If you’re into your smartphones and tech savvy but struggling with real world organisation, let me recommend Trello to you.
Trello (accessible via any web browser, or using native iOS and Android apps) that lets your organise anything collaboratively. What I’ve really appreciated is that the designers (Fog Creek Software) have made it really easy to navigate and use.
You get to create “boards” (eg Kitchen recipes), and lists (eg baking), then add “cards” that can store text, checklists, have attachments like photos and stuff. You can forward an email to your Trello account and it will show up as a new card (keeping the contents of your email, including attachments). It feels like a digital pinboard that’s less girly with more functionality than Pinterest.
And also, it doesn’t box you in on how to use the app. We’ve used it in a variety of ways, including:
- Keep track of our groceries (Cheryl unchecks anything we need to buy, and then on the way from work I can buy it, ticking it off as I pick something up)
- Plan our upcoming holiday (we listed different flight options and compared them side by side, listed what needed doing before the trip, and created a checklist for what luggage to pack)
- List suggestions for what to go in our family hymn book, and to keep track on how many we have still to add!
- Keep track of our personal and family bible reading, and people/things to pray for
- Discuss and prioritise what home projects and purchases to do next (each card has a comments thread and you can mention others in a discussion a là Twitter)
- Plan set lists for worship services and organise church conferences
If Trello was around before we got married I am sure we could have used it to plan the wedding too! I have also read on how others use it for creative storyboarding, keeping track of Scripture memorisation, and freelance projects, and so on.
I use Trello often enough that it has largely replaced Evernote in my workflow (I will use email or another format for note-taking).
So thankful for helpful tools to bring some order out of our chaotic lives!
