📅 October 19, 2021
Staying Organized with Trello
I like to keep my thoughts and to-dos organized and out of my head. In GTD, unfinished commitments are considered "open loops". Too many open loops in my head makes me uncomfortable and stressed. A solution to this which I have been using for the past several years is Trello.
Trello uses the Kanban method of organizing and processing work. Kanban focuses on making work visible, limiting work in progress (WIP), focusing on flow, and continuous improvement. I don't have a set WIP number, but I tend not to have more than a few things active at the same time. Tasks on my boards will get moved or updated during the day or week as needed.
I have three boards that I use daily: Personal, Work, and Considerations. My Personal and Work boards are set up with the following lists: Backlog, Monthly Projects, Current Week Tasks, Pending, and Done.
- Backlog - tasks that I want to do, but haven't set an intention of getting it done during the current month or week. An example I have here is "Install trim in the garage". That task has been in my backlog since 9/26/2020. Maybe I should put some effort into that 🤔.
- Monthly Projects - things I want to do during the current month. I reference this list to create tasks in my Current Week Tasks list.
- Current Week Tasks - things I want to do during the current week. I reference this list to create events in my personal and work calendars during time blocking.
- Pending - I put tasks that I have started but are in a holding pattern here...possibly I'm waiting on someone or something.
- Done - tasks I have finished. I remove tasks from this list during my weekly review.
The Considerations board is set up with the following lists: Things to keep in mind, Quotes, Habits, Consumption, Articles to Revisit, and Project Ideas.
- Quotes - I save quotes I want to be reminded of and reflect on in this list. I create 4x6 photos out of some of my favorite quotes.
- Habits - I like the tiny habits framework for building behaviors I want to repeat: "After I . . . ", "I will . . . ". I record my tiny habits in this list. Example: After I wake up in the morning, I will say, "It's going to be a great day!"*
- Consumption - contains two cards: "Books I want to Read" and "Media I Want to Watch". In the "Books I want to Read" card I have three checklists: "Non-fiction", "Fiction", and "Technical".
- Articles to Revisit - contains cards with links to sites or attached documents that I want to come back to and read.
- Project Ideas - this contains projects I might want to pursue in the future. This list could probably be removed, and I could utilize the Backlog list in my Personal board for these items.
- Things to keep in mind - contains nuggets of wisdom that I don't want to forget, but that do not necessarily fall into the Quotes list. I could probably combine this list and Quotes.
I add tasks to my boards as soon as possible. There are three main ways I do this.
- Open a board in my browser and add it to the correct list.
- Use the Trello Add Card widget which I have set on my Android home screen.
- Use the Create new Trello cards by voice, using Google Assistant IFTTT applet. I have the applet configured so that I can say "Hey Google. Add [thing I want to add]". Doing this will add the card with a title set to what I spoke after "Add" to the Backlog list on my Personal board.
On Sunday, during my weekly review, I make changes and archive cards as needed.