Working with GTD Trello Template: 3 Easy Steps

Trello is a popular Project Management tool. It makes it easy for individuals to collaborate on a project. It shows the team members the project they are working on, the members who are involved, the progress, as well as the remaining amount of work. When working on projects in Trello, you will need a template that makes the work easier for you and your team. That is why you need the GTD Trello template, which is a methodology for improving the productivity of your business or organization. Here, GTD stands for “Getting Things Done”.

This article will walk you through the process of setting up the GTD Trello template from scratch. It will also provide you a brief overview of the Trello and the GTD Trello templates. In the end, you will be able to set up your GTD Trello template. Let’s get started.

Prerequisites

This is what you need for this article:

• An active Trello Account. 
• Working knowledge of Project Management tools.

Introduction to Trello

Trello is a Project Management tool that helps you organize, track, and coordinate your project tasks. It tells project teams what is being worked on, who is working on what, and what the progress is. Trello organizes projects into dashboards, facilitating collaboration between internal and external teams.

Key Features of Trello

Trello has gained wide acceptance in the market because of its unique features. Some of the key features of Trello include:

• Remote Access: You can access your Trello account and keep track of crucial project milestones from anywhere, at any time, and on any device.
• Online Support and Vast Community: If you’re having trouble with Trello, the majority of the answers may be found at “Trello Help”. You may also contact Trello professionals to have your questions answered by domain expertise.
• Trello Butler: One of the most essential advantages of Trello is the automation of repetitive tasks. You may create custom rules for your Trello CRM template and save time by delegating tedious operations like sending emails.
• Security: With SSL Data Encryption, you can be assured that your data is secure both in transit and at rest. Data storage and sharing on the platform are completely secure, with encrypted backups every 24 hours.

Introduction to GTD Trello Template

GTD stands for “Getting Things Done,” and it is a productivity methodology for work and time management. It can help you to answer questions like:

• What should I work on next?
• What should I do to ensure that I don’t forget anything?
• What tricks can I use to avoid procrastination?

If you like to rely on explicit rules to stick to what you should do and avoid what you should not do to stay productive, choose GTD Trello. Its clarity makes it appealing to project developers. 

GTD follows the five steps given below:

• Step 1: Capture all the tasks to be done. 
• Step 2: Decide whether every task is important, actionable, something that you can delegate, or something that you can go away with. 
• Step 3: Organize the tasks into lists. 
• Step 4: Work on the tasks based on their priority.
• Step 5: Review your progress on working on the tasks. 

In most cases, people modify GTD Trello to use the parts that seem to work for them. Others borrow the core concepts of the methodology and implement them differently. It’s up to you to choose how to accomplish things. 

Steps to Set Up GTD Trello Template

GTD Trello on its own is just a set of ideas written in a book. It is not an actual piece of software or anything tangible. Trello is the best tool for implementing the GTD Trello template. Trello is very useful for collecting, processing, and organizing processes. Below are the steps to set up the GTD Trello template:

• Step 1: Collecting Information in the Inbox
• Step 2: Processing Information in GTD Trello
• Step 3: Checking Whether the Items are Actionable or Not

Let’s get into detail and discuss how to perform the GTD Trello processes.

Step 1: Collecting Information in the Inbox

This is a straightforward step. It involves ensuring that you capture all the information that comes to you throughout the day. This can be a question that you have thought of, a conversation that you have had with an employee, or an email that you have received from a customer. Such should be documented quickly to ensure that it is not lost. Below is an image of the inbox in GTD Trello.

• Once you have the information stored in the inbox, you will be sure that you won’t lose track of it, and you can review it later when it is time to Process and Organize. 
• You can use the email-to-board feature to create a custom email address for any board, and once an email is sent to that address, Trello will automatically create a card in your designated board and list.  
• You can also add any images or information that you want. 

Step 2: Processing Information in GTD Trello

• Efficiency in the information collection stage is very important. It helps you capture the essence of the question or problem to ensure that you have adequate information to reflect on when it comes to the processing stage. 
• In the processing stage, the idea is to go through every item in the inbox and determine whether there is something to be done, and if yes, what, when, and by whom. 
• The goal is to go through all the items added to the inbox and leave only actions for yourself or others to be done when the right time comes. 

Step 3: Checking Whether the Items are Actionable or Not

There will be actionable items in your inbox, like sending emails to staff and notifying them about promotions. Others will not be actionable, like a receipt from the purchase, a book recommendation, etc. In such cases, there is nothing for you to do. 

• So, if an item is not actionable, you can delete it or add it to the list of your “reference materials.” 
• You can use the “Archive” button to delete any card that doesn’t need a follow-up. 
• However, if the item is actionable, you should determine the nature of the action, who should do it, and when. Some of the actions may involve coordination with others, while others may not. 

If an item cannot be completed in one step, GTD will consider it a project. You can create a card for each project and state the goals of the projects in the header of the card as shown by the image below.

• If an item is to be completed by someone else, create a “Waiting For” card, then put it in the “Waiting For” list. 
• Add the person whom you are waiting for to be able to know who the item depends on. You can also follow up with them to get their progress if need be. 
• Read about other Trello Boards and Templates that can be useful in 2024.

Use Cases for GTD Trello Dashboard

• Task Management and Prioritization: Use the GTD Trello template to break down tasks into actionable steps. Organize them into lists such as “Next Actions,” “Waiting On,” and “Someday/Maybe” to help you prioritize and track your workflow.
• Project Planning: Manage complex projects by creating different boards for each project. You can use GTD’s method of dividing tasks into “projects” and assign deadlines, tags, and due dates for better organization and visibility.
• Track Contexts: Use lists or labels to track items based on contexts like “Home,” “Work,” or “Errands.” This helps you focus on items that are appropriate for the time, tools, and location you’re in.
• Collaboration and Delegation: In teams, Trello’s features allow you to delegate tasks, track progress, and keep everyone aligned. Share boards, add comments, and attach files for seamless collaboration.
• Review and Reflect: With Trello’s checklist or card feature, you are able to review your tasks regularly to reflect on what has been completed, bottlenecks, and updates on what to prioritize.

Conclusion

Overall, GTD Trello templates are a great method to break down huge, complex projects into smaller and more manageable tasks. This article gave you a simplified guide to set up the GTD Trello template. It also provided you with a brief introduction to Trello and GTD Trello templates with their key features. Now, you can easily implement your GTD Trello template and make the best benefit of it.

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Share your experience of setting up the GTD Trello template in the comments section below!

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