Manage Projects So They Don’t Manage You

I’ll cut right to the chase: nearly every task and activity is a project. Some are simply more involved and take longer to accomplish. Some are reoccurring; others happen once in a blue moon. Yet they all have this in common:

“If you don’t take time to manage your projects, your projects will manage to take your time.”

I’ve not found the “perfect” project management tool, so I use a combination of tools that fit each situation. I have a moleskin that I use to write down tasks and project information in ad-hoc meetings. I also use Evernote on my iPhone when I need to quickly record audio or take a picture to help me with the project details. My one “constant” is the online software, Basecamp, by 37 Signals, which I use at work to help organize, prioritize, share, delegate & track project progress. In the past, I’ve been in companies that used Microsoft’s Project, the mother of all project management tools, but my experience with it revealed to me that you’ll need a certified project manager to make that software really sing.

Admittedly, managing projects means that I have to take the time to enter projects and care about the progress as my own accountability. We’re only as accountable as we want to be, so this requires a certain level of discipline.

When you think about it, learning project management is a must-have skill that will serve you well in church, business and life. In fact, through my years of consulting I’ve made the recommendation for churches to hire certified (or even a degree in Project Management) project managers.

Sunday comes every seven days. What you do between those seven days is a series of projects every week.

I’ve included a few resources that I’ve found helpful in learning about project management. Feel free to share your resources in the comments below.

Project management software:

http://basecamphq.com/

http://www.activecollab.com/

http://www.myintervals.com/

http://www.gtdagenda.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/project

Project management books:

A Manager’s Guide to Project Management

Scrappy Project Management

The One-Page Project Manager

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Best iPhone Apps for Churches?

I fully admit my admiration for the iPhone. As an iPhone user, my absolute favorite aspect of the device are the applications (Apps) I can download from the iTunes App Store. With that in mind, I’m sharing a few of my favorite apps that are useful for churches. Please share the names (and free/cost) for your favorite helpful apps for your church.

TweetDeck is my favorite for managing my Twitter accounts and updating my Facebook status both on my iPhone and on my desktop (they sync).
Dual Level is just plain helpful for, well, leveling things.
Shazam will find almost any song that it can hear (using the iPhone mic), making it very helpful to find song titles, artists, albums and publishers.
Evernote is a clever little app that lets you stay organized and keep information easy to find.
TweetMic will publish audio your record into your iPhone to your Twitter account, making it useful as an audio blogging tool.
F1Touch is an app that works with Fellowship One (church management software) by Fellowship Technologies (where I work).

What are your favorites? Be sure to include the name and price (free/cost).

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Staying In Touch with F1Touch

The software development team at work (Fellowship Technologies) has quite a few projects in motion at any given time, but one of those projects really caught my attention: an iPhone app for Fellowship One.

A fully native App (download-able for free on the iTunes App Store) for the iPhone, F1Touch provides the most commonly needed information, people’s contact details, available on-the-go. Because it’s on the iPhone, a Wi-Fi connection isn’t required.

Take a look at how easy it is to find people in your church (in the Fellowship One software). And, because it’s made for the iPhone, all of the functionality you’d expect is included. If you see a phone number, click it and it will call the number; click on the address and get a Google map. Here’s what the App looks like:

F1 Touch Login

F1Touch Members

F1Touch Individual

F1Touch Search

F1Touch My Profile

In a mobile culture, connecting with people beyond the weekend is critical. F1Touch is one of the newest tools developed by Fellowship Technologies to find new and creative ways for churches to build stronger relationships with members, visitors and guests. I love working with a team that “gets” church today!

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