TRELLO: MY PRODUCTIVITY SECRET WEAPON

How To Use Trello To Become More Organized And Productive

Trello for productivity
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For years I tried to find the perfect time management system, I tried paper agendas, electronic calendars, apps, online tools, etc. But I was never able to find the prefect tool for me. Until I found Trello.

What Is Trello?

Trello is a web-based application that was created in 2011. They also introduced an app for iOS and Android a few years ago.

Trello is a project management platform made for visual learners that allows you to see all your tasks and projects in one place. They basically took the format of a post-it wall and digitized it.

Crash Course On The Trello Hierarchy:

➞ Inside your Trello account, you can create different boards which are typically used for different projects (ex: a board for writing a book, another for your family's activities, etc).

Each board can be set as Private (only you can see it), Team (can be viewed by members of you team you specifically added), or Public (anyone can find it on Google and see it - I wouldn't recommend this setting in most cases).

➞ Inside a board, you can create lists that can be used as a specific topic within the project.

➞ And finally, in each list you can create cards that you can move up and down in the list or even between lists.

Check out this quick overview of Trello:

What Can You Use Trello For?

I personally use Trello for a lot of things: for my marketing, to keep track of my life coaching clients, to outline and write my book, to plan my year, etc.

Here are some ways you can use Trello:

For planning: Because if it's drag-and-drop nature, Trello is the ideal platform to brainstorm and plan ideas since you can easily move things around, create new cards, and remove things that you don't want anymore.

For projects that others participate in: If you have family events or if you want to plan activities with your friends, Trello makes it easy to create checklists and to assign different tasks to each person. You can also create deadlines and the people in charge of the task with receive a reminder before the due date. No need to constantly message everyone, everything they have to do is in one easy-to-access place.

To replace your own to-do list: If you're used to writing to-do lists, Trello provides a great alternative. Trello's boards allow for a lot of flexibility in how you create your to-do lists. The features allow you to mark certain tasks as more important or to assign them deadlines with reminders. You can also view your board as a calendar if you prefer to look at things that need to be done in the coming month or week in one place.

Trello board example

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

- Lao Tzu

Why Is Trello Better Than Other Options Out There?

Simple: it's free, accessible from you phone or computer, and visual.

Free

Not much explanation needed here. Trello is free for everyone (except for users who need it for a lot of team projects or for more advanced use). Almost every other project management software charges a monthly fee to use it and some of them don't even have all of Trello's features.

Easily Accessible

Nowadays it's crucial to be able to use your time and project management platforms from your phone since most of use need to check on things during the day when we might be on the go and not in front of our computer

The Trello app is especially user-friendly and you can access the same information as the web version.

Visual

A lot of people are visual learners that prefer colour-coded and visually organized information over a black and white to-do list. Trello's features allow you to enjoy the planning process by making your boards visually appealing. You can customize each boards' background and add picture to cards to help you navigate your projects.

Obviously you can use other tools or even a piece of paper to organize your schedule and tasks, but if you've been looking for an all-in-one platform to store your projects, Trello might be the answer for you.

Action item:
If you currently use Trello, congrats! I hope I gave you some ideas on how to benefit from this platform even more.

If you don't use Trello, go sign up for your free account and start by creating your first board to help you manage your time better.

P.S. If you're committed to success and you’d like to work directly with me to put in place your own productivity system, check out my productivity coaching program for high achievers.

About The Author

Headshot of Catherine Lefebvre-Babinsky

Catherine Lefebvre-Babinsky is the founder and CEO of The Clever Achiever. When she isn't testing new ways to improve her productivity, she likes to read (or re-read) her pile of business books or watch the latest superhero movie.