Using Trello to reach your goals
Trello: A powerful organizational tool
Trello is a piece of software built to be more powerful than your average to-do list. With Trello, visual design and interaction is very smooth and feels natural. Reorganizing your tasks is so much easier than separate to-do lists. Anything you want to get done can be organized just how you want. This leaves a lot of room for error, but I’ll give you some tips to get started. As an individual user, all of your Trello content is your own. This means you need to set it up to be the most efficient thing for you. If you are paging through a list of far-off tasks to get to a task that will take 5 minutes, Trello is not working for you as an effective tool. Keep tasks short and achievable.
To me, archiving is the equivalent of “out of sight, out of mind”. Once I archive something, I forget about it. If it’s important, I’ll think of it again and add it to the board. If not, it really is finished and you don’t need to see it. I trust myself more and more often to think of things that need doing in a timely manner.
Working with a team
If you’re using Trello as a team, things change. You need to interact with others, showing them you’re completing work in a way they can measure. Like before, make tasks small and achievable. But this time, don’t archive them - put them on a “Done” list with your name attached!
When I work with a team, I follow one of two structures. The first is to have one list for each person, an “unassigned” list, and a “done” list. Anything really far in the future goes at the bottom of the “unassigned” list, or gets left off entirely. This makes it efficient for each team member to look at the board and immediately see what they need to do. The second structure I might follow is to have a list for each deadline, and assign members to tasks within a deadline list. When the deadline passes, move unfinished cards forward and make sure to reassign as necessary.
How Trello is changing my life
I’ve been using Trello for about a month now, and it’s helping me stay on task more than note-taking or anything else really could. My mind is less cluttered because I have a place for my thoughts, and that place is easy to clean up by just doing things. Here’s exactly how I use Trello to stay on top of things.
Planning Board
- List of Immediate Tasks and list of Scheduled Tasks
- Immediate tasks are sometimes random and kept very small.
- Each scheduled task is regular, like writing a weekly email or agenda.
- When I complete a regular task, I change the due date and move it down the list. This keeps a semblance of order without being too strict.
Goals Board
- List for each goal category. I keep lists of fitness, career, and personal development goals.
- Update progress of each goal as you move through the year. For example, I comment when I hit a new personal best on a fitness metric.
Freelance Work Board
- List for each project or job you hold.
- Actionable tasks have due dates, everything else is at the bottom of the list.
- Remove cards if they’re not moving! This kind of card causes stress by just hanging around, taunting you. Turn it into something actionable.
- If you’re working with a team, you probably want the team to have its own board.
Takeaways
Use any method of organization that accelerates your progress towards your personal goals! If you use Trello:
- Keep tasks short and achievable.
- Throw away things you are tired of seeing; you’ll think of them again later.
- Reorganize whenever you feel overwhelmed.
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