5 Ways To Use Buckets New Project Access Controls

Here are a few key ways that you can benefit from using our new access controls

We’ve always wanted Buckets to be as easy as possible to use for everyone. Why? Because life is busy enough without worrying about how to set up the one thing designed to organize it. Lately, we’ve been focusing on how to further embrace this ethos by making Buckets accessible for non-members too. This is of equal benefit to our current users (as you’ll see below) and non-members who just don’t want the hassle of “signing up to another app” (although we’re convinced they’ll change their minds once they’ve used Buckets for a few days!).

Using our new Project access controls, users can invite non-members to collaborate on a Project by sharing the Project URL and choosing the appropriate level of public access. Please note that it’s important to be mindful of any sensitive information shared within each Public Project as these URLs are open to anyone in possession of the link.

Here are a few key ways that you can use and benefit from these expanded access controls:

Work With External Contractors/Freelancers

Whether your company is remote-based, semi-remote based, or completely in-house, you will likely deal with freelancers and contractors at some point. And when that happens, you need a centralized location from which you can manage and collaborate on Projects. That location is Buckets.

With our new sharing controls, it’s much easier to onboard your new contractors as there’s no sign-up required. Instead, you can pick and choose which Projects to make public, send them the URL link, and also adapt your Project permissions as appropriate. This is useful in the early stages of working with a new contractor and Projects that provide general resources and info that may be suitable for Public access.

As your working relationship develops, you may want to engage your contractors in other Projects within your company which cannot be made Public. In this instance, it’s best to ask your contractor to sign up to Buckets so that you can add them as members to the Project/Project and customize their access level accordingly.

Invite Clients To View And/Or Collaborate On Projects

If you’re an agency/startup/freelancer working with numerous clients then it’s likely that they all have their own way of doing things. Making it simple for them to access your way of doing things will make life much easier for all parties.

As above, start by sharing resources and non-private items via our Public Projects and then progress to adding them as Buckets members if required. Remember, a Project can be changed from Public to Private in just a few seconds so this is also a useful way of quickly showcasing what you’re working on with a client without keeping the Project publically available long-term.

Share/Collaborate On Projects With Friends

Buckets is about so much more than just planning your professional workload. From event-planning to holidays, weddings, and household management, there are lots of ways to streamline your to-do list by involving your friends in the planning process. And it’s fun too!

If you’re planning a wedding yourself, for example, you could set up a public Project for all of the attendees to display all of the wedding details in one place, i.e. appropriate attire, gift list, location, times. Why bother with a wedding planner when you have Buckets by your side?

And then there’s the dreaded group holiday planning, which — let’s face it — rarely goes to plan! Mike forgets his passport, Gráinne forgets her travel adaptor, Andrés gets the flight time wrong… travel plans are often full of last-minute hiccups like that. But by using Buckets you can make sure that everyone is fully prepared ahead of time, and by adding everyone to the Project you have that additional accountability factor too.

For example, if you set up a Checklist for everyone to complete before they go, it’s going to be pretty obvious who’s falling behind. In which case you can figure out why and help them out if needed.

These are just a few examples of how you can utilize Public Projects to make plans with your friends and collaborate on your to-do list, the possibilities are endless.

Get User/Customer Feedback (Product Roadmap)

Going back to the business side of things, making your product roadmap public is a great way for companies developing a product to get real-time feedback from users. It provides a degree of transparency that your users will definitely appreciate and it gives you the opportunity to gain invaluable feedback on new or upcoming developments.

Need a few beta-testers for a new feature? Ask here. Simply want some feedback on your latest update? Just add a new Card. Or, if you’re looking for ideas/input from users on what they want to see next, this is an excellent place to get a conversation started.

Gain Accountability Allies For Your To-Do List

Are you the kind of person who works harder at your goals when you know you’re being observed? Some people are, some people aren’t, the studies on this are pretty conflicting. But in either regard, a little accountability can often go a long way if you’re having trouble sticking to your goals.

This is where making your list public can help. You’re clearly not going to share anything that’s very private here — it’s more for goals like “traveling Asia”, “getting fit”, or “learning guitar” — but this is a great way to keep yourself on track and get a little extra motivation from the people you share your Project with.

How Will You Use Public Projects?

These are just a few of the ways that making your Project public can benefit you in managing your personal and professional workload, so we’d love to hear about how you intend to use this new feature! Or maybe you’ve already given it a go? Leave a note in the comments section below to share your ideas with other Buckets users!

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