, doing, and done. For every assignment, you may also create a card and add a description, a due date, an attachment, and comments. You can invite your team members to collaborate with you on Trello and give them projects to complete. Everyone on your team will be able to see how the project is progressing, and you can all collaborate to make sure it is successful. Additionally, Trello has an intuitive user interface that makes it simple to use.
You can use it to track deadlines, delegate tasks to team members, and monitor progress. With Trello, you can ensure that everyone on your team is on the same page and working towards the same goals.
Another well-liked project management tool, Asana, can assist you in streamlining your workflow and giving assignments priority. You can make tasks, projects, and subtasks with Asana, then assign them to team members. Additionally, you can add comments, set due dates, and attach files. Asana has a number of tools, including a calendar view, a workload view, and a progress view, to help you keep on top of your projects. You can keep track of your progress and make sure you achieve your deadlines with the aid of these capabilities.
Asana is extremely simple to use thanks to its user-friendly UI. Asana offers both a free and a premium plan, with the latter offering greater functionality. You can prioritize your projects, maintain organization, and work with your team by using Asana.
In conclusion, project management tools such as Trello and Asana can help you stay organized, track progress, and collaborate with your team members. By using these tools, you can ensure that your projects are completed on time and within budget.
Time management is essential for product managers who juggle multiple tasks and deadlines. Time management tools can help you track your time, eliminate distractions, and stay focused on your priorities. Here are two time management tools that you can use.
RescueTime is a time management tool that tracks how you spend your time on your computer and mobile devices. It categorizes your activities as productive, neutral, or distracting, and shows you detailed reports of your time usage. With RescueTime, you can identify your most time-consuming activities and eliminate them to increase your productivity. The tool also offers a feature called FocusTime, which blocks distracting websites and apps while you work on important tasks. This feature helps you stay focused and avoid wasting time on non-work-related activities.
RescueTime also lets you define objectives for how you want to use your time and monitors your progress in achieving those objectives. For instance, you might establish a goal to spend 70% of your time on creative work and 30% on administrative chores if you want to spend more time on creative things and less time on administrative tasks. Then, RescueTime will monitor your time usage and display your progress toward your objective.
RescueTime is available for free, but you can purchase for additional features like blocking particular websites or apps, setting up notifications for when you spend too much time on a particular activity, and tracking your offline time.
Focus@Will is a music app that helps you stay focused and productive while you work. It offers a curated collection of instrumental music that is scientifically optimized for concentration and productivity. The music is designed to help you enter a flow state, where you are fully immersed in your work and able to complete tasks more efficiently.
With Focus@Will, you can choose from different genres, moods, and speeds, depending on your preferences. For example, if you prefer classical music, you can select the "Classical" genre. If you need a boost of energy, you can select the "UpTempo" mood. The app also offers a timer feature that syncs with your music and helps you work in focused bursts. You can set the timer for 25 minutes, 50 minutes, or 100 minutes, depending on your work style.
Moreover, Focus@Will offers a feature called "Interruptions," which plays a brief sound every few minutes to keep you alert and engaged. This feature helps you avoid getting lost in your work and missing important deadlines or meetings.
You can use Focus@Will for free or upgrade to a paid plan for more music options, such as the ability to create your own playlists, access to more genres and moods, and the ability to use the app offline.
Effective communication is crucial for product managers who work with different teams, stakeholders, and customers. Communication tools can help you stay connected, informed, and responsive to your communication needs. Here are two communication tools that you can use.
Slack is a messaging app that streamlines team communication and collaboration. It allows you to create channels for different topics or teams, send direct messages to individuals or groups, and share files and links. Slack also offers several integrations with other apps, such as Trello or Google Drive, to simplify your workflow. You can use Slack for free or upgrade to a paid plan for more features.
We build Squidly.ink because where you work is not where you collaborate with your team. Squidly.ink allows product managers to share product feedback right within the UI of your and your competitor's UI to share feedback and ideas with your team. It’s like bringing Slack and your team everywhere you go online. You can start testing Squidly and set your first comments for free.
Zoom is a video conferencing tool that allows you to conduct effective remote meetings with your team or stakeholders. It offers features such as screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, breakout rooms, and recording options. Zoom also integrates with other apps, such as Google Calendar or Asana, to schedule and join meetings seamlessly. You can use Zoom for free or upgrade to a paid plan for more features.
As a product manager, you need to take notes and document your work regularly. Note-taking and documentation tools can help you organize your thoughts, ideas, and information, and share them with your team or stakeholders. Here are two note-taking and documentation tools that you can use.
Evernote is a note-taking and documentation tool that allows you to capture and organize your notes, ideas, and files. It offers features such as tags, notebooks, and web clipper to categorize your notes and find them quickly. Evernote also allows you to collaborate with your team members and share your notes and files with them. You can use Evernote for free or upgrade to a paid plan for more features.
Google Docs is a cloud-based documentation tool that allows you to create, edit, and share your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in real-time. It offers features such as version history, comments, and suggestions to track changes and collaborate with your team members. Google Docs also integrates with other apps, such as Google Drive or Gmail, to simplify your workflow. You can use Google Docs for free or upgrade to a paid plan for more storage space and features.
Product managers deal with a lot of files, such as designs, prototypes, and reports. File management and storage tools can help you organize, store, and share your files securely and efficiently. Here are two file management and storage tools that you can use.
Dropbox is a program for managing and storing files in the cloud that lets you save, sync, and distribute your data safely. It provides tools for simple file management, including version history, file recovery, and file requests. To make your process simpler, Dropbox also interacts with other programs like Trello or Slack. You have the option of using Dropbox for free or upgrading to a premium subscription for more features and storage.
Google Drive is a cloud-based file management and storage tool that allows you to create, edit, and share your files, such as documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, in real-time. It offers features such as search, file organisation, and file sharing settings to control access to your files. Google Drive also integrates with other apps, such as Google Docs or Gmail, to simplify your workflow. You can use Google Drive for free or upgrade to a paid plan for more storage space and features.
Your success as a product manager depends on your capacity to efficiently manage your work, time, communications, and files. You may increase productivity, lower stress, and enhance performance by utilizing the productivity tools discussed in this article. However, keep in mind that productivity tools are not an end in themselves but rather a means to an end. They are only useful if you apply them correctly and in conjunction with your product management abilities, wisdom, and experience.