Jack Wallen offers up a handy little Trello card trick that makes it far easier to view and/or organize your cards.
I rely on Trello for project management. I’ve found it, especially the kanban side of things, to be one of the most user-friendly and flexible offerings on the market.
But the thing is, the more I use the kanban boards, the more I find it can be a bit cumbersome to view. As you stack more and more cards into a list, it can get crowded. And given that kanban is supposed to be an at-a-glance system that makes it quick and easy to get an update on the status of your project, those crowded columns can become a bit antithetical to efficiency and productivity.
I want to be able to quickly glance at a list and see what’s what without having to strain my eyes or my brain.
Or, maybe I want to group cards together. Say, for example, you have Widget X as a list (column), and in that list you might have cards related to Function A, Function B and Function C. If all relating cards are grouped together but barely distinguishable from one another, it can become a real test of your concentration or eyes.
I’ve discovered a handy little trick that can seriously help to keep those cards organized and easier to read.
Said trick is to create a card separator, which can be placed between individual cards for easier viewing or used to group cards for better organization. This trick is very simple and doesn’t require the installation of any Power-Ups or a paid Trello account.
SEE: Hiring kit: Project manager (TechRepublic Premium)
What you’ll need
The only thing you need to make this work is a Trello account and a workspace with a kanban view. That’s it. Let’s make Trello a bit easier on the eyes.
How to create a separator card
There is really no magic behind this. All you do is go to your kanban view, locate the list for which you want to add the separator and click the meatballs menu button in the top-right corner of the list (Figure A).
Figure A
In the new card (Figure B), type three dashes (—).
Figure B
Once you’ve typed the three dashes, click Add Card, and the separator will appear in the list (Figure C).
Figure C
Drag and drop the separator to where you need it to be, until you have them strategically placed to make your lists easier to read (Figure D).
Figure D
And that’s all there is to it. Use separator cards wisely, and they will ensure you have a much easier time making sense of your Trello kanban lists. Enjoy that newfound simplicity.
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