You may or may not know what Trello is.  If you do, it’s an online tool to manage projects and tasks.  It’s a system using boards, lists and cards.  You can access it online or via an app on your phone.  

I’ve used it for quite some time but didn’t know how it would work for genealogy.  One day while doing some Googling for genealogy research organization ideas, I discovered that Trello could be used for genealogy too.  

Here are some of the ideas that my Google search generated for making the most of Trello for genealogy:

• Create multigenerational family trees in a vertical list form, utilizing labels and/or card covers to show how people are related.
• Log your research in the form of a workflow or a visual tracker to document what you’ve found and cite your findings.
• Set up a genealogy planner board to house lists for research tasks to do and other activities not related to research.

Here are some online resources I found that were helpful to better visualize how I could tailor Trello to my genealogy research needs:

• https://www.ancestrypaths.com/tips-and-techniques/organize-your-research-using-trello/  Organize your research using Trello
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6sYN8Y0IKs Organise Your Family History with Trello
• https://lisalisson.com/genealogy-research-plan-trello/ Use Trello to Create Genealogy Research Plans
• https://www.creativefamilyhistorian.com/organisation/organise-your-family-history/ Should You Use Trello To Organise Your Family History?

My Google search resulted in these boards in one workspace titled Genealogy:

• Family History Book Plan
• Genealogy Reference
• Genealogy Courses
• Genealogy Processes
• Genealogy To Do
• Research Log

I started out with creating the Research Log with these lists:

• Goals
• Notes
• Waiting Room (pending contacts with DNA matches/relatives)
• To Do
• Research (Ancestor Name) To Do
• Doing
• Done
• Parking Lot (backburner items for another research project)
• Relevant Resources (websites that I use along with username and passwords kept in the description)

The To Do lists for an ancestor helped me keep in focus what information I already had on that person along with citations of sources and what I didn’t have.  The other lists helped me stay on task to finish DNA match-related projects.  

Eventually, I tailored my Trello boards for genealogy work in tandem with my Google Drive.  They keep me accountable to get tasks completed.  Having the ability to mark or move cards on from the Doing list to Done gives me a great sense of accomplishment.