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10 ways to use Apple iWork for project management


Project management can be incredibly complex, with huge projects breaking down into smaller tasks, which break down into even smaller tasks that are further broken down into small subtasks, and so on. 

To make things easier, Apple offers an iWork suite to help you manage your project. 

If you’re new to project management or just want some tips on how to make the most of your tools, then check out this list of 10 ways to use Apple iWork for project management.


10 ways to use Apple iWork for project management
apple project management software


1) Use templates


Using templates can help you create documents faster and easier than ever before. 


The tools that come with Pages will give you great, out-of-the-box templates and designs to build your documents on top of. 


  • Create an outline: Create a list of your goals and tasks associated with each item in your outline.
  • Use charts: Charting out how you’re going to achieve your goals is a great way to visually see what still needs attention and which goals are coming along nicely.


2) Customize themes


Here’s where you can get creative. There are dozens of themes available, many of which don’t have any text, so you can customize them to your heart’s content. 


If you want your slide deck on a single theme with black text and no graphics or charts—the PowerPoint equivalent of an all-black suit—it takes less than five minutes to create.


3) Send documents via email as well as print them


The simplicity of sending a document or photo via email is a genius move from Apple. With most other programs, you have to save it as a PDF, then attach it and send it through email. With Pages and Keynote, all you have to do is hit print on your keyboard—the program converts it into an appropriate format (DOC or PPT) automatically. This works with both Microsoft and Macs, so everyone can participate!


4) Use conditional highlighting and comments


When you’re working on a team, it’s important to keep track of every version of your document. 

You can accomplish that with built-in features like Comments and Conditional Highlighting.


If you need to see who made what change and when, make sure these features are enabled on your file(s). 

Then, when you share a file or send it to someone else, these features work behind-the-scenes so you know who made changes—and why.


5) Create notes and convert them into tasks


As a PM, you need to know how to juggle multiple projects at once and make sure they’re on track. 

Using Apple’s native Notes app is one way of keeping tasks organized while creating structured notes that reflect what you need to do next, when it needs doing, and how long you think it will take. 


Once you have all your tasks listed, convert them into checklists for easy reference and monitoring. 

You can also add due dates, reminders, and assign each task to other team members as necessary. 

This approach helps keep your entire team in sync with each other—and with you—while giving everyone a clear view of what’s happening across all projects.


6) Add your favorite websites using bookmarks


Apple makes it easy to bookmark your favorite websites directly from Safari. Simply select Add Bookmark from Safari’s File menu, name your site and then add in a few keywords that will help you find it later. 

Keep track of links by keeping them all in one place; assign an icon, label and folder; and make it pretty with CSS styles. If you like something about one bookmark, copy those settings over to others or start new ones from scratch.


7) Share with others using iCloud Drive


As soon as you start a new document, be sure to share it with everyone in your team using iCloud Drive. 


This will make sure everyone is working off of updated versions of documents and can collaborate better in real time. This way, even if someone is traveling or away from their computer, they can still give input into a file and let you know about it quickly. You’ll also have access to older versions of files, so you won’t lose any important information by accident.


8) Automate repetitive actions with macros


A macro is a sequence of keystrokes and other computer commands that are recorded and stored by your software. You can then play back those keystrokes or sequences of commands with a single click or tap. 

Recording macros can save you loads of time if you perform certain actions repeatedly. For example, if you’re constantly inserting headers and footers in Microsoft Word documents, try recording a macro so that your document will automatically update whenever you change something in your header.


9) Manage your files and folders better using bins


You’ve undoubtedly used your computer’s Recycle Bin, or trash can, or whatever metaphor you prefer. Well, you can actually extend that metaphor and work with actual bins when you want to manage your projects better. 


Just create one for each of your current projects; then drag files into these folders as you finish with them. 


That way, if any errors occur, they’ll all be in one place, rather than scattered throughout your hard drive!


10) Work on multiple projects at once


When you’re working on multiple projects, everything must be kept organized. One of my favorite tools is Microsoft Project but it can get pretty complicated and time consuming. Apple’s Pages and Numbers programs have built-in templates specifically made for project management making it easy to manage tasks, deadlines, and other data. Check out some of my top tips!



Conclusion


There are a lot of options out there for project management. However, Apple is the first one to make the process simpler and more accessible to most people, especially with iWork. While it still definitely has room to grow, especially in terms of other languages, iWork can offer you a simple and straightforward way to start managing your projects.


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