To do list Excel – disadvantages of Excel-based solutions and alternatives

To do list Excel file is a widespread tool for making to do list templates. To do list Excel sheet is usually applied to cover many different purposes as far as spreadsheets are convenient for displaying information of various types, including tasks lists. In the most cases simple file is created through standard means of this application, and often special to do list Excel template can be used. Template in Excel includes a set of columns that represent task attributes such as status, priority and target date. Any is designed for those who doesn't have good skills, because any spreadsheet requires only basic spreadsheet knowledge to quickly create and manage to do list Excel sheet. There are different layouts and appearances, but usually it is hard to find a to do list Excel template that completely meets your requirements, so anyway you may need to make some customization until you get what you really need. There are a lot of ready-to-go templates, but any Excel-based solutions are not really effective for task management, let's see why it is so.

The main problem of any to do list template xls file is that it cannot be shared among several people concurrently, so such a sheet is not an appropriate solution when it comes to teamwork at common project. That file can be normally used by one user, but if a group of co-workers want to share their agendas, they need to open and edit the file by turns.

When you want to manage your tasks and time with a help of computer-based means – it is better to find appropriate software than to use some MS Word patterms, because special tool ensures a set of advantages – for example, specific task management software has more specialized and easier interface that facilitates process of dealing with software. Also if you need to share tasks with your colleagues – you need software that allows this, but not XLS file that does not support concurrent access.

Proper example of multi-user task management software that provides you with possibility to manage simple to-do lists, task tree for projects, and calendars – is CentriQS. This product is designed for simultaneous collaboration of multiple users, so unlike any free to do list excel based solution it can be easily used for team management. There is proper functionality which can be used to adjust this software to rightly fit requirements of your company or project, including loading to-do lists from CentriQS into to do list Excel format if necessary.