When we think about task management tools, we consider all the ways they can help us work better, faster, and more efficiently. But have you ever looked at your favorite tool and considered how you could use it to improve your life?

I’ve been using the task/project management tool Trello for almost ten years and have gotten creative with how I organize not only my work but my personal life using their flexible boards. Any time I feel like I need to create a special notebook or folder for information, I ask myself if what I’m looking to organize would be better set up in Trello. More often than not, the answer is yes!

Now, admittedly, I could go on and on about all the amazing ways you can use Trello, but below are my top 5 favorite personal board ideas.

1. Home Improvement Projects

As a homeowner, the list of “I wish” and “we want” items can get pretty exhausting to remember, organize, and plan for. If only there was one place to store ideas and prioritize?! Enter Trello. Our home improvement board holds lists and cards for ongoing maintenance, fixes, and someday projects. Inspiration pictures and notes about project needs and budget are also placed in the appropriate cards and lists so all our dreams and needs are in one place.

2. Travel Planning

Have you ever planned a big trip and needed to easily share all the information with someone else? Trello is the perfect place to drop all your must-see ideas, confirmation numbers, and packing lists. You can even use it to track your budget as you’re traveling by entering in actual numbers on the go.

3. Holiday Checklists and Planning

Holiday planning has become one of the most useful personal boards I’ve made. I have lists for the different holiday-related categories – gift lists, holiday dinner menus and cooking plans, and festivities coordination (all the parties and fun activities!) Now, yes, having all of that organized is helpful but the gift list is really where it’s at. I’m notorious for coming up with gift ideas or actually buying them throughout the year and then forgetting as the holidays get closer. With my Trello cards, I can keep track of ideas and purchased gifts in a handy tool. 

4. Recipes + Meal Planning

My meal planning time was cut in half by moving it into Trello. The setup is simple (and frankly, kind of fun)! The overall board stores your recipes. Create lists for each meal type (e.g. breakfast, lunch, dinner) or food type (e.g. chicken, beef, soup). Then make cards for each recipe – be sure to include the prep time, ingredients, and directions. I also include where the recipe is from and a photo (which makes the board look really amazing!) Finally, I created extra cards for Leftovers and Take Out (because we know I’m not cooking every night.) When you’re ready to meal plan, open the recipe you want to make and set the due date for the day you will cook it. You can even plan for more than one meal by changing the time of day that it’s due so the meals will show up in order. Then view the board in Calendar mode – boom! Beautiful meal plan.

5. Exercise Training Plans

Do you have favorite workouts but can’t remember where you learned them? Or maybe you have a bunch of routines pinned on Pinterest that you never use? Create a board with a few lists to organize and plan your exercise training! Using a similar layout to the Recipe + Meal Planning board, create lists based on the type of workout or targetted muscle group. In the card, include the routine information or link (super helpful if you follow a number of YouTube/Instagram fitness pros!) When planning your week, set the due date on the card to the date you want to do the workout, and ta-da! Easily planned weekly workouts!

As a bonus (because I just can’t help myself), Trello works great as a recommendations droplist. Create a board to corral all the recommended podcasts, books, movies, tv shows, restaurants, etc that your friends and family are always sending your way. Depending on your interest levels, I recommend organizing the board one of two ways: 1: Lists – Medium, Cards – Title of Item, Labels – Topic of Interest OR 2: Lists – Topic of Interest, Cards – Title of Item, Labels – Medium.

Have I sold you on using Trello? Click here to get 1 Month of Trello Gold for free.

Happy Organizing!