Every task has a beginning and an end. It's when you combine a series of tasks, you get a project. Projects can be simple or complex. But the planning has to be foolproof. So a little bit of knowledge on project management can take you a long way even if you aren't involved with business projects.

Life is the biggest project of them all. So try these project management templates to visualize the efforts needed from start to finish. Set schedules. Use them to present your plans to others. And yes---meet your goals.

1. Dropbox Paper Project Plan Template

Dropbox Paper Project Planning Template

Dropbox was just another place for cloud storage. Today, it is a more collaborative suite that is taking on Google Drive and Microsoft Office. Dropbox Paper might be minimalistic, but the simplicity works in its favor as it gives you this clean project planning template that includes a timeline.

It's just right for creative projects. You can define all team goals, delegate key tasks with a to-do checklist, gather feedback, and curate every project asset with a shared Dropbox. Resources like images and videos can be added to the interactive project timeline.

Gantt charts can be complicated, so the colorful timeline gives you a far easier way to visualize your project. You can also zoom into a "week view" or zoom out for a bird's eye look at your approaching deadlines.

The uncomplicated project planning template is just another reason to try out Dropbox Paper.

2. Hubspot's Free Project Management Templates

6 of the best Project Management business templates.

Hubspot develops products for digital marketers. Most of them are paid products, but Hubspot is also a rich resource for all kinds of free templates you can use for running inbound campaigns. These pre-made templates ensure everyone follows the same process and best practices without needing to reinvent the wheel.

Hubspot offers 6 free editable templates for project management. It includes a simple checklist, a Gantt chart template for your project schedules, a process documentation templates for laying down the SOPs, and more. You can download them in PDF or as an Excel file. Fill out a brief form to unlock access to the documents.

3. Google Docs Project Management Template

Google Docs Project Management Template

Google Docs (or Google Sheets) is one of the more flexible tools to create templates of every kind. It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing out of the tin unless you start customizing it. This specific free template saves you all the trouble. You just have to get on with planning your project.

The template is made up of three core areas. Timing, To-Dos, and Resources. The first tab called Cockpit gives you an overview of your entire project. The template is designed for collaboration.

For instance, the To-Do tab displays how the tasks are shared, the current status of each task, and their relative priority. The entire project and its assets can be managed from Google Drive.

This template can do most of the heavy lifting. You can also pair it with this free Google Sheets Gantt Chart template.

4. Evernote Project Goals Template

Evernote templates

Maybe, you have a small team and a modest project. You can do away massive spreadsheets and complicated Gantt charts. A simple progress tracker can help you stay on the straight and narrow path. And you can create it anywhere. For instance, a shared Evernote notebook could be a good medium.

The Project Goals template is well-suited for any personal project. It is also easy to grasp. Each objective is benchmarked against three key results. You can measure progress by inserting more rows for milestones and tracking the progress with 10% increments.

Simple Evernote templates like these can boost your everyday productivity.

5. Glide

PowerPoint Templates for any project

You might need to present a project plan to your bosses or a client. And that can also be at the very last minute. Sounds daunting? It will be less so if you have a few Microsoft PowerPoint presentation templates lying around. Glide has a useful pack that's available for free and tailored for all types of presentations.

There are 80 different templates in the presentation pack. The slides are professional done and avoid bling. Start with a cover slide template and go on to others that cover pricing tables, charts, agendas, CTAs, and more. You can insert your own branded images instead of using the placeholder images.

In short, the slides are completely customizable. Also, no attribution is required.

Searching for more free PowerPoint templates? 24Slides has a good collection of templates perfect for project planning too.

Tweak Templates for Maximum Benefits

Templates are easy to find. But they don't have to result in a cookie cutter approach. The best online templates are editable and customizable. So make use of this benefit and tweak them to fit your needs and not the other way around.

And if you are still searching for nicely designed templates for your next project, take a right and stop at these Excel project management templates.

For being a better manager and making your team happy, check out these helpful tools.

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