My day job is Director of Digital Media. I manage a team thats responsible for the web, e-marketing and social media projects for 2 brands. 

We’ve been utilizing Google Docs for managing day-to-day tasks and talk about productivity improver!  We are working on a tight project plan and by using Google Docs we’ve been able to see in real-time as tasks are complete and any edits are made.

Google Docs is free. It’s VERY easy to use and is great for team collaboration. Just upload your spead sheet and share!

We’re testing use between departments to get all of our schedules synergized in one digital space.  I know Basecamp is a great product from 37 Signals with great project management functionality. But, it you are looking for FREE -- definately give Google Docs a spin.

Another tip: Google Calendar is FABULOUS for family schedules. My husband and I put all our events (from DR appointments to birthday parties) on a shared Google Calendar to keep in sync. He has the Google Android so his phone syncs right up. In other words -- my husband has no excuse not to make plans on date nights if they are on his calendar .