I’m not being dramatic when I say Trello has changed my life.

I call myself an organized person. Maybe even a bit over the top and psychotic at times. This probably stems from my anxiety and feeling prepared and organized helps calm it. But that’s for another blog post.

For many years I have been searching for solid organization tools. I am also a visual person so it needed to be something that was easy (and fun) to read. Handwritten calendars, pocket-sized, calendars that hang on my wall, calendars on my computer, my phone. To do list on paper, notepads, post-it notes, apps like Todoist, Wunderlist etc. I have tried it all.

And while these might work for some of you, they didn’t work for me (or they did but only to an extent).

I was introduced to Trello back in 2012 but I didn’t fully understand it or use it correctly. I began using it again this year for work and it has changed my life.I can get everything out of my head and onto Trello.

You’re probably now wondering – Christine, what the heck is Trello?

Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes any of your projects into boards.

It can help show you what you’re working on, what other team members are working on, and where something is in a process. Find a demo here. 

When I worked at York University, I managed 25 Coordinators and we had a “Trello Team” to connect and chat:

For my own personal board, I use it for everything from organizing my blog, my work, my classes, my reading list, my recipes, the ideas are limitless:

PRO TIP:

See more examples and tutorials from Trello here. 

 

But my real life saver is my weekly board:

I heard this saying once, I think it was Danielle LaPorte who said:

“Make a list, but live it loosely”

Trello allows me to do just that.

It’s s flexible, I can create a card and drag it from list to list so easily. So if I don’t finish everything I had planned that day, I add it to the next day or back to my to do list.

You can also add notes, due dates, attachments, photos for each card and each board. There is a calendar feature as well. All of these features make it fun, customizable and a place where you can be creative as well.

So if you’re starting school in September, I encourage you to try out Trello. You can start on your to do list before school starts. You can begin to organize your courses and reading lists. The options are limitless. And the best thing is that it’s FREE! Of course, you can get the upgraded versions as well, but I have been satisfied with the free version.

They have an app for your phone but I will say one big downfall is that you need the internet for it to automatically populate on all your devices (which does make sense) but it also cuts into my data and I would like to use it when I am out and about.

Does anyone else love organizing as much as me 😂?

I am curious to know what calendar and productivity tools you scholars use? Let me know what has worked for you and what hasn’t!

Until next time,

P.S Don’t forget to use #ScholarCulture and #ScholarSquad to keep me updated on your experiences as grad students.

P.P.S Applying to grad school in 2018? Check out this FREE eBook on 5 steps to a successful grad school application.