Top 5 Reasons Why Email is Not a Project Management Tool

It’s no mystery why people can’t seem to get away from using their inboxes as their personal project & task management tool; and why companies still attempt to collaborate via long over-drawn email chains. Email is well engrained into our personal and work lives, and many of our tasks arrive in the form of email — it’s a popular (and effective) way of communicating. But that’s where the line should be drawn — at communication.

Using a more sophisticated project management tool can save you a lot of time sifting through your inbox, and ultimately, leaving a lot more time to get important work done.

Email is definitely not going anywhere, and that’s probably a good thing. But we must draw the line somewhere by learning how to manage it effectively — and that doesn’t include managing tasks or projects. Here’s why:

1. It’s a constant challenge

I have no doubt anyone reading this is familiar with the struggle of trying to keep their inboxes at zero, or at least something close to it. But the hard truth is that emails are constantly flowing in and no matter how many emails you deal with or erase, you’re bound to get just as many back in your inbox.

2. Endless distractions

Most would agree that they check their emails WAY too often. Imagine the time it takes to check an email, process it, respond to it and then attempt to get back to what you were doing before. Ultimately, emails take people out of the zone and prevent them from getting into a flow.

3. Hard to find

It can take a lot of time to sift through emails to find that certain piece of information that now seems to elude you. Keeping track of documents and tasks in your email is a pretty good way to get mixed up and lose information. Much of what is sent out in emails gets lost into a seemingly black hole. The great thing about taking these kinds of communications to a project management tool, is that exchanges are documented and can easily be found.

4. Stakeholders in the dark

Sending documents and updates over email results in leaving most project stakeholders in the dark on status updates. All those who weren’t included in the email thread won’t be kept in the loop on pertinent matters. On the contrary, updating the project details in a proper system makes it easy and time effective for keeping stakeholders up to speed.

5. Pertinent background info

Emails don’t contain all the history and background information to set the context of what you’re trying to communicate. In a PM tool, the trails of information are all there and the system does all that “background ” work for you.

Project Management Tools to Replace Your Email Threads

Project management software can do what your email threads cannot: display disparate project information in a central place that is accessible to all the relevant stakeholders and team members.