SantexQ - Online Project Management

Have you heard of Squidoo? It’s a great resource for info on…well, almost anything. And if you happen to know something about anything you can publish your expertise with the click of a few buttons. Squidoo is a place to create your own page, or “lens” and broadcast to the world what you know.

Click here to see SantexQ’s lens for an example and to learn more about online project management tools.

The lenses are fun to create with Squidoo’s cool lens creator and nifty modules. Add everything from YouTube videos to vote-able Amazon lists. It’s an adventure really. Web 2.0 never ceases to amaze me.

It’s almost a new year and it’s time to make some positive changes in your life! You’ve studied and evaluated your personal and business methods this year, and you have recognized your failures and successes. Most likely, one of your new years resolutions is to be more organized. But how to go about it? And how to really make it stick?

The secret to actually keeping your new year’s resolutions is to make it simple and easy. Yes, this is possible. Here are 7 surefire ways to get -and stay- organized this year:

1. Use an online project management tool to keep your business’ tasks and projects organized. Staying on track with who is doing what and keeping up with deadlines is essential to getting and staying organized at work. PM tools like SantexQ are easy to use and can give you the visibility you need. Plus, everything is securely saved in your online account so you don’t have to worry about losing access to any information.

2. Commit to your decisions.

3. Clean up clutter. Try to avoid stacks of paper (or anything) in your work spaces. Only keep the things you use frequently close by and store everything - make sure it’s in clearly labeled place so you can easily find it if need there be. The secret to easy and effective clean up/storage is to put things in the proper place right away instead of waiting to organize things after they’ve been sitting for a while and you’ve forgotten what you need them for.

4. Similar to #3, evaluate every document that comes your way - do i need this now? where does it need to go? How often will i need it? etc. For work related information, you can often input data (passwords, client information, project information, due dates, etc.) into your online project management tool. This way you can post the data and minimize paper clutter. The idea is to get rid of anything you don’t need so you don’t end up with a big mess. Ask yourself,  “what’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t keep this piece of paper?” then decide whether or not you can throw it away.

5. Avoid writing things on scraps of paper or post-it notes. If you do, write or type it into an appropriate, easy to access place (such as your personal calender or organizational tool) right away.

6. Prioritize. Determine what you need to focus and try not to get sidetracked with other little things along the way. By going through your to-do list(s) in this way, you can actually get things done instead of getting caught in a web of unfinished tasks.

7. Keep business and personal stuff separate.

If you keep up with these simple rules you’re bound to see a difference. By staying organized you can avoid stress and have a little inner peace. You don’t even have to wait until the new year to start doing these things! Start now and these tips will become habits very soon. Project management will be a breeze!

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday!

The Office Christmas

Christmas is in three days. Are you done with your shopping? If you’re tight on money or if you need a few quick gifts to give out, here are some choice ideas!

A festive picture frame - Or better yet, a holiday ornament that doubles as a frame. Put a picture of you and/or your family in the frames and give them to aunts,  uncles and grandparents or any relatives you don’t see to often.  It’s an inexpensive but, thoughtful and heart-warming gift.

Mini stockings - fill mini stockings with gift cards, candy or any other small trinkets for the younger kids. They’ll like the fun-sized stocking and kids always enjoy discovering each little gift.

Special Interest Book - take a trip to the bookstore and find books on subjects that interest your recipients. Know someone who wants to learn how to play the guitar? Buy a book on the basics. Know someone who loves to cook? Buy a cool cook book. Alternatively, you could purchase a magazine subscription to their favorite magazine as a gift.

Food - Some really yummy cookies or other holiday treats are always welcome around the holidays. Wrap it up with some pretty paper or a decorative bag and make the gift look inviting. Remember to make sure the food is fresh!

A Family Board Game - fun family games like Catch Phrase, Life or Jenga are great gifts that promote togetherness. There are so many to choose from so you’re bound to find one that fits the bill. If you’re going to a family Christmas party you could break out the game and have a great time playing!

Warm and Cuddly Accessories - It’s winter time so anyone can appreciate a warm scarf, mittens or a warm hat. Get a matching set and you can’t go wrong. If you do get it wrong, remember to pack the gift receipt

Need to get organized with your holiday to-do list? Looking for free stuff? Try the SantexQ Online Project Management Tool. It’s free to use! Sign up and take a look around, you’ll like what you see.

Our online project management tool is all about centralizing information and keeping you organized. Using an online calendar is a fast and easy way to effectively manage your time. SantexQ’s calendar feature makes it easy to input due dates and see what’s on the horizon for your tasks and projects. Like most of The Q’s features, the calendar is easy to use and fully integrated into the tool. Here’s a quick overview of how it works and what it can do for you and your team.

From the dashboard, you can see a current 2-week calendar. If there are tasks due on any of these 14 days, it will show up in the dashboard calendar with an icon that looks like a piece of paper. Cute huh? To see a list of all the tasks due on a certain day, just click on that day in the calendar and you’ll be taken to a complete list.

You can also create a new task using the calendar. Just click on the day that your task is due, and then on the following screen, simply click “Add a new task.” Alternatively, you can create a task by clicking “Create a task” from any page, then set the due date there. The due date will automatically show up in the calendar.

In addition to the calendar, the Dashboard also includes an “Alerts” section which alerts you to upcoming due dates and how many days are left until they are due.

Now you have the power to stay organized and on top of all your due dates! SantexQ’s online project management tool is designed to faciliate efficient task and time management. So use it! If you’d like to know more, or if you’d like to sign up for free, visit our site at www.santexq.com

The interesting thing about project management, is that it’s basic principles apply to almost any project. Whether you’re talking about construction, web design, fashion or even your personal life, project management skills can be used to get organized and, ultimately, better accomplish your goals. Wait - did we say project management in your personal life? Yes. And why not?

The holidays can be a very stressful time with buying gifts, planning dinners and entertaining. A lot of tasks need to be done and you need to keep track of everything and everyone as efficiently as possible. Otherwise, you end up with a big headache. If you apply the basic principles of business project management, you’d be surprised how much easier everything will be. Here is a quick guide on how to manage your holidays:

Assign Tasks. Working together with your family or circle of friends to get everything done is a great way to bond. For example, If you’re cooking, give everyone a dish that they are in charge of. Have them find a recipe, make a grocery list, and make them the executive chef on their one dish. You can even hang a big task checklist poster in the kitchen and check things off as you cook. It feels really good to check things off your list! If you like doing things yourself, definitely create a list of tasks (such as list of who you want to buy gifts for, or a list of decoration tasks) and check them off as you accomplish things.

Manage Your Time. Create time estimates for every task or project and try hard to keep within those restraints. Allot a certain amount of time for gift shopping, grocery shopping and schedule your cooking for big meals.  If you have a set amount of time to do something, you will most likely work harder to accomplish your tasks and make much better use of your time. However, the holidays are about enjoying your time together, so if you’ve planned a fun or traditional activity with your family or friends, don’t limit yourself!

Mange Your Clients. Okay, what we really mean is remember that the holidays are about coming together and making happy memories. This time of year can be quite busy, but take a break from all of your holiday rushing around to spend time with your loved ones. They’re the reason you’re doing all of this! If you keep organized you will have the time to take a breath and enjoy all the hard work you’ve put in.

If you’re a tech savvy family (or maybe you’re planning a big Holiday extravaganza at work?) you could use our free online project management tool to organize and assign your tasks and projects. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with how the tool works, plus, it’s absolutely free to use.

Sign up is quick and easy, click here to get started!

To learn more about SantexQ’s online project management tool, visit our website at www.SantexQ.com.

The best kinds of online project management tools are easy to use, and can help you accomplish your goals with efficiency. Of course, finding the right tools depends on what kind of business you run and what types of information you need to organize, but online project management tools are intended to better organize your projects and tasks. Therefore, almost any type of business can benefit from using these tools.

Mapping out your projects, assigning tasks and making sure everyone knows who they are contributing is key to good project management. With an online tool, all your important information - deadlines, client details, time budgets, progress reports - are all available at a glance, at any time of the day. Using online project management tools should be this easy, otherwise you are spending valuable time trying to figure our your software rather than on your projects.

SantexQ is your straightforward answer to time and task management. Sign up now for free and get your first project up and running in as little as 15 minutes! For more information on what The Q can do, visit www.SantexQ.com

Whew! It’s been a minute since we posted a new entry. Don’t worry loyal followers, we’re still alive and kicking. It’s about time we posted a few more SantexQ tips and tricks. Our online project management tool is very easy to use, but it’s genius-ly designed to provide straightforward time and task management, as well as subtle features that can give you the details you need.

Tip #3 (see our previous post for Tips 1 and 2, they’re pretty cool): Using the “Search By” and “Group By” Features

The “Search By” and “Group by” features are a convenient way to sort your projects and tasks. Instead of having to scroll down and figure out who’s doing what and when, you can use these options to display only the information you want.

The features are easy to use and quite intuitive but here’s a quick guide anyway:

• To view tasks assigned to a particular team member click “Assigned to, ” and choose the team member name in the drop down menu. Only admins can see tasks assigned to different team members, regular users can only view tasks assigned to themselves.

• The same directions apply for the Created by and Responsible options.

But wait, it get’s better. You can get even more specific using the “Group by” settings. So you know what projects Herman is assigned to, but you only want to see Open (current) projects he’s been assigned to. What to do?

• Click “Open” in the Group by options and voila! Herman’s current projects will magically appear!
• Want to see only closed tasks he’s worked on? Click “Closed”.

Tip #4: Shortcut - Every client name is a link to their Client Info page

Shortcut City! Instead of going to the Clients Tab to find the info for a client, just click on their name from any place in The Q. You’ll be taken to their individual client info page where you can get the info you need or edit things.

You’ll find that almost everything in The Q is a link to the right information. (Ex: If you click on a project name from the Dashboard you’ll be taken directly to that project’s overview page).

Ta da! We hope you’re impressed.

Keep checking  back for more updates! And visit our website, SantexQ.com, to sign up for our free online project management tool.

Just wishing everyone a happy and safe halloween. There is only one person who dressed up in our office. She is a cat!

Also just letting everyone know that SantexQ works on all holidays, including Halloween AND Christmas!! It’s a web-based project management tool, it has no other choice. Happy Halloween!

- The Santex Team

Are online business social networks really effective? I looked into five different networks and tested them out a little to see how they worked and what they could do for a business. Should valuable business time be spent on these types of networks, or would this time be better used focusing on projects and project management? Here’s my take:

LinkedIn - The father of business social networks. I think people originally started using LinkedIn thinking it would be something like Myspace. They soon found it to be much more boring than that, but that it was actually a useful tool for business networking. Who knew? LinkedIn let’s you post your professional experience and related work categories so that others can find and connect with you. Genius. You can also create groups and post discussions.

Fastpitch! - Similar to LinkedIn but with more features. Fastpitch actually requires a membership fee to get all the features including blog posting, sending connection requests, the ability to create groups and message broadcasting. The focus seems to be on getting seen with top rankings and preferred listings rather than networking. Fastpitch could be a good tool with so many options, but paying for those features doesn’t seem too smart when you can do what you need to do (in terms of networking) on LinkedIn for free.

Biznik - Biznik is along the same lines as Fastpitch in that it’s a social network with more options than you know what to do with. Again, you have to pay for all the “good stuff” including blog posts, adding your company logo, sending messages and listing your associations and qualifications. So really the site is pretty much useless on a free membership.  Again, there is a big focus on visibility. Biznik is slightly better than Fastpitch because you can interact more with a free account by participating in discussion posts and inviting people to events.

Open.salon.com - This site is more like a blogger community. While it’s original intent was for it to be on all topics, the focus of most of the articles seems to be on business and politics. It’s a good place to get content out there, exercise your professional (or witty) knowledge and find other like-minded individuals. Much like social bookmarking sites, the most popular articles get posted on the homepage, which is designed like a news site with headlines and blurbs.

SmallBusinessBrief.com - This is a social bookmarking site much like Digg or Delicious but specifically for small business topics. Somehow, most of the topics actually do relate to small business (mostly online marketing) but occasionally the random spam article gets through. It’s an okay place to go for a quick search on what “top 10 business tactics” lists people are posting today, but it does not have enough involved users to qualify it as a reliable source for the latest news.

Conclusion: I’m not really sure how effective using business social networks really is. It seems to me that paying for the extra features isn’t worth it, and being involved in these types of communities doesn’t turn into increased business. I’d rather just stick to my online project management tool. Has anyone had any experience with business social networks? I’d like to hear how they have or have not worked for you.