If you work at a nonprofit, you probably work hard to complete a CVS receipt-long to-do list. Often, these mounting tasks can feel overwhelming. The to-do list seems never-ending, from fundraising and social media campaigns to donor outreach and volunteer coordination to program implementation and operations.

How can you manage it all and finally feel the weight lifted from your shoulders? With the right tools, you can find relief from the overwhelming tasks that quickly pile up.

Enter your task or project manager, your best friend in your battle to conquer your tasks and projects. In a previous post, we briefly touched on how we use task and project management tools, but what exactly are they, and which one do you need?

Let's dive in.

The Taskmaster: Your Personal Productivity Powerhouse

When used correctly, a task manager is a trusty sidekick who collects and helps you organize your daily tasks, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. It's like a digital to-do list on steroids, helping you prioritize tasks, set deadlines, attach necessary files, and track your progress.

Task managers are perfect for:

• Individual to-do lists: Get everything out of your head and onto your to-do list so you can process what needs to be done and when. Whether writing thank-you notes to donors or scheduling social media posts, task managers capture and organize your workload.

• Recurring tasks: Never miss a deadline again! Set up recurring tasks for monthly reports or weekly staff meetings. This also helps relieve you of remembering recurring tasks or events and helps you better manage your time since you can see recurring tasks alongside your one-off to-dos.

• Simple projects: A task manager can be a lifesaver for smaller projects with few dependencies, such as organizing a small fundraising event, creating a social media campaign, or preparing a volunteer training session. Popular task managers include Todoist (our favorite), TickTick, and Things 3 (in their simpler configurations). Their intuitive interfaces and handy features like reminders and progress tracking are must-haves for any busy nonprofit professional.

For example, a task manager can organize a small fundraising event, create a social media campaign, or prepare a volunteer training session. On the other hand, a project manager can be instrumental in planning and executing a major fundraising campaign, an annual gala, or a large-scale program launch.

The Project Manager: Your Collaborative Command Center

A task manager might not cut it for complex projects involving multiple team members. You need a project manager, a tool designed to plan, execute, and monitor large-scale endeavors.

Project managers shine when you need to:

• Tackle complex projects: Think fundraising campaigns, annual galas, or major program launches. Project managers help you break down these big initiatives into manageable tasks, assign them to team members, and track progress.

• Meet tight deadlines: Project managers help you visualize timelines, identify bottlenecks, and keep everyone on track. Many offer a feature called 'dependencies,' which allows you to manage through items that are stuck in the process and hold up the final deliverables.

• Collaborate effectively: From shared calendars and centralized communication to file sharing and progress updates, project managers facilitate seamless teamwork.

Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and Monday.com are excellent project management tools for nonprofits. They offer features designed to streamline communication, enhance collaboration, and keep projects running smoothly. Asana, for example, is known for its user-friendly interface and robust task management features, while Trello is praised for its visual project management approach. Basecamp is popular for its simplicity and ease of use, and Monday.com is valued for its customizable workflows and collaboration tools.

The Verdict: Which Tool is Right for You?

The truth is that most nonprofit professionals can benefit from both task managers and project managers—that's right, you don't have to choose! It's all about finding the right tool for the right job, empowering you to take control of your tasks and projects.

• A task manager is all you need if you're primarily focused on individual tasks and simple projects.

• A project manager is a must-have if you regularly tackle large, complex projects with multiple team members.

• For maximum flexibility, consider a tool like Asana that can be used for both task and project management.

Investing in the right productivity tools can be a game-changer for your nonprofit (and your personal productivity). Streamlining your workflow, enhancing collaboration, and keeping everyone on the same page will make you more effective and less stressed.