How I Use Trello, Pocket, and IFTTT to Automatically Organize My Creative Process (With Detailed Steps and Pictures)
The biggest challenge was reigning in the chaos of collecting ideas for my semi-weekly blogging.
As I sat down to write my first blog post last December, I had a crystal clear image in my mind of what needed to be said. The words flowed relatively easily and, after a few hours of editing with Grammarly and Hemingway Editor, I confidently hit “publish.”
For a moment I basked in the satisfaction of having put something out on the internet. However, that feeling didn’t last long. I had committed myself to publishing at least once per week, and I didn’t have any ideas on what to write about next. So I did what anyone with a problem and a laptop would do and hit Google up for articles on how to generate topics to write about.
What I discovered was that all I needed to do to produce an unending list of ideas is spend more time thinking about the things I do, observe, and experience. For example, it hadn’t even occurred to me initially that people may be interested in my crazy sleep schedule. Or in my experience building and selling a new product in an ancient industry.
So I started reflecting inwards. It surprised me how naturally and easily the ideas began to flow. I found that while doing relatively thinkless activities (e.g. showering, driving) I’d easily come up with handfuls of topics to write about.
The problem quickly progressed from me being nervous that I wouldn’t be able to generate enough ideas, to being stressed out about organizing all the things I wanted to write about.
The issue only worsened when I started my Weekly Roundup series. Now I needed to collect dozens of additional articles, videos, and tools and somehow keep them organized.
So I turned to three tools I was familiar with but had never fully utilized in the past: Pocket, Trello, and IFTTT.
“A great option for those interested in saving video, images, text and other content, all in one place.” — The Next Web
I’ve been using Pocket for about seven years now. The idea of saving articles offline to read later always seemed like a great one. But other than short spurts here and there I was never very consistent about using it.
Recently that has changed. Reading dozens of articles daily and wanting to save many of them required me to adopt a more efficient system. So I jumped back into Pocket and created a simple workflow that’s made it indispensable for organizing content.
Pocket is incredibly simple to use. Just install the browser extension or app and then tap the Save to Pocket icon when you’re viewing something you want to capture.
Once you click that button you’ll get the option to tag the article, video, or whatever you saved. I’d highly recommend creating a simple tagging system to keep things organized.
Links: Website, Chrome Extension, Safari Extension, Edge Extension, Firefox Extension, Mac App, iOS, Android
Trello
Trello’s boards, lists, and cards enable you to organize and prioritize your projects in a fun, flexible and rewarding way. — Trello.com
I first learned about Trello 4 years ago while in school. I loved the idea and used it as I was starting my first business, TochiLife. We implemented Trello in Dentma when I joined two years ago, and I’ve used it regularly since.
I’m a huge fan of visual organization, and Trello does it just right. Everything is smooth, stable, and reliable. Perhaps the most important yet under-appreciated aspect of Trello is how intuitive it is. Clicks and buttons do what you’d expect them to do. I can’t over-emphasize how vital that is when trying to learn new software or introduce it to a team who hasn’t used it before.
Trello works by using Boards, Lists, and Cards.
Boards
A Board is a subject. I use separate boards for different projects and companies. Here are my top four most used Boards.
Lists
Inside of boards are lists. These can be used in tons of different ways. For blogging I use lists to organize resources, ideas, current articles, completed articles, and newsletter articles.
Cards
Inside of Lists are Cards. Cards are where you keep details on each list item. Cards can contain numbered lists, checklists, details, attachments, and many more items. Both you and any team members with access to your board can comment on cards as well. Here’s a card I used for my article on How to Sell New Products in Old Industries — In 8 Powerful Quotes.
IFTTT
IFTTT is both a website and a mobile app that launched in 2010 and has the slogan “Put the Internet to work for you”. The idea is that you use IFTTT to automate everything from your favourite apps and websites to app-enabled accessories and smart devices. — Elyse Betters, Pocket-lint
I’ve been using IFTTT (If This Then That) for a few years now to notify me if there will be rain or snow tomorrow. I’ve also used it to get a daily email of NASA’s Photo of The Day.
The things you can automate with IFTTT are endless. It ties into the vast majority of your favorite services (e.g. Gmail, ESPN, Pinterest, Twitter, Spotify, Skype, and hundreds more), and lets you do some pretty cool things with them.
Applets are the backbone of IFTTT automation. The process is simple and consists of you giving IFTTT access to whichever services you want it to automate. Then you specify what you want it to do from a pre-written list of actions. You don’t need to know how to write code. Most of the time you’ll even be able to find a pre-made Applet for what you’re aiming to do. There are thousands of Applets created by the community, and you can browse through them by service or category.
Now, How Do You Tie All of These Together?
My blogging consists of two main parts — Organizing ideas (simple), and Organizing Weekly Roundups (pretty simple).
Organization of Story Ideas (Simple)
For this you just need a free Trello account.
- Create a card for each idea in “Blog Post Ideas” list.
- Write detailed information in description section of card.
- Move card to “Working On” list when you start writing the story.
- Move card to “Completed” list when the story is published.
Organization of Weekly Roundup (Pretty Simple — I’ll walk you through it)
For this you need a free Trello Account, a free Pocket account, and a free IFTTT account.
Trello
- Set up a Trello account.
- Create a Trello Board and name it whatever you want (mine is Blogging).
- Create a list in that Board and name it something simple (mine is Weekly Newsletter).
We’ll refer back to both your Board and List names later, so don’t forget them.
So far so easy! 🙌
- Set up a Pocket account.
- Add the browser extension.
- Click on the Save to Pocket extension when you find an article that interests you.
- A little dialog box will pop up informing you that the page has been saved. In this dialog box type in the tag you want to use (I use “newsletter”) and click Save.
Almost done! 👍
IFTTT
- Set up an IFTTT account
- Click on Search in the top navigation bar
- Search for Pocket
- Click on Pocket then click on Connect
- Repeat steps 2–4 to connect Trello
- Click on this link to set up an Applet that adds a card to a Trello Board when a specific tag is applied (we’ll configure it a bit more to make sure it lands on the right list)
- Click “Turn On”
- Type in your tag (mine is “newsletter”). This is case sensitive so be sure to type it correctly
9. Select the board you created (mine is “Blogging”)
10. Click Save
11. Now click on the settings gear icon at the top right of the Applet
12. Scroll down to List Name and type in the name of the list you created in Trello (once again this is case sensitive so type it exactly)
13. Scroll down and click Save
You’re done! 👏
You are now ready to start Pocketing articles, tagging them, and automatically filling your Trello lists.
Now that setup is complete I would recommend creating an additional Trello List to the right of the one that’s auto-populating. This list would be for moving cards over that you’ve already read or used.
Organization is key, and while we just took a massive amount of time off your plate, you still need to stay on top of it. Remember — the idea here is to create a system you’ll actually use for longer than a week.
Thanks for reading! Do you have any tips or tricks for organization of your internet browsing? If so, drop a comment below.
