HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE WITH TRELLO
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I am a self-proclaimed planner and systems SNOB. I’m not even half joking about that. Since I was a little girl, I absolutely LOVED planning. I loved getting a new calendar at the beginning of the year (calendar year or school year) and writing down dates, birthdays, holidays, etc.
Then, when college came around, I started to systemize everything. I created daily routines and systems for studying, etc. I LOVED it! Nothing is more satisfying to me than planning something out, writing a checklist, and crossing things off.
I might actually like it more than my kids sometimes… JUST KIDDING!
As a former teacher, these skills came in handy, and now I have organizations + systems setup not just for my business, but for my entire LIFE.
Hold on to your hat, friend, because you’re going to get a sneak peek into my organizational system with Trello - and how I keep things SIMPLE + ORGANIZED for my life and business!
My Trello board is setup into 7 sections that include both things for business + things for life in general…
My to-do list
My daily tasks
My weekly tasks
My monthly tasks
Any projects that I’m working on (both business + personal)
Content ideas for this here blog
Important lists
I am a very compartmentalized person, so having things in these little “compartments” helps me stay organized with my thoughts and what I need to be doing at any given moment.
But, let’s look into each one of these sections, shall we?!
To-Do List
This section contains everything I need to get done, whether it’s today, this week, this month, or 3 months from now. One thing I know about myself is that if I don’t write it down, there’s no way I’m going to remember it. (I blame this fun trait on my mother…) This is really my “stuff I need to do for other people list” because these things are a priority. They require a due date and someone else is depending on me to do my part.
For me, this comes down to my client work. I have a separate card for each client I currently am working with (whether they are an ongoing client or a project-based client) and I have a checklist for each thing that I need to do for them. Again, these could be things that I need to get done today or a month from now, but if it ain’t on the list, I ain’t gonna remember.
This list also gets transferred over onto my paper planner. I’m still a paper planner person because writing things down helps me remember them better - and I can prioritize my tasks better that way.
My to-do list is always my first “stop” of the day because I need to know what I need to be focusing my time on during my work time.
Daily Tasks
While my to-do list is what I need to get done for other people, my daily (and weekly and monthly) tasks are what I need to get done for MYSELF. This is a blend of both business and life tasks, but again, having a list for each day keeps me focused on what I need to get done.
This is really my daily routine too, at least for business. What are the MAIN THINGS I need to get done each + everyday, without excuse? I have a checklist created for what needs to get done and I spend about an hour going through that every day.
I also have my cleaning schedule on these days too. My weekends are SACRED. I want to spend as much time NOT WORKING as possible because it’s easy for me to get burnt out. And that includes cleaning. Why spend hours on the weekend cleaning my house, when I can spend 30 minutes 5 days a week cleaning different areas?! Y’all, this is the BEST mom hack I’ve done and I highly recommend you doing the same. You can thank me later…
Weekly Tasks
Unlike daily tasks, my weekly tasks are recurring activities that take place once each week. My weekly planning time (takes place every Sunday), writing content for the following week (takes place on Thursdays), my weekly business tasks that I don’t do daily (takes place usually on Mondays). These are all things that I MUST do 1x each week - but again, if it’s not written down, guess what’s not getting done?!
Monthly Tasks
You guessed it… these are things I need to get done once per month. Things like mapping out my content, going through our expenses and paying our contractors (and ourselves), writing a monthly email to my VIP customers, etc. I don’t need to do these daily or weekly, but they NEED to get done 1x per month. I definitely put a due date on these because they are things I want to avoid doing and will forget without that reminder that it needs to get done.
Projects
These are things that are NOT ongoing tasks. They have a finite start and end date - and are PERSONAL, thus not on my to-do list since it’s for myself and it’s OK if I let a due date slide for myself. As long as no one else is depending on me to get it done, it stays in the Projects section.
I combine life + business here as well. My website was a business project (that I’m still working on…) but I also have the house projects I want to do - eventually - and keep those updated as I get new ideas. Right now, we’re talking about finish the basement this summer, so all the tasks that need to happen will be put on a checklist on a card called BASEMENT.
I also love that you can attach images + files to the cards as well - which will be super handy for our finished basement project and all the things I’ve been pinning on Pinterest for the past 6 years…
Lists
And last but not least, my lists. This is ALL personal - and probably my favorite section. It includes my book list, our family movie list, and my playlist for when I need to get pumped up (which is currently a work in progress). Because, say it with me, if I don’t write it down, I won’t remember.
This is what works for ME. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for YOU, but it CAN give you a good start. When I first started using Trello, I had my board setup a different way, with it sectioned off by day, but it meant moving cards around, which made it so much harder to find ANYTHING. Once I created this, I felt like I could stay on track better.
And, like I mentioned earlier, I do use a paper planner as well because my actual calendar is not on here. For me, this is a task manager ONLY. My calendar is what helps me stay on track each and every day. But, hand in hand, the 2 help me be as productive as possible.
Braindump (aka EVERYTHING ELSE…)
Ever stand in the shower and get an AMAZING idea?! Are you like me that will lose that AWESOME idea if you don’t write it down?! I’m telling ya… it’s a major flaw of mine. But, I’ve resolved this year to not lose those brilliant ideas, thanks to my Trello board!
This section is really for content ideas because that’s my business. Things I want to remember to talk about, or that I’ve been asked about (hair tutorial coming soon…), or was inspired by. It all gets put on in my Braindump section, either on it’s own card, or if there are a lot of themes I see (like engagement post ideas), I’ll create a checklist in a card so I don’t forget what I’ve done and what I haven’t done.
I also create new lists for just about everything else, like my Gospel reading plan and basically anything that needs to get out of my head and somewhere to be organized!
Wanna swipe my template for my Trello Board Template? You can grab it TODAY for just $5!
I’ve really done a deep dive into Trello these last few months, getting things completely automated so I’m not wasting/spending time unchecking recurring tasks or setting up new due dates. I have a desire to really become a Trello expert, so maybe in the future I’ll be sharing more of my Trello hacks besides just my template!
If you need help getting started using Trello and nail down the basics, my BFF Kelli wrote a great blog post over on The Biz Runners that explains it all for you!
