Task Management software - any recommendations?
Thread poster: Tom Jamieson
Tom Jamieson
Tom Jamieson
Brazil
Local time: 02:12
Portuguese to English
May 4, 2015

One of my weaknesses as a translator is staying on top of multiple jobs in busy periods.

At the moment I use a notepad and pen, and draw a table of

Job Desc | Due date/time | Delivered (tick when delivered)

Two problems - 1) this wastes paper, and 2) when I'm very busy I really need some sort of alarm or alert to warn me that I'm 10 minutes off a deadline so I can make sure I've actually sent all the translated files for a job.


... See more
One of my weaknesses as a translator is staying on top of multiple jobs in busy periods.

At the moment I use a notepad and pen, and draw a table of

Job Desc | Due date/time | Delivered (tick when delivered)

Two problems - 1) this wastes paper, and 2) when I'm very busy I really need some sort of alarm or alert to warn me that I'm 10 minutes off a deadline so I can make sure I've actually sent all the translated files for a job.


Sounds pretty simple, right? There must be a program out there that people use to organise their tasks/jobs? Free if possible

Thanks!

[Edited at 2015-05-04 12:54 GMT]
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Rossana Triaca
Rossana Triaca  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 02:12
English to Spanish
Trello May 4, 2015

I've been using Trello for almost a year now with excellent results. It's just a whiteboard with cards that you can shuffle in different categories - I use really simple headers like To Do, To Review & To Invoice (and a couple more for internal tasks that always look more like wishlists, like "Update the damn website") and simply move the cards around (or archive them) whenever a task is complete.

Priority is a breeze, just move the card to the top of the pile (or assign a red label
... See more
I've been using Trello for almost a year now with excellent results. It's just a whiteboard with cards that you can shuffle in different categories - I use really simple headers like To Do, To Review & To Invoice (and a couple more for internal tasks that always look more like wishlists, like "Update the damn website") and simply move the cards around (or archive them) whenever a task is complete.

Priority is a breeze, just move the card to the top of the pile (or assign a red label to it!). Also, the due date is clearly shown in the card and goes from green, to yellow to red the closer you get to the date.

The beauty of it all is that you can make it as simple or as complex as you'd like depending on your workflow. If you're into Agile for example, there are plenty of addons to add burndown charts (so you can enter, let's say, a number of translated words or hours per day so you can see your progress in large jobs). I use gmail, so naturally there's an addon to add a card directly from there (nifty!). You can use zapier to automate card creation too based on different triggers, or interface with Evernote and plenty more... but, you can skip all of this and just use it as a neat intelligent whiteboard (or whiteboards, if you'd like to track more things than projects as well, e.g. finances).

Notifications are a bit flaky still (just 24 hours before a due date) but they are working on more customization options. If you collaborate with more people it's lovely as well, you can assign users to different cards, comment on cards and they'll receive the comments by email, etc. etc.

From your description, I think you'll find it really handy, and as pipeline task managers go, it's definitely among the best there is out there (and a complete different direction from the usual translator's management software that tries to be a CMS, accounting tool and project management suite all in one, succeeding at neither!).

Also, it's free, and unlike some freemium software, the paid version only has mostly aesthetic improvements (you can change the background image, add stickers, etc.) and the only real difference is the file size attachment allowed, but... who doesn't use a cloud solution in this day and age for that
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Alex Lago
Alex Lago  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 06:12
English to Spanish
+ ...
Translation Office 3000 May 4, 2015

Translation Office 3000 is intended specifically for translators, it is not free but they offer different licenses so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. They range from 79 to 275 EUR.

They do however offer a fully functional 30-day free trial which gives you plenty of time to decide whether or not the software is what you need and if so which features you actually need, so you can decide which is the best license for you.

I've been using it for years an
... See more
Translation Office 3000 is intended specifically for translators, it is not free but they offer different licenses so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. They range from 79 to 275 EUR.

They do however offer a fully functional 30-day free trial which gives you plenty of time to decide whether or not the software is what you need and if so which features you actually need, so you can decide which is the best license for you.

I've been using it for years and wouldn’t do without it.
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Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:12
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Trello looking better May 4, 2015

Rossana Triaca wrote:
I've been using Trello for almost a year now with excellent results.

Thanks for this reminder Rossana. I've had a Trello account since 2013 but it didn't really click so its been dormant for almost as long. I went back this evening to check it out and it's come a long way. Will give it another try.

Regards
Dan


 
Tom Jamieson
Tom Jamieson
Brazil
Local time: 02:12
Portuguese to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! May 5, 2015

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'm gonna check out both options and see if either of them appeals.

 


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Task Management software - any recommendations?






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