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As the demand has risen for cross-platform productivity tools, so has the supply. And the result is a near bottomless list of applications to choose from. With such volume of choice, we’ve never had more freedom to pick our tools based on our unique wants and needs, no longer wasting time and energy adapting less-than-optimal systems to our ever evolving organizational formulas. Put simply, we’re spoiled for choice.
With that in mind, it makes sense to shop around. And even if you’re more bare bones with your approach to productivity, you might be surprised by how efficient these digital systems can be. I’ve used and reviewed many of these applications in the recent past, and yet I’m still wooed by the potential of certain features when paired with creative minds. So without any further preamble, let’s take a look at Trello.
In a nutshell
Trello is a web-based project management application that operates on a freemium business model. It uses a hierarchical structure starting with boards that contain lists that hold cards. Cards can be dragged and dropped between lists to track the progress of a specific task. Below is a screenshot of a board I created for demonstration purposes.
This organizational structure that allows tasks to be passed between progressive categories represented on a dedicated board is called a Kanban system. This system was originally developed by an industrial engineer at Toyota to increase efficiency on the production line back in the 1950’s. It works by giving you a clear view of the tasks that need to be addressed within the context of a project, and how far along those tasks are at the moment.
That’s all well and good, but why would you choose this application over the innumerable others that beg for your trial? Well, let’s explore that next.
A better model for getting things done
The first thing I noticed when I started using Trello is its simplicity. After toying around with the welcome board for a few deflective minutes, I was able to identify a few legitimate ways I could leverage the system to stay organized, get motivated and free up time. And I think the immediate liking I took to this system is in part due to an article I read recently called Inside the Psychology of Productivity.
In the article, the author talks about the importance of acknowledging progress in the context of our to-do lists. She contends that many of us are too polarized in our views—too caught up in the black and white distinction between completed tasks and incomplete tasks. The author goes on to suggest that this outlook leads to irrational habits and expectations of ourselves. I thought this was a brilliant point as I recalled my habit of listing completed tasks on my to-do lists just to feel the pseudo-satisfaction of crossing them off moments later. I know, it’s silly, but I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Trello challenges that way of thinking. Instead of using the software exclusively on the front and back end of projects, Trello encourages a constant interaction with tasks in the mean time. So instead of inputting a task only to revisit it when it’s completed, we’re able to break the task down into stages and work towards the next one with more transparency, and in turn, more confidence. As David Allen (author) never tires of explaining, when it comes to getting things done it’s all about drafting actionable next steps towards completing your tasks. Luckily, Trello offers an intuitive space to do just that.
Scalability
Although many people including myself leverage Trello for personal productivity, it’s true might is exposed when used to manage a team. That’s because as a team manager, you can invite all your team members to a particular board outfitted with various lists and cards. In layman’s terms, the cards are the tasks and the lists are their developmental checkpoints, as seen in my example board above.
Then, as manager, you can assign team members to particular cards and watch as tasks are dragged and dropped from left to right, from their beginning stages to their completion.
Depending on the magnitude of the project at hand, you may find it helpful to scale the tasks’ specificity up or down. To meet this need, just click on the card and Trello allows you to add comments, embed pictures and videos, set due dates, create checklists—you name it. All this means that collaborative projects become much more transparent, interactive and self-propelling than ever before.
The beauty of this system is that everybody has a full view of the project’s trajectory, allowing team members to identify slow moving tasks and self-deligate their help to move things along. And despite the breadth and depth of function offered by this system, the user interface is not only fluid and uncluttered, but sleek and customizable as well.
It might be worth a go
There may be a million productivity apps on the market to choose from, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t gems to be found. And in my opinion, Trello is one of these gems. It’s widely capable for individual use, scales extremely well, all while sporting a pretty slick user interface. All aspects considered, I think Trello is worth your trial.
Contributed exclusively to Tech Today Review
By: Dylan Smart