In today’s fast-paced world, staying organized and managing projects efficiently is crucial, whether you’re juggling work assignments or personal endeavors. Thankfully, the popular project management tool Trello is here to help with planning, tracking, and organizing projects right from your iPhone. If you’re new to the world of Trello, here are some pro tips for using the to your advantage.
Getting started
First, download the app and sign up for an Atlassian account. Trello’s free plan is pretty generous and plenty good enough for most users, but if you’re a big team with a lot of complex projects, consider upgrading to a paid account for some premium features and no board limits.
Get to know the boards
Begin by creating boards for different projects, such as “Work,” “Personal,” or “Home Renovation.” Within each board, you can create lists to represent different stages of your project, such as “To-Do,” “In Progress,” and “Completed.” Tasks can be dragged between these stages as you make progress, and you can tap any item to open its detail view. Here, you can add further notes, checklists, tags, reminders, and more. It’s a neat system that’s part to-do list, part schedule, part notes app. Start with a built-in template if you find blank documents overwhelming.
Know how to organize
Trello lends itself well to Agile methodologies like Kanban, which focus on visualizing workflows and improving productivity. Trello’s boards and lists are perfect for presenting tasks in this kind of format – think of it like a giant whiteboard covered in sticky notes. These methodologies are from the world of software development, but there’s no reason they can’t work for other projects too – but don’t feel you have to follow these approaches to the letter. Find the cycle of planning, executing, and evaluating that makes sense to you, and stick with it.
Work with others
Trello excels at collaboration, making it ideal for team projects or involving friends and family in your side projects. Take advantage of features like assigning tasks, adding due dates, and commenting on cards. For instance, imagine planning a family vacation. Create a Trello board dedicated to the trip, assign tasks to family members, and add checklists within cards to track packing lists, reservations, and activities. It’s a great way to keep on top of a sprawling project in one place.
Power up your tools
For more advanced uses, you can extend Trello’s functionality with connected apps. For instance, integrate Trello with apps like Google Drive, Evernote, or Slack to streamline document sharing, note-taking, and team communication. This allows you to access important files, take meeting notes, and receive notifications right from within Trello, ensuring all project-related information is in one centralized location.
Cross-platform usage
One of the key advantages of using Trello is its availability across the board. Start a project on your Mac, track it later on your iPhone or iPad, and collaborate with Windows and Android users. With real-time syncing, you can stay up to date with project progress, add new tasks, or make changes wherever you are. Consider setting due dates and enabling reminders to stay on top of deadlines and updates.
So go ahead, download Trello, and witness the transformative power of efficient project management in the palm of your hand.