Boards, Lists, and Tasks

If you want to use Trello, then get familiar with boards, lists, and tasks.

You create a board for different personal and professional projects.

You then add related tasks to this board in lists. You may have a list for each day, or just create a list for a bunch of related tasks.

A board can have many lists and a list can have many tasks.

Work your way through your tasks, adding new ones if you need, and archiving tasks & lists once you’re done.

Archive the board when you have finished all lists and tasks, and your job is complete!

Boards can be shared with the client, or kept private. I usually keep my weekly lists of tasks private and share project tasks with my client – I add tasks like supplying images & text and assign them to the client.

I have created a freelancer board, which outlines all of the tasks that you will complete on the course. I have outlined the steps to join the board and make a copy for yourself which you can use to stay on track of your tasks. 

Join The Masterboard

Click here to join the board. You will be prompted to create an account if you do not already have one. Once your account is created, go to boards and open the board.

It’s important not to make changes to this board, as this will affect everyone else who has joined the board. Instead, make a copy of the board on your own account and you can use this. I recommend changing the background image on your board, so that you don’t get confused between my board and yours (this happens a lot!)

You can use this board to work through the task on the course, and then once the course has finished, you can use it for working on clients websites. What I do is create a copy for each client I work with. I archive each task after I have done it, and delete the board at the end.

Copy The Board

Click the ‘show menu’ button which is circled below.

When the menu opens, click ‘… More’

Click ‘Copy Board’, which is circled.

Change The Title

In the ‘Title’ field, enter in your new board name. Make sure both checkboxes are ticked, and leave ‘team’ empty. You will be using this board alone, so you do not want to share it with a team and you want it to be private.

Your new private board will automatically open! 

Change The Background Image

Please be very careful not to change the shared board (you can see the board name on the top left of the screen).

To change the background click the ‘.. show Menu’ button on the top right of the screen, then click ‘change background’. Choose from any of the available backgrounds. Now you can easily see which is yours and which is the shared board!

Now it will be easier to differentiate between the shared board and your private board!

Using The Board

Trello helps you to keep track of tasks that you need to complete, and to organise them into related lists. I have different Trello boards for different personal and professional projects, and I find it to be a great freelancing tool. It keeps me organising, and stops me from forgetting important things.

I usually create a board when I start a new project with a client, and I load all of the tasks from the master board in there. As I complete the tasks I archive them, so they are removed from my todo list. Often I create a new list called ‘Today’ and ‘this Week’  and I drag over the tasks I want to get done that day & that week. This is helpful for managing your time. Once something is Archived, it is removed from the board and you are just left with tasks that you need to do.

Archiving Tasks & Lists

To archive a task, hover over the task and click the pencil icon that shows up.

Click the ‘Archive’ label to archive the task and remove it from your board.

To archive a list and remove it from the board, right click the three dots on the top right of the list, and select ‘Archive This List’.