5 Timesaving Tips for Project Management

Time-Saving Strategies Optimizing Project Schedules

5 Timesaving Tips for Project Management

You do not have time to complete any of your tasks and you keep getting notifications about more tasks assigned to you. The following 5 tips will help you save time when participating in and managing projects.
 Time-Saving Strategies Optimizing Project Schedules

Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

 

1. Plan ahead is Timesaving Tips

 

If you are managing some projects you need to create a project plan to be able to manage all the people involved in this project. Doing a plan will help you make different requirements, assignments, goals, deadlines, timelines. And sources visible for the management and the team. And the time saved can be spent on completing some of the tasks, focusing or, simply, on a good additional 15 minutes of sleep in the morning for example.

 

Set up Work View Kanban

Work view: kanban

 

2. Know your timeline – know Timesaving Tips

 

Know yourself to adequately estimate the amount of work you can do in a given timeframe. You will manage your progress, if you realize and be honest with your manager that there is a lot of work in your plan. Always know the status of your work and be proactive with it. Only agree to new assignments when you are confident that you will be able to complete your old ones on time.

 

Time-Saving Approaches in Project Management

Source: formacerta

3. Delegate tasks

 

Learn to trust the members and you will become a project management expert. Your team should have their skills and expertise to get the job done. Even if they cannot, let’s train them and give them a chance to get all team support together. Brief your colleagues about a task and make sure they understand what needs to be done and when it needs to be done.

 

4. Prioritize tasks

 

Everyone will have days when things become a little overwhelming. Work Progress Management will be easier when you divide large tasks into small tasks. Everyone will focus on their shared work so that the work will be completed better without work pressure.

 

5. Use tools for project management

 

If you are too much work, but still want to monitor and manage the project well. The solution for you is to use project management software. There are a variety of tools so that you can try to make sure those are appropriated to your personal needs or business requirements. However, UpDiagram is an alternative and it is free forever unless you wish to upgrade your account with advanced functions and other customization. With all necessary functions and consecutive innovation. It is a belief that UpDiagram can fully offer your need to manage projects and daily tasks with smart time management.

 

Because time is gold, very precious to everyone, so you should actively save it. With the above interesting sharing, you can refer and implement it to use your time and manage projects effectively.

 

Contact support@updiagram.com for assistance. We are with you every step of the way.

The basic steps to manage project management professionally

Is it really difficult to manage projects professionally?

To become a professional project manager is very arduous, having to go through a process of studying and taking exams to achieve PMP certification. But the article below stands with a basic perspective, anyone can become a professional project manager. Here are the basic steps that you can learn.
 The basic steps to manage project management professionally

Photo by Israel Andrade on Unsplash

 

1. Understand the project doing managed

 

Doing anything you should understand, grasp about this. And the same goes for management, to manage well, you need to be the person who knows the project best. By understanding the project, you will have the appropriate assignment of work, good management of personnel, and the progress of the work. UpDiagram provides some specialized templates for project management, professional and convenient.

 

Understand the goals of the project

Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

 

2. Ahead of the plan for the project

 

Planning will never be superfluous for project control. A clear plan will act as the right path for everyone to follow and get the job done. It supports managers to capture information as well as activities that will be and are happening in the project. That is manage projects professionally.

 

3. Motivating work with the art of praise – criticism

 

Tips to criticizing employees but don't hurt or offend them

Sources: linkedin.com

 

You will find great benefits from commending employees when they do a good job. If the bonuses create financial motivation, then the commendation creates the spiritual motivation to promote the spirit of working more enthusiastically and creatively. If you criticize employees directly, harshly and with uncultured words, it will easily make them resentful and may abandon you. Therefore, when criticizing employees, administrators need to both punch and rub because they are still good employees by nature. You make them aware of their mistakes but don’t hurt or offend them so they try to correct them.

 

4. Always prepare contingency plans

 

When a new project is launched, there will always be certain risks that you can hardly foresee. Therefore, preparing more risk-based or drastic alternatives than arranging a dedicated crisis team, will be a wise move for a project manager. That is manage projects professionally.

 

5. Keep regular meeting

 Keep regular meeting is one of the ways to improve work efficiency

Sources: Pinterest

 

These meetings are extremely practical for both the client and the project team. The manager will understand the requirements and wishes of the customer, to complete and develop the project. In addition, meetings will help the project be divided into specific timelines, helping managers to regulate work more easily.

 

6. Application of tools to support project management

 

For a long time, traditional management tools like excel and email have proven their power, making it easier to manage progress and information. However, under the influence of Industrial Revolution 4.0, these tools increasingly reveal many weaknesses and limitations. Therefore, the new trend of the management industry today is to apply a tool with outstanding features such as UpDiagram.com to help solve most of the management problems of enterprises when traditional tools are no longer available ability to meet.

 

It will not be too difficult if we always try to improve ourselves day by day. It’s the same with management if you always learn and improve with the tips above. However, all these tips will only stop at the theoretical level if you do not try to apply them to handle the problems encountered by the business. The success or failure of the project depends a lot on the pioneering role of a manager like you!

 

Contact support@updiagram.com for assistance. We are with you every step of the way.

Best Project Management Platforms for Enhanced Efficiency

Top 5 effective project management platforms

 Project management has now become a norm because most business domains require project management skills from small to large scale projects. Because of the development of technology as well as online management models according to Agile and Scrum methods. The need to develop and manage projects on a project management platform that integrates many features to serve the needs of the world is becoming a trend.
  Best Project Management Platforms for Enhanced Efficiency

 

Today, applications are refined to adapt and respond to the needs and diversity of many business areas. Helping to increase performance, flexibility, collaboration and connectivity at all levels of a project in particular and businesses in general. With the list of 5 project management applications below, users will have more choices to meet the needs and costs of their business.

 

UpDiagram – new project management platforms

UpDiagram is a free project management platform and is especially suitable for Agile project management. It is a result of the structure and operating principle of the system allows users to divide tasks into different sprints. The project manager can fully control the timeline and workload. Besides different viewing formats such as KanbanMindmap or Calendar format. UpDiagram supports users to manage work, compare and customize with Sprint Planning quickly on one interface. Thereby saving time and minimizing errors in the process of planning and operating the project. In addition, the Grid view will give an overall visualization with just one view without more complex action.

 

Grid View

Workview: Grid View

 

Work views for project management:

– Grid view

– Kanban

– Mindmap

– Calendar

 

In spite of being designed to be suitable for project management. UpDiagram is still able to adapt to a variety of fields from marketing, accounting, tourism, hospitality,… to the needs of managing daily personal work. In other words, it was developed to serve both the needs of personal use and enterprise-scale with completely free of charge.

 

Besides, UpDiagram platform supports users with Comments, Notifications, Export and Import projects from excel or from other applications. For sample project usage needs, UpDiagram also stores sample templates provided by previous customers and users. The information has been changed, but the structure of the project remains the same, so users can use it and make it suitable for their own purposes.

 Screen interface Calendar work view of UpDiagram

Work view: Calendar

 

As mentioned above, UpDiagram has a lifetime free package support for individual. Business-level usage needs if users do not have to upgrade special-purpose customizations. For more advanced packages. UpDiagram also supports a more favorable fee. Specifically, the Advanced plan is discounted from $5 for 1 user/month to $1 for 1 user/month. The discount period lasts up to 2 years. Not only that, for corporate partners, UpDiagram supports training guides and allows free use of up to 3 months for the Pro package.

 

If you want to find out more information about the offers for the project management application UpDiagram, you can contact the staff for better consulting.

 

Trello – good project management platforms

Trello is one of the popular tools when it comes to software because of its very early appearance. That tool is a management tool in the form of Kanban boards. It is because of the simplicity thanks to the familiar kanban interface that anyone who works on the project can understand and use it quickly. That Trello has won the trust of many managers.

Currently, other interfaces such as Timeline, Calendar, and Mindmap have also been refined and upgraded by Trello. So that people can use them for many different purposes instead of just one view in Kanban form as before. With Trello, users can choose to use free plans or other advanced packages. The price for the premium plan is about $10 for 1 user and the price for the Enterprise plan is up to $17.5 for 1 user.

 

Jira

Jira project management software stands out for its ability to customize the team’s operating model, or the release process for each project at an enterprise scale. It also supports many different project view formats. At the same time, that tool serves the needs of document storage and management. And project members can easily searched and accessed. Thus, for projects that have more members involved in the life cycle, they can still capture project information easily.

 

Cons:

However, there is a significant barrier when using Jira is that accessing and getting used to it when starting to use it will take a lot of time. To use tool effectively, businesses need a training team to support the use and it will take time to adapt when new members join Jira.

 

Jira pricing ranges from $7 to $14 for 1 user/month. The cost will vary according to the number of users who will have a better discount.

 

Basecamp

In addition, Basecamp is also an indispensable name when it comes to popular management tools. Similar to other applications, Basecamp helps users manage remote projects effectively. Assigning and receiving work to project members immediately, combined with real-time notification function.

 

Pros:

Some of the outstanding features in terms of Basecamp include allowing users to create a daily to-do list, set up work times, attach information and create group chats to exchange between teams.

Cons:

With Basecamp, businesses will pay about $99 / month to be able to use the maximum functionality. In general, the price of Basecamp is considered to be quite high compared to the common ground of other apps.

 

Wrike

 

Besides other applications, Wrike is also quite popular as a provider of management solutions for large enterprises in the world. For that reason, there is no doubt about the ability to satisfy the needs of enterprise management with a large scale of personnel.

 

Pros:

Not only the basic features of a project management application. Wrike also supports integration with Zapier or allows synchronization with Github. Simultaneously, Wrike also has a free plan to experience or use at a personal level.

Cons:

On the other hand, Wrike with the enterprise version will require a large cost. Especially, startups or SMEs (small and medium enterprises) if they want to use the advanced functions of more advanced packages. Such as the Professional version for teams of 5-200 people, it is $9.8 for 1 user / month. Since this is the lowest package, other important functions will limited. And the higher cost of the package will be a big barrier, especially for Vietnamese businesses.

 

Conclusion

Above is a list of effective project management applications for individuals and businesses. This ensures users can experience, compare and evaluate applications to have the most suitable choice for them. Especially, in the covid era, working and managing remotely is one of the inevitable problems. The above applications hope to be effective solutions for users and businesses.

 

UpDiagram is having a program to support businesses that are in need of using management tools at a preferential cost. On the other hand, we are ready to support bilingual clients (English and Vietnamese). Thereby reducing the problem of language barriers and management costs. To experience the product for free, do not hesitate to register with UpDiagram now.

Scrum and Agile basics you should know

To manage a project well, people often use different management models, or processes, such as “Waterfall”, “Lean”, “6 sigmas”… in which there are many management processes. Traditional management has stopped working for some businesses. The problem is because there are more and more changes in projects, such as customer needs, special requirements for each project, or other issues… and traditional methods don’t help businesses catch up with customer trends, affecting the development of the plan.
Therefore, Scrum and Agile are applied to solve the outstanding difficulties and changing needs in the projects of enterprises.

1. Basics of Agile

Essentially understood as a management manifesto, and arguably more flexible than older management methods, Agile allows management teams to transcend the traditional sequential model and Get more done in a shorter amount of time. Essentially the Agile methodology described consists of 12 important principles that talk about communication, collaboration, the importance of software, and openness to change in the project.

 

And with 4 core values:

  1. Personalization and engagement through processes and tools
  2. The software works better than documents overall
  3. Cooperate with customers in contract negotiation
  4. Willingness to respond to innovation rather than always following a plan

 

12 keys important Agile principlesSources: hoangsyquy.blogspot.com

 

12 keys important principles: 12 principles divided into 4 groups, each group has a different meaning. The principles divided into 4 groups, each group has a different meaning. 

 1. Agile principles of customer satisfaction
-Early and continuous delivery of valuable software
-Welcome changing requirements, even late in development 
-Deliver working software frequently 

 2. Agile principles of quality
-Working software is the primary measure of progress
-Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely
-Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility

 3. Agile principles of teamwork
-Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project
-Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done
-The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation
-The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams

4. Agile principles of project management
-Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential
-At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly

Not only that, but Agile also has principles that businesses should prioritize to satisfy customers with their products. Examples are repeatability, increment, adaptation, process management, communication, value-based development.

 

2. What is Scrum?

Since it is an Agile software development process, it follows the principles of Agile. Scrum is a project management framework that is very widely applied, from simple projects to those with very complex requirements or even those that require a fixed time frame. Scrum transcends the traditional Waterfall model thanks to the following three roles: product owner, production team, development team. The deliverables of the project are divided into different phases, and it is called a Sprint, with the task of facilitating changes, tailoring solutions, and delivering the best results.

 

What is Scrum process?

 

Scrum also owns a concept called Scrum Event, there are 5 events in the Scrum process: Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. With these events, Scrum helps to reduce unnecessary meetings, shorten the time for unnecessary debates and discussions. Events will terminate if the event’s objective is complete.

 

3. Correlation between Scrum and Agile

As mentioned above, because Scrum is developed based on Agile, it will have the same goal. In short, Scrum is a type of method and is within the Agile framework. Both are optimization of the value created for the customer through different stages. Despite their similarities, the two have distinct differences.

 

If Scrum has its characteristics such as: is a working model based on the basic principles of Agile, when implementing different projects, there is no need to change the process or organization, .. Agile is considered as a methodology with many principles, it may be necessary to change the process or organization when implementing different projects,…

 

Scrum is more popular than Agile, because Scrum is flexible, like how it can shorten projects, or for the development team to make unlimited changes based on customer requirements. Not only that, but Scrum also allows innovation and creativity to help the project reduce many risks, unexpected problems, increase productivity, and efficiency can also increase continuously.

 

4. Is it difficult to use tools to exploit Scrum and Agile?

In the 4.0 era, technology will be what holds a decisive role in the success or failure of businesses. The application of scientific and technological advances to enterprises, especially in project management. It will make a big difference in competitiveness compared to other enterprises in the market. UpDiagram’s templates like businessproject managementmarketing, etc. Are suggestions that you should try to exploit Scrum and Agile methods. Like other management methods or processes, Scrum and Agile have their distinct advantages and disadvantages.

 

But to apply Scrum and Agile effectively is not too difficult. If we know how to use a tool with core values ​​(transparency, inspection, adaptability), track members clearly, connect people in the project. Then UpDiagram is a tool that satisfies those needs that condition. How to apply UpDiagram to exploit Scrum and Agile.

 

Contact support@updiagram.com for assistance. We are with you every step of the way.

UpDiagram – a tool that brings great experiences to users

1/ So what is UpDiagram?

 

The answer is extremely simple, UpDiagram is considered an online project management tool suitable for the Agile model for the Scrum team at a very favorable price, that is free, with the desire to bring experiences, completely convenient, fast, and optimize the management process, as well as create cohesive collaboration among employees in the company.

See more about basic usage for UpDiagram at  How to use UpDiagram?

Providing modern software that always fully meets the needs of customers is also a great motivation for UpDiagram’s long-term development.

 

2/ Instructions for using UpDiagram

– Create yourself an account

 

Creating an account on UpDiagram is very simple, you just need to visit UpDiagram and perform basic information filling operations, then you immediately have yourself an account. And now, you can log in UpDiagram on PC, laptop, and mobile.

 

– Advanced options

 

UpDiagram is a free tool, but you can also pay a very low fee to experience the service it offers. With only $ 5 for the Pro package, you can freely use the special features of UpDiagram.

 

– Templates are rich and diverse in quantity and quality

 

To be able to thoughtfully serve the different needs of customers in different fields, UpDiagram always updates the management templates regularly, with a large number such as BusinessCreativeLegalMarketingProject Management,… Instead of creating a blank project, you can use the template to create a new project with all the statistics. By clicking uses templates.

 

– Set up custom fields and create tickets

 

Custom Fields is one of the most prominent features of UpDiagram, it helps users to manage their projects efficiently. You can customize according to your needs based on: letters, numbers, dates, attachments, lists, check box, calculations, people, timelines, checklists. You can also use “Custom Views” to choose to display fields according to your purposes. In general, “Custom Views” will be suitable for Kanban views.

 

Tickets can be thought of as your quest details on a lower level and smaller package. Thus, the hierarchy can be understood as creating projects, packages, and tickets.

 

UpDiagram
Setting UpDiagram

– Ability to archive and delete projects

 

For projects, deleting and restoring a project is an important element of management. If the project finish and you want to clean it up, you can use the special feature provide by UpDiagram. We support 2 features: archiving and deleting projects. This function will keep you from deleting the project completely.

 

To delete a project completely, you need to archive it first, then go to UpDiagram’s project archive and choose to delete it completely. In case of a mistake, recovery is still possible.

 

UpDiagram

Active and Archive

– Activity Tracking

 

UpDiagram always appreciates the issue of connecting project participants with each other. To optimize that collaboration, we have supported the feature where you can leave your comments. What stands out about this feature is security, as you can make comments public or private, depending on your purpose to better communicate with your team.

 

Public comments help you and your team members understand what discuss in the project. While private commenting allows you to make small notes for that task. Activity Tracking also displays the period at which members commented.

 

– Timeline for the project

 

The issue of time is always the biggest concern of managers, to solve the problem of time, the answer is to use UpDiagram’s timeline feature. Timeline helps users understand the deadlines of tasks when participating in a project.

 

See also: 5 Timesaving Tips for Project Management

 

– Attachments

 

This is a feature that allows us to upload images of the project, helping the manager to track the progress, understand the problems that the project encounters. Attachments are more effective when used in Kanban and Grid boards.

 

– Import other tools with UpDiagram

 

If using UpDiagram, people can Import / Export Excel or existing projects from Trello, Assembla, Jira, Github…or integrate applications like Slack, Rocketchat, Zalo, Microsoft team, etc. This special ability to help “move house” is no longer a problem.

 

UpDiagram is truly the tool that businesses should have for themselves, with flexible and extensive features UpDiagram will support management tasks in the smoothest and best possible way.

 

If you have any questions or problems during use, please contact support@updiagram.com for support.

Scrum and Agile Applications using UpDiagram

As mentioned in the previous post about the basics of Scrum and Agile, and the modern perception of the application of tool technology to exploiting Scrum as well as Agile. Well, today we’re going to make that clear.

1. What is UpDiagram?

 

UpDiagram was introduced by the publisher as a complete application for project management. With free criteria but giving users an intuitive and transparent view of the management project. Using a potential tool like UpDiagram to thoroughly apply Scrum and Agile to their projects. UpDiagram provides users with a large number of versatile features such as creating Product Backlogs, meeting review tasks, or even job creation to optimize the management of members (receiving tasks, handling tasks, ..). And even the most subtle things such as work status, human resource assignment, activity tracking, etc. Even when the task If not completed, UpDiagram also has a method to improve it. For example: moving the old task to the new week, creating an opportunity to discuss for members to come up with a solution right on the task, etc.

UpDiagram thoroughly apply Scrum and Agile to projects

 

In addition, the developer UpDiagram also relies on the twelve principles of the “Agile manifesto”. To help businesses get the right models and suggestions into practice and application. With professional templates used to manage Scrum & Agile methods in practice such as business roadmapproduct developmentclient project, etc.

 

2. Scrum and Agile will be optimized when applied with UpDiagram

 

If Excel and Gmail were born early and have significant achievements in management. UpDiagram is like the youngest born later, inheriting the features of the two brothers, and taking care to overcome the limitations of the two platforms. The cumbersome, inflexibility of traditional platforms affects the application of Scrum & Agile in management. UpDiagram has recognized and evaluated that weakness, so it has overcome that cumbersome and inflexible. Previously, it was necessary to set up functions and interfaces in Excel to be suitable for project management.

 

At the same time, having to operate and manage email as well as exchange information with each other, now users can use the tool to support all functions and interfaces for a project. On the other hand, the functions of notification, sending email, or changing through communication tools such as Zalo, Messenger, Slack, and Rocket are integrated and synchronized. In other words, you can complete multiple tasks on UpDiagram’s single platform. Without having to access many different applications at the same time.

 

3. Scrum method applied in UpDiagram

 

To exploit the full potential of the Scrum framework. UpDiagram has relied on a core element (“three legs” or “three pillars” of Scrum) that can lead users to extremely satisfying experiences.

 

 Transparency: the information related to the project must be transparent. Such information can be product vision, customer requirements, work progress, bottlenecks, and barriers, etc. From there, people in different roles have all the necessary information to make valuable decisions to improve work efficiency. UpDiagram provides comments and deadlines in a very transparent and clear way. In addition, UpDiagram also helps managers assign project participants specifically. The interface of UpDiagram is also a plus because it helps managers and participants easily grasp the work.

 

 Checkability: Continuous monitoring of the work progress of activities in Scrum ensures. The discovery of problems as well as solutions so that diverse and useful information reaches project stakeholders. With the notification and “activity tracking” section, the manager will know what is happening with the project.

 

 Adaptability: Based on transparent information from the test and work processes. Scrum can respond to changes positively, thereby bringing success to the project. When using UpDiagram members can easily exchange information in the comment section, select data fields suitable for each stage of work, as well as disseminate customer requests to everyone easily.

 

4. Agile Methodology in UpDiagram

 

In addition to the 12 principles and 5 facts of the Scrum process, the key to applying Agile using UpDiagram is how to harness the 4 core Agile values. Similar to Scrum, those 4 values ​​of Agile are fully utilized by UpDiagram.

 

 Personalization and interaction through processes and tools: each person involved in a project using UpDiagram is engaged in tasks, multiple interaction options (status, activities,…).

 

 The software works better than the overall document: UpDiagram has an easy-to-see interface and customizable data fields that will help managers understand more than the overall document.

 

– Cooperation with customers in contract negotiation: UpDiagram provides a description, which will allow us to connect members so that they understand the customer’s requirements in the contract and do it well.

 

– Be open to innovation rather than always following a plan: with notifications, project changes help members recognize and correct if problems arise. In addition, UpDiagram’s custom fields capabilities make it a versatile tool when applying the Scrum methodology.

 

Scrum and Agile are both easy and difficult if we have a way to embrace them. “Those who have will, the house has a solid foundation” all things in this life if we have the patience to explore and learn, one-day success will come. Choose UpDiagram as an application to harness the potential of Scrum and Agile. Let UpDigram make a solid foundation for your business. Leading the trend by applying 4.0 technology to project management.

 

Contact support@updiagram.com for assistance. We are with you every step of the way.

Task management software for people working from home

Top tools that need for work while working from home

Since the pandemic appeared, working from home has always been a problem that everyone is facing. From civil servants, office workers to students, students also have to study and work from home. For that reason, the following tools and supplies will be essential for anyone to be able to maintain and develop their work even though they are working from home but still be productive.

 

Task management software for people working from home

Trends of working from home

 

Working from home, in fact, was not an unfamiliar keyword even before the pandemic took place. Because of the development and popularity of the Internet and technology. The recruitment of personnel or some companies that operate a remote working policy has been born and operated for a long time. It will not be difficult to see online job recruitment on international forums and also in Vietnam. Specifically, those who  work online at home are often called freelancers. A fairly common keyword in the field of Marketing, Desgin, and some other industries. However, working from home has only become the norm and will become mainstream when the pandemic breaks out.

 

In fact, the experience of working from home because of the epidemic opens a new door for businesses to have the opportunity to test employee productivity. This is a turning point for businesses to confidently change their working model to bring many benefits and conveniences while ensuring the quality of work.

 

Some benefits of working from home:

 

– Limit the risk of disease transmission. Because this is the original purpose of operating the work-from-home model of businesses.

– Cut down commuting time. For employees who are far away from the company, this will bring great benefits

– Reduce costs incurred such as parking, gas, food. When you’re at home, you don’t have to spend money on expensive food that don’t guarantee hygiene.

– Improved adaptability, management and remote working skill. At the same time, improve the ability to use project management tools (UpDiagram, Trello, Jira,…) and video call applications (Zoom, Skype,…).

 

Read more: Top 5 effective project management platforms

 

Top tools and essential items when working from home

Computer, laptops and phones

 

It is understandable when most officers have to work directly with computers. In other words, a computer is an inseparable object of any office worker because of its convenience. Specifically, tasks such as using management software, exchanging information, researching, composing documents, writing mail are all done on a single computer device. In addition, as mentioned above, using a video call application for online meetings like Zoom is inevitable when working from home. Therefore, computers act as weapons to help employees adapt to the challenges of working from home.

 

Besides, the phone is also considered an essential item. In terms of utility, no one can doubt that a smartphone packed with tons of features can run almost as much as a computer. However, the reason why mobile devices are so essential to work is that you can get information or work from anywhere.

 

Take a real-life example, you are exchanging information with a colleague, but suddenly there is a call to receive goods. Then you can have just received the goods and still be able to follow the discussion without depending on the computer or laptop.

 

On the other hand, when there is an urgent need for communication. But colleagues or customers do not always check your messages, or even, the Internet connection is not stable, then one phone will take care of it all. Apparently, it depends on how you use it.

 

Read more: Rules of cellphone

 

Internet

 

The Internet is a revolutionary invention that has changed almost all fields around the world. Therefore, the Internet is a bridge and a catalyst for smooth work. Indeed, the work you do requires an Internet connection to be able to interact and exchange information. Without the Internet, you will feel isolated because you cannot work or update work information. And it would be a disaster if you were in a meeting, but “lost your life” in the middle.This is probably the common feeling of anyone who is going through the period of working from home.

Strong internet settings are tips for better working from home

 

Therefore, the suggestion for you is to always make sure that you have enough money in your account and have the syntax to register for 4G networks. So that when needed you can quickly register and use it. At the same time, mobile devices can also share Internet capacity for computers and laptops. Again, the value of the phone is undeniable.

 

Working style

 

Why working style? In fact, people who work from home often have a maxim of whatever. That is, you can work anywhere, regardless of the bedroom or the living room. You can even work at any time or wear whatever you want. However, that behavior is a direct influence on work if you do not set rules for yourself.

 

Therefore, you should set some rules and habits when working.

 

– First of all, prepare yourself a comfortable and beautiful workspace. As a result, every day you will have a feeling of being stimulated to work, want to quickly sit at work and limit the feeling of boredom and lazy to work.

 

– Next, set a specific working time frame. The best time is similar to when you are working at the company to form the habit. At the same time, you should also choose and allocate tasks according to the time that you can focus on to ensure the best performance.

 

– Clothing is also something you should pay attention to when working from home. Have you ever thought the reason why we have to wear uniforms or wear clothes according to the company’s regulations? The answer is motivation. When we wear the prescribed clothes, we feel that we are in a serious environment, from which the ability to focus and the sense of responsibility will increase.

 

Read more: How to manage your time to maximize your work

 

Project and task management software

 

To easily track and capture project information, work progress and maintain interaction with members in the company, an online management tool will be your lifesaver. Basically, a software will integrate many features from task management, notifications, interaction, authorization or even connection with other applications to maximize work performance on one single tool. Thanks to that, you can also manage your work scientifically and save more time. Complicated processes can all be eliminated and working time is no longer an obstacle.

 

Specifically, with UpDiagram, a free project management software. Users can manage work from individuals to businesses with a variety of fields wherever they are. UpDiagram is also available on the web or mobile devices (Android and iOS). This will be one of the useful tools to eliminate the problems that any business faces.

 

Conclusion

 

The above are tools and items that help improve efficiency when working from home during the lockdown. Even with the trend and benefits of working from home, this model may still be maintained by businesses in the near future. For businesses looking for remote project and project management tools, UpDiagram will be a suitable one, especially for Startups or small and medium enterprises (SMEs). For a free solution consultation and further offers, please contact UpDiagram or via email support@updiagram.com.

Essential Tools for Remote Work Productivity

Tips for effective WFH with tools

The covid 19 pandemics appeared in the winter days of December 2019 so far. At the same time, the difficult problems that covid brings are not only the continuously increasing number of cases, the stagnation of education, etc. But the most serious is the “lockdown” period because of the pandemic. So businesses have allowed their employees to “work from home” with tools, but there is one shortcoming to this working model, which is how to be effective.
 Essential Tools for Remote Work Productivity

Photo by Mikey Harris on Unsplash

1. Maintain meetings – WFH with tools

 

No more going to work, no more coffee meetings with colleagues is sad, but we still have to keep an optimistic spirit. If it is not possible to meet colleagues directly, we can try using tools such as zoom, google meeting, skype, lifesize,… Meeting through tools will help colleagues talk to each other. They can confide, exchange and deploy work better. Any problems will be better resolved by phone calls instead of text messages.

 

Tools for meeting when work form home

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

2. Choose the right tools for this “WFH” season

 

When geographical distance is the cause that affects the communication and problem-solving in the project, problems arise such as difficulties in management and administration, staff, or disorientation due to problems, because your project management is not good… then think about using technology in management.

 

It will be the right choice to have “a friend” to share the work with during this “work from home” season. Some tools such as Excel, Misa Amis,… to manage tasks from home, family,… in addition, there is also the UpDiagram tool, which is often chosen by professional managers to manage projects. Projects large and small, for example:

– Business: risk management, inventory management, etc.

– HR & Recruitment: manage absences, track candidates, etc.

– Marketing: SEO word lists, product development, etc.

 

With a range of project management templates customized to meet the distinct requirements of every business, UpDiagram ensures users a genuine, gratifying, and fulfilling experience. Explore our collection of professional project management templates to find the ideal solution. Click here for professional project management templates.

3. Care about spiritual life

 

A few positive songs in the morning will make for a great day at work. Some applications can choose music for work such as youtube, Spotify,… Not only that, but different music streams will support your work in a different direction.

– Classical music helps relax, relieve stress

– Ethnic instrumental songs help improve learning, memorization, and concentration

– Music without lyrics helps to pace the work with fluency

– Electronic music is suitable to listen to early in the morning, for confidence and energy

– Pop music for data entry jobs

 

4. Create a habit of rest and exercise

 

Just like working at the office, even if you work from home, you still have to have your golden hours to rest. The two main breaks during the day are the lunch break and the end of the working day. In addition, each individual can have additional small breaks for themselves such as 15 minutes to drink more water or eat a piece of cake or fruit. If you know how to combine work and rest together most scientifically, it will help increase work efficiency.

 

Not only do we need a scientific rest period, but we also need physical exercises to start the “machine” to work. Good health is shown in flexibility, strength. To get that health we need to have exercises for the body such as neck muscles, arm muscles, and back,… and need initiative, and self-discipline in sports. Work cannot be completed well if the body is tired and lacks vitality.

 

Proper rest and exercise when have a small break when WFH

Photo by Boxed Water Is Better on Unsplash

 

Proper rest and exercise will help the body balance work and health. Significantly improve productivity. You can try using the UpDiagram tool to manage your daily rest and exercise habits.

See also: Manage daily routine and Work with UpDiagram

 

5. Limit distractions

 

Working from home with ideal conditions is certainly more comfortable than working at the office, but at the same time, it is also an environment that is easy to distract and distract. It is the biggest challenge of the day at home, in this “WFH” season. There are too many things around, things that are not related to work that will interest you: phones, televisions, neighbors,… and the mentality of always wanting to do a lot of things at the same time. This is extremely dangerous for the mind’s ability to concentrate, it can gradually form a bad habit and then it will be difficult to improve concentration.

 

To minimize distraction, the simplest thing is to plan specifically what you have to do during the day. Choose the right tools to survive WFH without being drowned out by distractions. Use a tool like UpDiagram to get yourself a proper timetable. With the ability to create a timeline, due date, and also the ability to notify by days, weeks, and each activity, make sure you can not be distracted or neglected work.

See also: How to survive in Working from home mode?

 

Leave an email here UpDiagram contact page for advice or contact support@updiagram.com directly for support. We will be with you every step of the way.

Top Timeline Management Software for Streamlining Project Planning

Timeline management software and work schedule suitable for Project Managers

“Time is the most precious thing, wasting time must be the most extravagant waste” – Benjamin Franklin (Founding Father of the United States of America). So in order not to waste the amount of time lost, people from ancient times used notebooks to record their work schedules. But in the 4.0 era with the rise of technology, people need convenience more than ever, so timeline and schedule management software was born.
 Top Timeline Management Software for Streamlining Project Planning

Photo by airfocus on Unsplash

 

There are many choices for time management software, but to find the right one for your work and yourself, you should not miss the following article.

 

1. Time management software application and work schedule in the digital age

 

It will not be too difficult to see digital innovations in businesses and daily life, from managing daily expenses to more difficult things such as event management, software management,… and time management too. In the age of technology, every innovation revolves around technology.

 

UpDiagram Calendar View for Time management

Work view: Calendar

 

Timeline and calendar management software is a digitized tool that takes advantage of simple technology so that a business or individual can manage, allocate and use time more scientifically. The benefits it brings will surprise you, such as:

 

– Easily plan for the long term, and always remind when the work is near due.

– Comfortable and convenient when looking up, can be used on Lap, on Mobile,…

– Long storage time, large storage capacity, high security.

– Managers can capture the timeline and work schedule of project members.

 

Digital transformation in timeline and work schedule management helps businesses save time and costs because managers can systematize employee work information, creating a premise for reasonable resource allocation.

 

2. Features that make it a good time management software

 

There are many software for different choices, for a professional manager, time management software should have the following features.

 

– Easy-to-use interface, simple operation, smooth operation

 

Because it’s still a calendar, time management software needs a simple, easy-to-use interface. Ensure that businesses or individuals can capture the time of the project they are participating in.

 

Good software will bring experiences such as instructions for operation and proficiency after a few uses. Easy to find and deploy the necessary functions. The interface has easy-to-understand language, scientific layout. The application gets tips to save time when managing.

See also: 5 Timesaving Tips for Project Management

 

– Ability to work on Mobile and different electronic devices

 

It will be a convenient software that can be used at any place and at any time. Time management software will be the most optimal when you can assign tasks, manage progress, track timelines – project work schedules with just an electronic device, no longer having to fear a notebook. thick progress records, or lots of paper calendars to manage time. With software capable of managing time you will balance life and work.

See also: How to balance your life and work?

 

– Manage directly as well as edit details on Calendar

 

This feature is very convenient, instead of having to take notes on each job, we can fix it right on it by clicking directly on the items or cards on the right. When clicking on the PopUp will appear and the manager or employee can see the information inside such as timeline, due date, critical level,… This helps us to concretize the work right on the Calendar. No need to switch to other views.

 

UpDiagram fix details on items or cards by clicking

Popup detail 

 

– Responsive business needs, and be effective in use

 

The following features will be a prerequisite for evaluating a project management software:

  1. Notification function when the work is near due
  2. Ability to create and manage multiple projects, schedules, timelines
  3. Can tag on priority for each job and divide easily
  4. Manage the progress, decentralize and assign tasks clearly
  5. Weekly summary report to the manager
  6. Can be integrated active directory

 

Choosing the Right Timeline Management Software

Photo by Clack Tibbs on Unsplash

 

3. Some popular scheduling software today

 

The world’s software market is expanding, with the emergence of many types of time management tools, from simple to complex. Popular software to manage work and time can be mentioned as Asana, Trello, Due, etc. With the advantage of fully satisfying basic features, you can experience it for free. But the disadvantage of this software is that the ability to connect with other administrative applications is not good, in addition, that the feature is not decentralized, as well as the “deletion” of jobs that have been assignment easily without leaving any notice, and at the same time, the interface is different in language, culture…

 

UpDiagram tool:

 

Capturing the above problems and overcoming them, UpDiagram is the first choice for time management. UpDiagram has a separate management environment that can satisfy businesses in terms of time and resource allocation. With outstanding advantages such as:

 

1/ Diverse custom fields: image, text, list, checkbox, date, progress, to the calculation formula, etc

2/ Email and In-app notification for project activities

3/ Import data from available projects from Trello, Assembla, Jira, Excel,… Integrate other applications such as Microsoft team, Slack, Rocket, Zalo,…

4/ Many project management templates, with many options for many other needs and purposes of the business

 

“If you don’t plan, you’re planning to fail!” here as well as advice and warnings for managers when participating in supervising a certain project. Managing the timeline or work schedule reasonably and scientifically will help the project develop quickly and effectively. What are you waiting for without “buying” right away for your business management software.

 

Leave an email in UpDiagram contact page for advice or contact support@updiagram.com directly for support. We will be with you every step of the way.

The shift from traditional work environment to digital work environment is taking place gradually.

The digital working environment is gradually replacing the traditional working environment

With the continuous development of the software industry. Tools to support work are increasingly introduce, leading to the formation of a new working environment called “Digital Environment” or understand as a working environment in which we can work more efficiently using technology. To have an overview of the two environments above, the following article will clarify that.
 The shift from traditional work environment to digital work environment is taking place gradually.

Photo by Leon on Unsplash

 

1. Traditional working environment

 

According to workclockwise.co.uk, “A traditional office is a place where you have to pay monthly rent, usually calculated according to the square footage you require. This type of office space is not gaining popularity. While it is ideal for large and established businesses that want to create a unique and branded office environment, it can be very expensive.”

 

So the traditional working environment can be roughly understood as a fixed physical space, for example, an office is rented/owned by an enterprise, concentrated with many people belonging to the same organization/enterprise.

 

Regarding the conditions for the traditional working environment to be considered perfect, it must have an area to accommodate a sufficient number of employees, have adequate facilities, equipment, meeting rooms,… to serve work and promote promotion progress and employee comfort.

 

Advantages:

 

– Easily understand the working time of employees.

– Communicate directly when problems arise and solve problems.

– Conveniently convey corporate culture through communication, offline events, meetings…

– Divide work from home and work, create motivation to complete important tasks.

– Build relationships with colleagues.

 

Defect:

 

– Costs can be high when building: traditional offices consume a lot of investment budgets of businesses: space design, office equipment, and tools, space rental costs, monthly living expenses,… If businesses know how to use tools to manage decor, they can save costs.

– Is a working space with many people: The working space is narrow, closed with walls and partitions. The office also limits the mobility of employees because the department’s design is space apart.

– The way to store data is not optimal: By paper, personal computer or intranet,… leading to frequent overload, difficult to find information.

 

2. Digital working environment

 

Digital Working Environment (Digital Workplace) is also known as the digital working environment. Like the traditional work environment, here employees and managers will do the same things every day. If the traditional environment is something we can directly “touch”. Then the digital working environment can only be indirectly “touched” through a certain tool.

 

Today with ever-evolving technology and during the covid pandemic. A digital working environment is the only and essential need. Because it is an online space where every member of the business/organization can interact collaborate, work together regardless of geographical location. The digital workspace is a collection of work tools that help employees connect, collaborate, share, and set up processes to work efficiently.

See more: Top tools that need for work while working from home.

 

The digital working environment

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Advantages:

 

– Flexibility for employees, when they can receive and do many different things, depending on each job, they will have a specific platform, can work in the office or work remotely but still ensure the work is performed out.

– Save a lot of time, because time will optimize when using management tools like UpDiagram, Excel,… The interface of tools like UpDiagram is very suitable for professional managers because it’s simple and easy to use conveniently for changing or repairing the project. UpDiagram has its timeline and due date, making time management no longer too difficult.

– By promoting business exchanges, they can build knowledge warehouses and share them with employees more easily. Explaining or conveying work will also be easy with the right tools.

– Digital working environments are often cheap, prices are always from cheap to free, like UpDiagram with only $5 for 1 user/month to $1 for 1 user/month.

– Respond to market trends and the era, decade of data, and digital technology.

– There are many different work templates, as well as different management.

 

Defect:

 

– Requirements for teamwork skills and the ability to use the software.

– Depends quite heavily on the internet and the quality of the devices. Failure to do so will slow down the work progress.

– System errors will adversely affect the work being done.

 

3. Ideal environment – the trend of the times: the combination of digital and traditional working environment

 

Each environment has its qualities, but if businesses know how to apply both environments together, it will create an ideal environment. An ideal environment requires an ideal tool, and UpDiagram is exactly what an environment should have.

 

Inheriting the advantages of the two environments and overcoming the unnecessary disadvantages, UpDiagram introduces a lot of features necessary to establish an ideal environment. These functions allow UpDiagram to govern and support the employee’s work process more efficiently, such features as:

 

1/ Diverse work view modes (Kanban, Grid, Calendar, Mindmap)

2/ Extremely diverse custom fields such as images, text, lists, checkboxes, date, progress, to calculation formulas

3/ Import data from available projects from Trello, Assembla, JiraExcel,…Integrate other applications such as Microsoft team, Slack, Rocket, Zalo,…

4/ Email and In-app notification for project activities

5/ Decentralization, assigning tasks, and managing members

See more UpDiagram’s functions and usage!

 

An effective working environment is when that environment meets flexibility, high adaptability, promotes work performance including productivity & operational efficiency, creates corporate culture. And at the same time develops. Developing the cohesion of members in the enterprise, building collective strength. If you do not know which tool to choose to combine the digital and traditional working environment, please contact us through our UpDiagram contact page or via support@updiagram.com, UpDiagram will accompany your business every step of the way.