Project Management Tips for Public Health Jobs

The COVID-19 pandemic truly shaped the work environment from the way we formerly knew it, with the shift from in office work to remote and working from home. I know I am not the only one that has experienced a learning curve with the transition, and the pain point centered around: productivity.

Let’s face it, working from home has its perks, but it is so easy to fall short when you’re working from bed and in your pajamas. And just like that, a mandatory 2-hour meeting via Microsoft Teams has turned into a 2-hour nap.

It’s safe to say working from home isn’t for everyone… and that’s okay too.

On the other end though, we have people that don’t mind the lack of social interaction, physical presence and love working from the comfort of their own home. I mean after all; your home is supposed to be your safe haven. For those folks, working from home doesn’t have to feel like a chore. With the advancement of technology and even AI, it is becoming increasingly more convenient to use software to manage projects, communicate and stay on task. Some common and popular project management software includes Monday, Smartsheet, Asana, Jira, Wrike and Hubspot.

Monday for example is ranked among the “the top 10 for project management software, Monday.com is a cloud-based tool that can keep up with the varying demands of a public health professional and a person that works in office and at home. Public health professionals in consulting may especially find this tool a hidden gem, as consultants typically work multiple health-related contracts (at the local, state or federal level) and tasks simultaneously. Monday is easy to use, affordable and loaded with functionality, which is rare for a single project software.

Project management software is designed to assist teams in ways to plan a project, track and manage projects to achieve defined goals, and allows team members to collaborate effectively to accelerate and meet the project's needs.

Ways project management (PM) tools can optimize your performance:

• PM tools keep everyone on the same page.
• PM tools allows for communication within the tool and opportunity for collaboration on a project.
• PM tools reduces possibility of duplication of work on projects.
• Effective task delegation.
• Easier file access and sharing.
• Enhanced productivity.

Ways project management tools can reduce stress:

• PM tools allows project documents and sharing to be located in one place.
• PM tools enhances communication.
• PM tools dashboards like Monday prioritize tasks and enables users to view all tasks in real time with time-sensitive dates and deadlines.

If you’re looking to optimize your performance at work AND reduce your stress level, take a
deeper dive into implementing one of the aforementioned project management software into your daily work routine. There are many more project management tips, so follow for at Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Tiktok @publichealthhired.