If you’ve ever tried to wrangle a team project with sticky notes, endless emails, or that one spreadsheet everyone forgets about—this is for you. Empler promises to make team task management easier, but only if you use it right. This guide is for team leads, project managers, or frankly, anyone tired of chasing people for updates. I’ll walk you through the real steps to assign and manage tasks in Empler without getting lost in the weeds. You’ll get straight answers on what actually helps, what’s just window dressing, and how to keep your team moving.
Step 1: Get Your Team and Projects Set Up
Before you start assigning tasks, you need to get the basics sorted. Don’t skip this part—mess it up and you’ll deal with chaos later.
Create your team in Empler: - Invite everyone who’ll be working on the project. - Double-check email addresses or you’ll spend half a day troubleshooting logins. - Give people the right roles (Owner, Manager, Member). Don’t overthink it—just make sure folks can do what they need.
Set up your project: - Name your project something obvious. “Q3 Website Redesign” beats “New Project 2.” - Add a short description. Don’t write a novel, just enough so people get what’s going on.
What to skip:
Don’t waste time customizing every color or icon right now. Focus on structure over style. You can pretty it up later.
Step 2: Break Down the Work (But Don’t Micromanage)
Big projects die by a thousand vague tasks. Break work into clear, actionable items, but avoid overcomplicating things.
How to break down tasks: - Each task should be a single, clear action (“Write homepage copy,” not “Work on website”). - If you can’t explain the task in a sentence, it’s probably two tasks. - Use checklists inside tasks for small steps, but don’t turn every task into a 10-point saga.
Pro tip:
If you find yourself assigning the same chunk of work to multiple people, it’s probably not specific enough. Split it up.
Step 3: Assign Tasks (The Right Way)
Assigning a task in Empler is easy. Assigning it well is another story.
To actually assign a task: 1. Open the project. 2. Hit “Add Task.” Give it a short, action-based name. 3. Add details (attachments, links, or comments—whatever people need to get rolling). 4. Set the due date. Be realistic. Padding deadlines just makes everyone ignore them. 5. Assign one owner. Don’t assign a single task to five people unless you like finger-pointing. 6. Use watchers or followers if people need to stay in the loop but aren’t responsible.
What works: - Making sure every task has one clearly responsible person. - Using due dates as actual targets, not vague suggestions.
What doesn’t: - Assigning tasks to “everyone.” That’s how things fall through the cracks. - Overloading someone with ten tasks due the same day.
Step 4: Track Progress—But Don’t Hover
Once tasks are out, you’ve got to keep tabs—without turning into a micromanager.
Empler gives you a few tools for this: - Kanban boards: Drag tasks across columns (To Do, Doing, Done). Simple. Use them. - List views: Good if you like checklists and seeing everything in one spot. - Calendar view: Handy for deadlines, but don’t obsess over it.
How to track without annoying people: - Check in on the board once or twice a week. Comment if something’s stuck, but don’t ping people every day. - Use Empler’s notifications, but don’t rely on them alone. People ignore email alerts all the time.
What to ignore: - Fancy dashboards with 10+ metrics. Focus on what’s overdue or blocked, not vanity stats.
Step 5: Handle Updates and Changes
No plan survives first contact with reality. You’ll need to adjust as things move.
When tasks need updating: - Edit the task if scope changes. Add a note so folks know what’s up. - Reassign if someone’s overloaded or out sick. Do it in Empler, not just in a chat message. - Change due dates only if there’s a real reason. Chronic deadline shifting kills trust.
Pro tip:
If you’re constantly splitting or merging tasks, your original breakdown probably missed something. Take five minutes to fix it for next time.
Step 6: Keep Everyone in the Loop (Without Spamming)
Communication is where most task systems go off the rails. Here’s how to keep it sane in Empler:
Use comments for real discussion: - Keep all task-related chats inside the task. No more “Check your email for the details.” - Tag people with @mentions if you need their attention.
Don’t over-notify: - Don’t tag everyone for every update. - Use Empler’s summary notifications if your team gets overwhelmed by alerts.
When to take it outside Empler: - If a discussion is turning into a debate, jump on a quick call. - Use Empler for decisions and updates, not for never-ending brainstorming.
Step 7: Review, Wrap Up, and Rinse/Repeat
The best teams actually close their tasks and learn from what worked.
For wrap-up: - Mark tasks as done—don’t just drag them to “Done” and forget. - Do a quick review: What took too long? What got blocked? Jot down a note for next time. - Archive or clean up old tasks. Too many “zombie” tasks make it hard to see what matters.
What matters: - Closing the loop, so people know when they’re actually finished. - Learning from mistakes, not just moving on.
What to Actually Use in Empler (And What to Skip)
Not every bell and whistle is worth your time. Here’s the honest take:
Worth it: - Assignments with clear owners. - Due dates and reminders. - Kanban or list boards for visual tracking. - Comments and attachments for context.
Maybe skip: - Advanced automations—unless you have a real need, they can become a mess. - Custom fields for everything. Simple beats complicated. - Endless notifications. Less is more.
Keep It Simple—Then Tweak
Assigning and managing team tasks in Empler isn’t magic—it’s about clarity, consistency, and keeping things moving. Don’t get bogged down trying to make it perfect from day one. Set up your team, break down the work, assign clearly, and check in regularly. If something’s clunky, change it. The best systems are the ones your team actually uses, not the ones that look impressive in a demo. Start simple, iterate as you go, and leave the hype at the door.