I don't consider myself much of a bandwagon person. I like to do things in my own way and on my own schedule, so the idea of doing something just because everyone else is doing it doesn't really appeal to me. I will admit to falling victim to one bandwagon trend lately which has really taken off in my virtual assistant industry and that is project management software.
I had been hearing about various project management software options in the different VA forums and groups I belong to and how beneficial they are and how much they improve overall productivity. Up until that point I was using an Excel spreadsheet that I created and it was working very well, but I let myself get caught up in the conversation and decided to see what all the hype was about with PM software.
The one software that seemed to get the most rave reviews was Asana, so I gave that a try first and I really didn't like it at all. It was confusing to me and I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to set up various tasks in the program, so rather than waste more time trying to figure it out I just gave up.
Next I tried Teamwork PM because I was going through a website revision with Susan Mershon, The Techie Mentor, and she swears by this software and even teaches a class on it. This software was much easier to use in my opinion than Asana, but I still didn't like it because it just seemed like a lot more bells and whistles than I really needed. I gave serious consideration to just going back to my reliable Excel spreadsheet but it seemed every day more VAs were talking about the benefits of project management software so I felt like I had to give it another try.
I tried IQTell, which has a quasi-project management software component in addition to its main function as an email management program and while I liked the email management side of it, I didn't find much functionality in its project management side at all. Once again, I felt like giving up but decided to give it one more try and thought I finally found what I was looking for in Trello.
I've been using Trello for almost two months now and while I like it and it has its benefits, I don't love it and last Friday I decided that it was no longer working for me. I found that it was making me less productive and less efficient in getting my work done and it was at that moment that I decided to jump off the bandwagon and go back to what worked for me: my trusty Excel spreadsheet.
I don't regret my decision to get on the project management software bandwagon. I wanted to see if I could get the same benefits from a tool that a lot of VAs were talking about greatly improved their productivity. Unfortunately for me it didn't work, but how would I have ever known that if I didn't try for myself? If I didn't try, part of me would have always wondered if this could have made me a better VA and I was just too stubborn or set in my ways to see for myself.
I got on the project management software bandwagon for two reasons: so many VAs were talking about it and genuine curiosity to see if I could make myself better by using it. I gave myself time and tried enough programs to know that it doesn't work for me so I jumped off and went back to something I know works and that's okay. Just because everyone else is doing something doesn't mean I have to especially when it's not working and it's not a knock against myself, anyone or anything else, it just means it's not a good fit.
I jumped off the bandwagon, but I had a soft landing and lived to tell the tale!
