Unlock Efficiency: Elevate Your Skills with Our Training & Videos

Trello is one of my absolute favorite tools for staying productive. Today I want to show you a little bit about Trello—what Trello is and how you can use it either for your organization’s benefit or for the benefit of your own personal productivity.

Trello really has three key terms or three key concepts. There’s a Trello board—that’s what we’re looking at right here, a blank Trello board. There are lists, which live within the Trello board, and then there are cards, which live within the Trello lists.

We’ll get into some of those examples in just a moment, but you can have as many Trello boards as you like. We’re just going to work with one for today. You can think of a Trello board very similar to an Excel workbook—a place for you to create, manage projects, and create processes. Whatever you’d like to do all happens within a Trello board.

So within my board, we can add as many vertical lists as we like. I’m going to use an example today of maybe brainstorming some ideas and how that would look—moving it to an agenda, maybe moving it to a to-do list, and then maybe I want to keep track of the things that I’ve completed, so I’ve got a done list over here. Perhaps this is a board that I’m going to share with my team, so we can all create some ideas, brainstorm some issues here, and then we can move it through the process. We can add it to an agenda for an upcoming meeting. We can track what the to-dos are that have come out of that and who are assigned to that, and then finally we can move it to the done list when we’re complete.

So in Trello, you can have as many of these vertical columns, these vertical lists, as you like. You can see here to the right, I can just add as many as I like. But now that I’ve got a couple of lists that I want to work with, I can start adding cards. Again, very much like a column or perhaps a table in Excel, I can list different ideas. We’re going to review our sales pipeline, we’re going to change the support schedule, and maybe we’re going to revise our website feedback tool.

Okay, so just a couple of ideas that I’ve added here, and you can see how easy it was for me to add. When I hit add card, as soon as I hit enter, it opens up another one for me, so I can very quickly generate ideas and add cards to this list. Trello is a drag-and-drop application, so in this case where I do have a process, it’s so easy for me to just move this over to the agenda. Maybe these are the two things I want us to talk about in our next meeting, and I can keep moving them over if I like. I can revise the wording maybe when it gets to the to-do stage, but it’s very easy to drag and drop these cards back and forth. You can do the same thing with lists in terms of moving them around, but it’s effortless to really move your tasks or whatever you’ve captured here within your cards.

Now, you might say, "That’s not a lot of detail." Right? I’ve just added some three- or four-word descriptions here for my ideas. What if I want to add more detail? Well, the great thing about Trello is that it really keeps your workspace nice and clean, so I can keep the front of my card or the top level of my card nice and clean, but when I click on it, it opens up what Trello often refers to as the back of the card or the guts of the card. So within that, I can now add a much more detailed description if I want. I can add a comment, and it’ll keep track of when I made that comment, and if I have other members of my team who are commenting, it’ll keep track of that discussion here.

I can add some color-coded labels if I like, and you can add text to those labels. So here’s an example: this is my "go-ahead" label, as in we want to go ahead with this project, so I can add that to this task. I can add a due date—I want to make sure we do this by the end of the week. A lot more options can be found within the cards, so you can provide a lot more details within the card, yet it keeps the front of my card nice and clean.

I love that aspect of Trello, that you can have your project, your to-do lists, your agenda—whatever you want to use your Trello board for—you can keep the front of the cards nice and clean, but all of that juicy content, all that further description, comments, and so forth can be held within the card. You can even easily add images to your cards as well. I can just hit paste on this particular card, and you can add an image to that card, which will also, by default, become the front of your card. So if you like a more visual format, you can add that to your Trello cards as well. I can remove the cover if I only want that image within the back of the card, but it’s very easy to do. That was just a copy and paste that I used to attach that to the card.

You can add further attachments, whether those are PDFs, documents, or links, to the back of your card—very functional, very fully featured within the cards themselves.

A couple of other examples of how I’ve used a Trello board in the past: great for managing projects; it can also be used as your own personal to-do list. When it comes to your personal life, I’ve used this for home renovations; I’ve used this for planning a vacation. An example is my first two lists when we’re planning a vacation. Once we’ve selected our destination, we’ll often have an activities or a things-to-do list, and then we’ll have a places-to-eat or restaurants list. Then the remaining ones can be the days that we’re actually there—maybe this is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc.—and then we can just sort of drag and drop the things, like yeah, we want to go see that on Tuesday, and maybe we’ll go eat there on Tuesday since it’s near that location. So, home renovations—really anything that you can think of—you can do within a Trello board.

So that’s just a real quick overview of what Trello is. I’d encourage you to try Trello out if you haven’t yet. Trello.com is the website address. It’s free to use, you can have as many boards as you like, and once you start playing with the application, I’m sure you’ll find out some really interesting ways to incorporate it into your work.

It’s very simple.

Today I want to talk to you about... Is that your phone? Are you sure? I really hope that wasn't your phone. Not because I'm offended that you'd have your phone on while you're watching this video. I really hope that wasn't your phone because that sound is the default iPhone ringtone. And as a result, millions of other people have that exact same ringtone.

Have you ever been in a public setting, heard that sound, and then frantically gone searching for your device only to realize that that call wasn't for you? No, it was someone else in the vicinity who has the exact same ringtone as you.

Well, you don't have to suffer like this any further. Change your ringtone! I don't care if you're an iPhone user or an Android user, whenever you get a new device, change the default ringtone. Please, don't use...that one.

Good morning! I know it may not be morning when you're watching this video, but I hope you had a good morning this morning. And I hope to set you up for a great morning tomorrow. Here's how: Number 1: Ignore your email for the very first

Ignore Your Email

Hour. You have so much time in the day to deal with email. Don't mess up your morning by diving into your inbox. Now I know it can be tempting. So many of us use our smartphones as our morning alarm. It can only feel natural to want to click on the mail icon. But don't do it! Your email inbox is not your to-do list. Your email inbox is does not dictate where you put your focus today. So put email on hold for the very first hour.

Exercise

Number 2: Exercise. Too many of us complain that we can't fit in a workout. Too many of us complain that we haven't gone to the gym in weeks. So schedule it first thing. Fit in that run. Fit in that workout in the first hour of your day. It'll set you up for a fantastic morning. It will get those endorphin's going to give you the energy you need to have a great day. Number 3: Plan your very first task the night before.

Plan

A great day begins the night before. So take just a few minutes and select what's the most important thing, what's the very first thing you can start on when you begin your work the next day. When you first get into your office, you don't want to be thinking about doing stuff. You want to be doing stuff. You want to be executing.

So take just a few minutes the day before and plan out what is your first task and then execute on it the next morning. So, ignore your email for the first hour, fit in that workout, get that exercise, and plan your most important task the night before. 3 ways to have a great morning. It's very simple.

Stop, stop, stop pulling out at the last second!

What am I talking about?

Stop cancelling meetings at the very last minute!

Too many organizations come to me and complain about the lack of productivity within their company.

And cancelling meetings at the last minute or having 'no-shows' is one of the worst things you can do for your organization's productivity.

Here's the problem as I see it.

Too many of us accept every single invitation that arrives in our inbox.

We don't even bother to look at our schedule to see if there might be a conflict.

And a few of us use auto-responders, meaning that we automatically accept everything that comes into our inbox.

We don't even look at it.

The system automatically tells the organizer that, "Yes, we will be there."

And then we're surprised why we're double, triple, or even quadruple booked.

Well now you're not just damaging your own productivity, you're damaging the productivity of several or maybe several dozen others.

So I'm pleading with you, be honest with yourself and be honest with others.

When you receive your next calendar invite, take a good hard look at it.

Will you be able to attend?

Will you be able to commit to that date?

If you can't or if you're unsure, select tentative.

They give us that option for a reason.

And if you're the organizer and you cancel a meeting at the last minute, please don't say something cheeky like, "Well, I guess I gave you an hour back in your day."

Wrong!

You didn't give anyone an hour back in their day.

They've already adjusted their day's schedule.

They've adjusted meetings, phone calls, other conversations with clients, all around this meeting.

So don't think that you've given anyone a bonus or additional time.

No, because chances are we just have to reschedule this meeting into the future and Friday already looked pretty busy, now it's extra busy thanks to your cancellation.

Now I understand once in a while you may have a genuinely good reason for cancelling a meeting last minute.

There may be a genuine emergency or crisis that comes up.

But I'll tell you this:

There are a lot fewer emergencies than you think there are.

Too often and too quickly we make things more urgent than they actually are.

So be honest with yourself, be honest with your colleagues.

Take a good hard look at that invitation before you hit accept or before you hit decline.

It's very simple.

What do you bring to work

What are some essential items that you always pack with you in your work bag? Whether it's a briefcase, a backpack, a purse. What are the key things that you always bring with you to work? I'm going to assume that you start with your devices. You probably have a laptop, maybe a tablet, your smartphone. And in addition

Charging cables

to those devices you probably have charging cables. No one likes to get halfway through their day and have a dead smartphone. Well just like you don't want your devices to conk out at you half way during the day, I want to make sure that you have the energy

Why an energy bar

you need to fulfill your most productive day. No matter where I go, no matter where I travel, I always make sure I pack an energy bar. Why an energy bar? Our schedules change quite

Our schedules change

rapidly. Although I may intend to eat healthy today, make sure that I make some time to

Sneak out and grab a salad

sneak out and grab a healthy salad, I know that's not always the case. I may be pulled into an emergency meeting, there may be some other crisis that pops up and I can't pull

I cant pull myself away from my office

myself away from my office or the location that I'm visiting. With an energy bar, I can be sure that I've got 200 to 250 calories that will power me

I dont need to worry about my surroundings

through to the next meal. Especially when I'm on the road. Especially when I'm in a place that I may not know my surroundings. I don't need to worry about how many blocks away the nearest restaurant is or if there's a deli downstairs. If I've got an energy bar

If Ive got an energy bar

I know that I can power through the rest of your day. So regardless if you're travelling abroad or even if it's your own local office, always

Outro

pack an energy bar. Make sure that you have the fuel to have your most productive day. It's very simple.

For you to perform at your very best, you need to have a number of good habits in place.

You need to have a way to manage all of your communication, whether that be email, phone calls, text messages, or social media.

You also need an effective way to manage your schedule.

How do you block out time for your most important work or your most important people?

How do you avoid distractions and other interruptions that we face on a day-to-day basis?

Well, beyond just the tools and techniques of productivity, you have to have a certain mindset.

So today, I want to share with you two simple truths that you must accept in order for you to perform at your very, very best.

First Truth

The first truth is this: you will never complete everything that you want to do.

Sound surprising?

Coming from a productivity professional, coming from someone who helps others to get more things done in a shorter amount of time?

Well, the emphasis should always be on your most important work or your most valuable projects, not just simply getting more and more done off of your to-do list.

You see, the person who makes the most phone calls today will not be the most productive individual.

The person who writes the most emails today will not be the most productive individual.

But the person who focuses their effort on the right work, on the most valuable work, either to them or to their organization, that person brings real value to everyone else around them.

Take a look at the most successful people you know in your industry or any industry for that matter.

They've said no so many times to good ideas in order for them to pursue great ideas.

So don't worry so much about getting everything crossed off of your to-do list.

Focus your attention on what's most important and what's most valuable.

Second Truth

The second truth is this: right now, something is more important than everything else.

Too often, we look at our to-do list and treat everything as equals.

We convince ourselves that we're having a productive day as long as we are checking things off of our to-do list.

However, at any given point in time, something is more important and deserves our attention more than anything else.

You see, you simply can't have seven high-priority items.

Of those seven, one of them is much more important than everything else on that list.

So look at your day, look at your projects through that lens.

You'll be much more productive, and you'll be able to zero in on what your most important work is.

Keep these two simple truths in mind so you can have your most productive day.

One, don't worry about getting it all done because you will never complete everything that you want to do.

And number two, right now, or at any given point in time, something is more important than everything else.

It's very simple.

Here's a quick tip to help you be more productive in the mornings. I want you to ignore email for the very first hour.

That's right, I want you to let your inbox sleep in. I don't care what time it is that you wake up in the morning. I want you to ignore email for the first 60 minutes.

How is this going to make you more productive? Well, when we start our days with email it tends to put us in more of a reactionary mode. As we're replying and responding to other people's requests, we get pulled away and distracted from our own most important work.

So starting tomorrow, start ignoring your email for the very first hour. You've got so many hours in the day to reply to email, just don't make the first hour one of them.

Let your inbox sleep in. It's very simple.

The other day I was driving my car when I approached a red light. As I stopped at the intersection, I noticed that there was a man on the sidewalk who was also wanting to proceed in the same direction as I was going. He did what any normal person would do and he pressed the crosswalk button.

But then he proceeded to press it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again. He just increased the amount of times that he was pressing the button. After some time, he started to increase the force and just slamming his hand against the crosswalk button. As I remained seated in my vehicle, I was laughing hysterically.

You see, this individual obviously didn't understand how a crosswalk button works. And it makes no difference whether you press it once or whether you press it 423 times, that crosswalk man, that little flashing signal is not going to come on any sooner for you.

It got me thinking of other areas of our lives where we sometimes waste energy. Where we spend too much energy on a task or too much time on a particular task when we could reserve that for something much more important.

Think about your email, think about how many messages you send in a day. Think about meetings and the number of meetings that you need to attend this week or you think you need to attend this week. Could you send fewer emails? Could you send better, well-crafted emails and therefore not have to send so many follow-up or clarifying messages?

Could you have one or two fewer meetings by making sure that there was an agenda set forward at the beginning and that you made sure that you had an opportunity to hear from everyone in attendance?

I don't want you to be like the man at the crosswalk just repeatedly pushing the button over and over again. I was saddened to see the frustration on his face. But I was also saddened because he didn't realize how much extra and pointless energy he was spending.

So, make use of your energy in the very best ways. Put it and focus it on the most important things in your life and in your work. It's very simple.

I've got a question for you and it's about mail. Not email, but physical mail. You know: envelopes, postage stamps, that type of thing.

When was the last time you went to your mailbox and took out every single envelope, opened it up, read the contents of every single letter, and then carefully folded them back up, placed them back into their envelope and then shoved it all back into your mailbox?

No? Never? You've never done that before? Of course not! It sounds ridiculous.

However, if I was to ask you the exact same question about your email inbox, I assume many of you would say yes.

Too many of us complain about how hard it is to manage our email inbox. But we tend to do it to ourselves. We leave all of our messages, both those replied to or responded to, in our inbox.

As a result, it's very difficult for us to decipher as to which message should we pay attention to next. Did I already reply to that? I think I did. Let me go open it up again and we waste time and energy in the process.

There is a much better and simpler way. Use the archive function with your email client. When you're finished with an email, archive it. You can always go back and search it later. But it will no longer clutter up your inbox.

If you want to be able to reply to an email but maybe you don't have time right now, create a reply-to folder. You can put those messages in a separate folder knowing that you can go back to it and reply to them one by one but yet it won't clutter up your inbox.

You see it's called an inbox for a reason. It's where emails start their lives, it shouldn't be where they go to die. So make use of a separate folder or make use of the archive function.

When you're finished with an email, get it out of the inbox. It's very simple.

You've got a lot of things on your plate today.

You've got a lot of email to get to.

You've got meetings to attend.

You've got phone calls you need to make.

And don't forget about that report that's due at the end of the day.

You're going to need an awful lot of focus to do everything that you want and accomplish everything on your to-do list.

However, sometimes the biggest distraction to our most important work is ourselves.

Have you ever sat down and tried to focus on a particular task when suddenly a pressing issue, a new idea, or something that you haven't thought about for a number of days pops into your head and pulls you away from that particular task?

Well, if you've experienced this before, you may be in need of a mind dump.

What's a mind dump?

It's really pretty simple.

It's taking whatever's on your mind right now and exporting it somewhere else.

It could be a piece of paper, it could be a spreadsheet, it could be Evernote, whatever you use to capture new ideas or new notes.

I want you to take whatever's pressing on your mind right now and put it on that piece of paper or put it on that note-taking tool.

With that information safely tucked away, you can give the current task or that current conversation the attention it deserves.

Once the meeting is over or once you've completed that task, you can return to those notes and deal with them appropriately.

Now, a mind dump can be very beneficial for yourself, but it can also benefit those around you.

I know a manager who conducts a weekly team meeting, and at the beginning of that meeting, she hands out a piece of paper to everyone in attendance.

She gives them five minutes to perform a mind dump—five minutes to export whatever is up here onto that piece of paper.

Why does she do this?

Well, she wants her team's full attention for the remainder of that meeting, and she knows the chances of having their full attention are that much greater once they've exported whatever they're worrying about, whatever issues, or maybe even things that they're excited about, onto that piece of paper.

So whether it's for the benefit of yourself or for the benefit of your team, perform a mind dump today.

It's very simple.