Project Management Calendars, Tasks, Issues, Kanban, Gantt, etc Overview on Project Management Project Management is a series of methods, frameworks, and tools that are typically owned by Project Managers (obvi), Production Coordinators, Production Managers, and Producers.    There is a lot of nomenclature that's used here  (particularly in corporate and DevOps settings).    This language might feel complicated, but it's really stuff you're probably doing anyway: ✅ Managing Calendars ✅ Managing Tasks ✅ Managing Workflow Project Management is a legit and respectable profession, but the culture surrounding it can feel opaque and career-coach adjacent. Don't be scared!  In Project Management, there are a bunch of traditional approaches that may sound familiar to you. Here's a hierarchical chart of how these things work. There are many other project management methods, but these are the ones that appear frequently in Creative Technology processes – at least, altruistically 😉. Overall Project Management Methods Agile or Waterfall Frameworks for Implementing an Agile Method (Flexible, Continuous Flow) Scrum or Kanban Sprints Tasks Tools for Managing a Method Kanban  Boards Task Tracking Tools Structures for Implementing a Waterfall Method (Phase Based) Tasks within Phases Tools for Managing a Structure Gantt Charts Milestone Trackers Traditional Calendars Contextual Example You can use a series of approaches to project management within a single project. Gantt chart to manage the overall timeline of a project – this is a  Waterfall approach to time (e.g., the pre-production phase is fixed timing of 2 months) Scrum Framework to manage the tasks, a Scrum approach to manage each sprint (e.g., the pre-production scrum includes the "locations search and locations acquisition" sprints) Kanban boards to manage the individual tasks (e.g., Jeff : scout Central Park then do a locations report. Tony : review all of Jeff's locations reports and create a summary for the EP. EP : confirm locations and get Jeff to confirm location acquisitions). If this all makes sense to you, congratulations, you understand the basic concepts of Project Management.  Task & Project Management Tools The best way to stay organized is to manage your tasks as well as manage what you own (and what you don't). You can do this using a notebook. If you don't do that already, start with that. A small upgrade from there is a checklist in a notes app. Upgrading from there is a seeming chaotic wasteland with so many products to choose from!  The tools to manage these tasks include the following software / methods :    Jira  Trello AirTable Miro Spreadsheets Shitty Notebook.    Most of these tools include all of the things you need to manage a project : Kanban boards, Gantt. task mgmt, etc.    Read more about admin and management tools here .  I (Cam) know the vibe here is cynical, but this software is actually pretty great. AirTable is incredible. Trello is a gateway drug. Google's Spreadsheets are more of a DIY but very flexible approach, and most people speak spreadsheet. Practically, I have used spreadsheets for most situations because of that accessibility. Also, some companies manage projects using Google Slides or Keynote decks because it's a presentable format. Seems wild right? In some situations, this is actually very functional!  Methods for organizing tasks and managing projects is kind of like being a photographer. What's the best camera to use? The one you've got right now. What's the best tool for project management? Probably: the one your team is using right now.  Kanban Boards How many kans could a kanban ban if a kanban could kan bans?  Kanbans Boards are visual charts that help you manage tasks. You move tasks from column to column as the tasks progress.  Very basically What is the high-level task? Who owns that task?  What is the status of that task?  You can organize these things in a spreadsheet too, but a Kanban board is a nice way to see it at a larger scale.  Typically, a Kanban organizes tasks into columns that are  To Do, In Progress,  and  Done . Some other columns might be "Punted" for tasks that are lower priority – you might put this column before  To Do . Or you might need approval before tasks go into the  To Do column, so you might have a column that's "Awaiting Approval" and you want to rename  To Do to "Queued Tasks". There's a lot of ways to visually organize your efforts!  In some tools, you can add a ton of information and automation to each task : What are the details of this task when it's completed? Are there sub-tasks? Is it part of a phase?  Is there an individual within a department that "owns" the task?  What is the next task when this one is complete?  Is there a category of task that it's flagged? Is there a priority associated with each task?  A good Kanban tool can reorganize and filter tasks into different columns if there's a specific flow to them, or if you want to visualize tasks in different categories.    In a known process for location scouting, you might have columns that are related to contextual status.   Column 1 could be "To Scout" with a list of locations,   Column 2 "Write Report" Column 3 "Executive Review" Column 4 "Acquire"  Column 5 "Not Using" Gantt Charts WIP Gantt Charts are date dependent visual organization tools that display schedule efforts over time. This can be high-level where things are broken down by literal phase. This can be more detailed and breakout sub-efforts within a phase – or maybe there aren't literal phases and it's charting an acquisition process.