When I started working for my current company, I was thrown into the deep end of a great organization tool called Trello. Now, if you aren’t familiar with project management/organizational tools like Trello (or Asana, or Basecamp, etc.), think of it like a digital bulletin board. It was a lot to take in at first because I was working on a team that was already very fluent in Trello, but I quickly embraced it as a tool to get my life together (and at the time, I definitely needed some help in that department!).
Trello is a very flexible tool that can be used for all kinds of things and they have templates for everything! As you will see below, I used it for planning my wedding and started with one of their templates. Best part? A basic account that allows you to have 10 boards is completely free!
So how do I use Trello to manage my life? Check out my top 5 ways I use Trello to organize my life.
Budget. This is probably the best use of Trello for me. In a “Budget,” column create cards for each quarter and then make checklists for each pay period and fill in the checklist items with bills, amounts to be moved to savings, etc.. I love that I can easily move things between checklists as I need to make adjustments to biweekly periods. I also keep a card in a “Reference” column with a full checklist of all our bills in a month. This helps me quickly get a full picture of our obligations and you can copy the checklist items when you set up your quarterly (or monthly if you like) cards.
Birthdays. Like I mentioned in my gift-giving post, I use Trello to keep track of everyone’s birthdays and anniversaries. I have a column called “Birthdays & Anniversaries,” and then a card for each month. On the cards, I have one checklist where I put all the birthdays and anniversaries I want to keep track up, starting by the date and in order of occurrence. So then it is easy to click on the card and see who’s special day is coming up.
A note on this: I always check out cards at Trader Joe’s when I am there and grab a few so that I always have some on hand to drop in the mail. I highly recommend this approach!
Packing Lists. There are several trips we take each year and I keep packing lists on cards specifically for this purpose. When we get back from a trip if we forgot anything I make sure to add it so we don’t miss it next year. Its also a great starting point for random trips we take. I usually make one checklist for me and one for Daniel.
Online purchases. Even more than before COVID-19, these days, I order a lot of things online and I use a card to keep track of what I ordered and when it is supposed to arrive. It honestly just helps keep me sane so I don’t wonder if I ordered something and then have to search my email for the receipt.
Debts. We have a number of large debts that we are working hard to pay off. I keep track of these on a card with two checklists (one for starting amount and one for current balance) in my “Reference” column for two reasons. First, its a great snapshot to see all these amounts in one place. Second, every six months or so, I go in and update the current balance and take joy in the amount we have paid off. It helps keep things in perspective for why we are in our current living arrangements.
Bonus items: I keep track of my blogging to-do’s there as well as my gift ideas for people. Oh, and anytime we have a party, I use Trello to keep track of my menu, grocery list, guest list and RSVP’s.
Want to get started with Trello? Make your free account here. And then check out these posts here, here, and here.
Have you tried Trello? Let me know if it works for you below!