Have you ever felt the need to organize the tasks for your team? If yes, then an online timeline maker is what you need. Here’s everything you need to know about timeline makers.
Employees in every organization are tired of hearing terms like ‘missed deadline’ and ‘project timeline’. Though they are not less than any nightmare to the working team, dedicated timelines keep the project on track and help the team to identify every possible project hindrance. Besides, having online timelines assure proper project planning and execution. No doubt, a lack of a proper layout plan will leave the entire project execution process laid back and disorganized.
The importance of a timeline in project management can’t be unheeded. Online timelines not only give you a simple overview of the project completion track but also detail every milestone and process involved in the same. Also, it gives an insightful understanding of the entire project execution process.
While dates and duration are the key features of an online timeline, some other elements include a list of tasks to be completed, expected dates of completion, and probable revisions if required.
Every project execution process involves breaking up the long-term goal into short-term ones. And failure or derailment of any short-term goals may result in work overload and subsequent project delays. Therefore, having a clear outline of the project timeline is much needed to gain a better user experience and increased conversions.
Well, these were only a few of the many benefits an online timeline can have for your team. In order to see the bigger picture, we have summarized the benefits of an online timeline, how to create one, and the top features to look for in an online timeline.
Also Read: Meeting Minutes | A how-to guide for everyone
Why use an online timeline maker
“You may delay, but time will not”, a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin makes us realize the importance of time management in project execution.
Planning a project appropriately with a timeline makes the team perceive the consequences along with pending work that needs to be done. This keeps the team focused and motivated towards task completion before the deadline hits.
Listed here are the top five benefits of an online timeline maker to help you achieve your targets faster and more effectively.
1. Top 5 benefits of an online timeline maker
Having an online timeline for your team has numerous benefits. Out of those, understanding the gravity of time, tracing down the progress chart, better communication, keeping the team motivated and focusing on priorities are the key benefits of having an online timeline maker. Let’s have a look at them one by one:
1. Helps in easy tracking of the project progress
You can’t afford to fail behind with tight deadlines. Right? And even if you do so, you have to quickly find a way to get back to your feet. Don’t worry, an online timeline is your saviour here. It helps you understand how you can be again on the right track quickly so that it does not affect the project progress or the final submission dates. An advantage of having a timeline is that you realize where you are going wrong and make up for it quickly.
2. Allows you to have a better time management
No need to mention that time has the star cast in project planning and execution. Planning a project appropriately with a timeline makes you perceive that delaying can cause a lot of damage, both in terms of budget and targets. With a timeline, the team members tend to focus more on the upcoming and pending tasks thus helping achieve the smaller project completion milestones fast.
3. Improves communication among team members
Communication is the key to any successful project completion. Proper communication not only helps in chalking out an effective project timeline but also gives the team a proper idea as to who is doing what. In that way, the project is executed much more accurately and efficiently. Extra workload, dissatisfied customers, and unwanted delays are all reasons for poor communication among the team members.
4. Boosts motivation and teamwork
The spur to do better is another major advantage of having an online timeline. Motivation is a strong tool that keeps the team going. Many times, timelines keep the team members motivated and focused on their roles. When they find that there are incomplete tasks that need to be finished, they tend to be more concentrated and productive. Also, it helps the team members to collaborate with each other and be on the same page regarding any important updates or information.
5. Prioritize tasks easily
The ability to quickly process any information and execute it into action is one of the most emergent skills of the professional world today. And that’s when an online timeline comes into use. It not only helps in directing and guiding how to go about the plan but also helps to prioritize tasks on-demand basis. Prioritizing tasks is as important as doing them. To find out which task needs attention first makes the problem-solving procedure quick and easy.
Also Read: Best Calendar Apps | A complete guide
2. 5 steps to create a timeline
Hope by now you have got a fair understanding of the benefits of an online timeline for your team. Next, let’s move on to how you can create an online timeline. Though it may sound simple to create one, it is not always so, especially for beginners. But, you need not be stressed as we have eased out the job for you:
1. Collect data
Have a clear picture of all the data needed for setting up a timeline. Check on the availability of your team members, probable hindrances, the readiness of hardware or software, etc. before you start working on your timeline.
2. Outline your goals; both short and long term
Goal setting is important before you create an online timeline. Both short-term goals and long-term goals are important in order to reach the project completion deadline. Keeping a distinct goal for every team member will keep them on the right track and boost them every day towards achieving their individual targets.
3. Pick a timeline maker template
Choose a timeline maker template that is easily customizable with professional designs. You can also include your creativity and imagination to make it more expressive and flowing. Make sure that the timeline maker you chose allows you to design the template that suits all your social media handles.
Once your online timeline is done, you are now ready to share it across your team in different formats like flyers, reports, presentations, etc.
4. Before giving it the final call, review everything
You must make sure that before you are all set with your online timeline, everyone in your team must be on board with it. If possible, show them the draft version of the timeline and ask for their opinion. Let your team decide that the given timeframe will suit them or not. It’s always better to have a reasonable timeframe for your team than later to regret it.
Talk to them about their readiness so that not even the smallest milestones are overlooked. This will further help you to extend or tighten the key targets of the projects.
5. Track your timeline
Regular tracking of the timeline is as necessary as creating it. Tracking and analyzing the timeline lets you know your shortcomings in accomplishing the target. It also shows you a clear picture of your team’s performance and whether anything needs attention.
Also Read: How to measure productivity | A how-to guide for everyone
3. Top features to look for in a timeline maker
Now that you are aware of creating an online timeline, here are a few of the top features that you must look for in a timeline maker:
1. Cloud storage
Cloud storage ensures that you can access your data from anywhere in the world without bothering about its security and privacy.
2. Professional themes and templates
Look for a timeline maker that comes with a library of professional themes, styles, templates, and graphs. Easy customization of templates is an added feature that most timeline makers offer to their users. This will help to personalize your timeline designs by adding your brand name and logo.
3. Sharing and collaboration
Choose a timeline maker that allows it to share the timeline among your team members so that they can give their opinion regarding the same.
4. Responsiveness
Check whether the timeline works both on your computer and mobile. If the theme or template does not suit either of them, it’s time to pick another timeline for your team.
A timeline maker is easy to navigate. A professional timeline with complex navigation will only make the job complicated for both you and your team members.
Also Read: Time blocking | An ultimate read for best results
To conclude
We understand you are not very much familiar with an online timeline maker. But there is no harm in giving it a try!
The above paragraphs will surely aid you in choosing the best online timeline creator that will boost your team’s performance and take your organization to the next level. As mentioned earlier, time management is one of the crucial points in project management. And once you learn the art of managing time, the victory is all yours.
Let us know in the Comments section below which online timeline maker template is your favourite and how you benefited from it.
Leave a Reply