Oh Hello Trello!
I’m not sure about you, but I have a pretty disorganized brain. I’m pretty sure I have some form of ADD, but whatever, I think most people probably do. Even at this moment, I’m working on six different things along with this blog post. And you know what? I fucking dig working on a bunch of different shit, because it keeps me focused and alive. I get extremely bored working on one thing and it makes me want to go to sleep. Maybe I’m weird? Definitely.
Anyway, the issue with working on a bunch of shit at the same time is keeping track of where everything is and what needs to be done. I’m not a machine, people. And a lot of times, things will fall through the crack if I don’t have a helping hand. I used to rely on annoying people to help keep me on track, but that usually pissed me off to the point of resentment. My life as a restaurant owner involved me having this type of relationship, and all this person did was frustrate me. “Have you finished this?” “Did you start that?” “Where are we with this?” Were questions I heard almost every day around the clock. This is torture to someone like me, and it made me want to punch said person in the face. Not a good look, and not where you want your energy going.
Fast forward a couple of years… and I started using project management software like Teamwork Project Management, Salesforce, and a bunch of other bullshit.
It wasn’t until I learned the art of SCRUM did everything change.
What is SCRUM?
SCRUM is a style of project managing that looks like my brain. A bunch of shit going on that is prioritized.
A typical SCRUM board has 3 or 4 columns, depending on the church but typically it goes something like this: To Do | Doing | Done
Simple right? Then each column contains individual tasks that are all part of a story. Each task represents an act in that story and you can’t have a full story until all of the acts are complete.
So the goal is to put tasks you need into the first column, and shift them right until it’s completed. Once all of the tasks or acts are in the right column, your story is complete, and you’re ready to go. Sick!
This was typically done on a board or on a wall, but then some cool software started coming out.
Jira was one that helped me really see that it was possible to do online, although it seemed a wee bit cumbersome for me to do quickly. I wasn’t even thinking about collaboration at the time, but I will talk about that later.
Fast forward about 5 years and then I discovered Trello. Holy fucking shit Batman. This is where it’s at.
Finally there was a system that I could set up in 2 minutes for me and my clients that contain everything in one roof. Not to mention I could bring in my teammates, outsourced help, and clients so they could see everything going on.
This made my brain so happy. So happy.
I could see all of the things that I needed to do and in what order. Instead of my brain grasping at whatever tasks popped up, it could rest and just view this visual display board of opportunities, stories, and tasks.
This is all I use now for ALL of my projects. Even if a client is on board with some dip shit software that they want me to use, I simply decline and let them know they can either use my Trello board or not stay afloat of the project. It’s up to them. I’m not going to break my stride. And at the end of the day, it’s better for them, because they’re paying me for my time. If they want to waste that time and make me do ineffective shit, that’s on them.
So this is how I set up my boards.
[Show Video]
Easy, right? This way everything you need for ANY project is right here.
There’s no better way for me.
Plus, if there’s a conversation to be had on the task, it can all be contained within the card rather than leaking it into other communication streams, where the content gets lost or pushed to the point of irrelevancy.
If you want to learn more about this stuff please check out my course where I take you through an entire step by step process about how to fully build the perfect board for you, your clients, and even loved ones.
Why not make your own life a great story??
