How To Use Motion App for Project Management (The Most Detailed Tutorial & Review!) 2024

Introduction

Managing projects effectively is crucial for any team, especially for remote ones. At Efficient App, we transitioned from Asana to Motion after seven years of using the former. In this detailed tutorial, we will explore how Motion can revolutionize your project management approach, streamline your workflow, and enhance team collaboration.

Understanding Motion

Motion is not just a project management tool; it acts as a personal assistant that helps automate your daily scheduling around tasks, meetings, and personal events. This application allows teams to visualize availability, work capacity, and stay on top of deadlines.

Setting Up Your Motion Account

Configure Your Calendar: Begin by integrating your main work calendar into Motion. For us, that's our Efficient App work calendar. Don’t forget to add your personal calendar to avoid scheduling conflicts for personal events.
Add Your First Task: Adding tasks in Motion is simple. You can either use the “Add Task” button or the keyboard shortcut (Option + Space for Mac or Alt + Space for Windows). Fill in the priority, end date, start date (if applicable), deadline, and duration. Make sure the Auto Schedule toggle is turned on, as this feature automatically places tasks on your calendar.
Create Workspaces and Projects: Workspaces represent different departments, teams, or types of work. For example, we have workspaces for growth, admin, customer support, etc. Within each workspace, create relevant projects.
Define Statuses: Within each workspace, create statuses to represent the stages a project goes through. For instance, common statuses might include "To Do," "Researching," "Editing," "Reviewing," and "Completed." This makes tracking progress easier.
Utilize Templates and Labels: Create reusable task and project templates for structured workflows. For instance, we have templates for new video productions and blog posts. Additionally, use labels to categorize tasks, such as “SEO,” “Video,” or “Marketing.”
Customize Your Views: In the Projects tab, organize your statuses and set up views in a way that works best for your team. The Kanban view is a great way to visualize project progress from start to finish.

The Power of Auto Scheduling

The standout feature of Motion is its Auto Schedulers that place tasks on your calendar. This functionality eliminates the need to manually rearrange tasks based on priority, helping you avoid overbooking and missed deadlines.

Assign Tasks Easily: When you assign a task to a team member, it appears on their calendar, ensuring they see it as part of their daily schedule.
Rework Priorities: If a high-priority task becomes low-priority or vice versa, simply adjust the priority, and Motion rearranges your schedule to accommodate.

Using Motion on the Go

Motion allows you to manage tasks on the go through email forwarding and voice commands with Siri. Just forward an email to tasks usem motion.com or ask Siri to add a task directly, making task management seamless, even while mobile.

Team Collaboration with Motion

We transitioned to Motion by gradually moving tasks over from Asana, focusing on immediate projects rather than migrating everything all at once. This careful approach allowed us to declutter our task list and consolidate our workflow effectively.

Capacity Planning

With Motion's deep integration into your calendar, it reflects your true availability and workload. Features like capacity planning alert you if a team member is overloaded with tasks relative to their scheduled meetings and personal obligations.

Upcoming Features

Based on some unreleased features we discovered, Motion is looking to add Gantt charts, custom fields for structured data, and ‘flows’ that turn tasks into automated processes. These improvements promise to enhance project management further.

Conclusion

Switching from Asana to Motion felt transformative, like hiring a part-time project manager. If you're looking to improve your project management process, setting up Motion is the way to go.

If you're new to Motion or looking to onboard your team, set up your workspace and record a Loom video for training. Encourage your team to check their Motion calendar regularly for task assignments.

By utilizing Motion effectively, you can streamline your project management tasks significantly, ensuring efficiency and collaboration across your team.

Keyword

Keywords: Motion App, project management, task scheduling, Auto Scheduling, team collaboration, capacity planning, task templates, status tracking, Kanban view, Gantt charts, custom fields, workflows.

FAQ

What is Motion App?

Motion is a project management tool that includes an integrated personal assistant to help manage scheduling tasks and events seamlessly.

How do I add tasks in Motion?

You can add tasks manually through the "Add Task" button or by using keyboard shortcuts (Option + Space for Mac or Alt + Space for Windows).

Can I integrate my calendar with Motion?

Yes, you can integrate both your work and personal calendars into Motion to prevent scheduling conflicts.

What are statuses in Motion?

Statuses represent the stages a task or project goes through, helping you track progress from "To Do" to "Completed."

Does Motion offer task templates?

Yes, you can create reusable task and project templates for structured workflows, which saves time and ensures consistency.

How does Auto Scheduling work?

Auto Scheduling allows Motion to automatically place tasks on your calendar based on priority and availability, helping you avoid overbooking.

Can I use Motion on mobile?

Yes, you can add tasks via email forwarding or by using voice commands with Siri, allowing you to manage tasks on the go.

What upcoming features are expected in Motion?

Upcoming features include Gantt charts, custom fields for structured data, and automated workflows to streamline tasks further.