Anyone can probably use a little more organization in his or her life. Whether for business or personal, having a way to keep organized when you have a task to accomplish is a must. A simple to-do list can be a help, but when you have multiple projects to tackle, one list can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing. Writing a quick list on a sticky note might work on a pinch, but having a bunch of sticky notes sitting around or getting lost isn’t the answer.
With all the technology at our disposal, there are quite a few options that are ready to help. Sure, you can use the default Reminders app on your device, but I found myself needing more functionality. I found an app that can take on all your lists and keep you and your projects more organized.
Trello, available as an app for your iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, or Windows 8, takes the typical “to-do” list to the next level. Sure, it can handle the basics like list creation, but that’s just scratching the surface on what Trello can do for you. It’s flexibility is what sets it apart, and I’ll try to explain the structure.
Once you get started, Trello sorts things using “boards”, which are master groupings or lists for your tasks. You can also create organizations, within which you can add these same “boards”, and for those with multiple businesses or activities, this is important. Trello is a huge help for me in sorting out the things I need to accomplish for each business and organization. By creating each organization in Trello, I can easily separate the tasks to accomplish, which is great when I need to focus on those specific organizational activities. Once you add a board, you then add a “list” within those, so that each “list” can be specific for a project or job. For example, I have an “organization” for Bayou Technologies, and “boards” for Service Call projects, Programming projects, Web Development projects, and Company projects. Under each of these “boards”, I have “lists” for each client or project that fall under that. You can organize these as you see fit, but when you have multiple irons in the fire, keeping away from distractions on other projects is huge, at least for me.
Once you have your “list” created, you can add your things to do. To do this, we’ll use a “card”. After you create a “card”, you can add notes, create checklists, add attachments, set a due date, and more. As you complete the task, you can delete those “cards” or archive them. You can also move “cards” in between different “lists” easily.
What really make Trello great for business is the ability to add members within an “organization”, so that they can be assigned to “cards”, delegating these tasks to the right team member. This is where Trello really shines for my uses. Before, managing tasks for myself and for my team could get confusing, but now, these tasks are assigned to that team member and Trello allows them to collaborate on the notes and items in the card. There is a “Business-Class” edition that adds more refinements for a nominal fee.
Trello is free for your devices and there’s a website version for use in any browser. Trello stores your data in the cloud, as so many apps do these days, so items you add or change will require an Internet connection to sync with your other devices or your team members. It does save locally on your device until it can connect, however. They also have a Trello Gold option, but I didn’t find that to be useful.
If you get to feeling overwhelmed when you have so much to do, give Trello a try. Wrangling a savage “to-do” list can be tough, but with Trello, you can make it a bit easier.
