I admit I enjoy testing out all sorts of tools, not just project management tools.

But let’s face it, it’s impossible for me to try them all when there are so many of them to choose from.

And let’s not forget that many of them may not be the right fit for me considering that they cater to those who manage a large team.

There’s no reason for me to test them all when I can’t even make full use of what they have to offer.

But out of many project management tools I’ve tried in the past, I will say that Trello is by far the best one for me.

Not only that you can use it to manage multiple projects and communications among your team members. But you can even use it to plan your vacation too.

Talk about being flexible here.

It’s for this reason I recommend Trello since you can use it for pretty much anything you can think of.

As much as I enjoy using Trello, I have stopped using Trello altogether now that I have found a better solution that works for me.

And it’s easy to implement too, with no technical mambo jumbo whatsoever.

What got me to stop using project management tools like Trello

When you think about my reason for ditching Trello, you may think it may have something to do with the changes that take place on Trello.

Well, we all know that change is inevitable. And I’m fine with it as long as it doesn’t disrupt my workflow too much.

But funnily enough, that’s not the reason why I stopped using Trello altogether.

Yes, it’s true that the Trello you see now isn’t the same as the one that I signed up back then.

But unlike Mailchimp where the changes are impacting their free plan, the changes in Trello’s free plan are pretty subtle.

The only change that affected me in the slightest is the limit on how many boards I can create per project.

Other than that, the rest of the changes aren’t that much of a big deal to me.

So, what is it that causes me to stop using Trello for good then?

Well, it has more to do with the way I plan and organize my projects.

The problem with project management tools in general

When we think about this sort of tool in general, we want it to help us become more organized in juggling multiple projects.

If you’re someone who uses multiple notebooks to keep track of everything, then a tool like this is certainly a heaven-sent to you.

But if you’re a visual person who works on one project at a time, this sort of tool may not provide you the clarity and satisfaction you need.

Let’s face it, it’s hard to see your progress and wins when they’re not that visible.

And it’s even more so when you need to know the tasks at hand.

That seems to be the case with a project management tool of any kind where it looks more like the out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of thing.

Ask this question yourself if you have the project management tool open right in front of you all the time.

Good for you if you always keep this tool at the forefront until you’re done for the day.

But for the rest of us, we only give it a glimpse of it when we forget what we need to do and update on the progress.

It’s no wonder why we have so many things that we want to do and yet we’re not making any progress at all.

The best way to go about it

Believe it or not, sometimes the best way to go about it is to make the project visible right in front of you.

And that means you have to write down those tasks on sticky notes and put them all on a notice board.

Once you’re done with the task, move it to another section of the board with the ‘Done’ label on it.

Not only you’re aware of the tasks you have to do. But you can see the progress clearly since they’re right in front of you.

So, no more guessing about the tasks and your progress since it’s clear as a day.

Realize that you need to make changes to the tasks?

Well, just remove the tasks and replace them with a different task.

Genius, right?

I have to credit Claire Emerson for coming up with this project management system known as Personal Kanban.

Who would have imagined that something so simple could be this profound, right?

Funnily enough, Trello is based on the Personal Kanban method.

But for whatever reason, I prefer something more visual instead of something hidden like the Trello app.

What about bullet journaling then?

Some of you must be wondering why I didn’t use bullet journaling to keep track of my project despite being a big advocate about it.

As much as I love to use bullet journaling for everything, I find it tricky to use bullet journaling when you have to make changes to the task.

Sure, you can always strike the tasks as irrelevant or perhaps create a new list of tasks for that said project altogether.

However, I find it a hassle to write all tasks when I only want to make changes to a few tasks.

Don’t get me wrong, I use bullet journaling to plan my day and keep track of all the things I have to do for the week.

It’s just that I find using a bullet journal to keep track of my projects doesn’t seem to work as much as I hope.

Does it mean using a fancy tool like Trello is a total dud?

Seeing how a fancy tool like Trello doesn’t seem to work for me, does it mean you should stop using something like Trello altogether?

Well, that depends on your approach to managing a project.

I don’t see anything wrong with using something like Trello if it works well for you.

So, there’s no reason for you to stop using Trello altogether unless it’s clearly not working for you.

Will I ever be coming back to using Trello again?

I admit it’s hard to know what the future holds for me considering that I may come back to using Trello again if the situation calls for it.

But for now, I don’t see myself coming back to using it again when turning something similar to Trello into something visual seems to work well for me.

And I see myself sticking to it for a long time too.