If you use Trello, you may already know that power-ups are a fantastic way to add additional features to your Trello boards. Power-ups come in a number of different flavors and interact with a large number of third-party applications. Some are better than others, but one of my absolute favorites is Butler.
Butler allows you to automate so many different processes within your Trello boards. In today's video, I want to show you five of my favorite rules and schedule commands that will make your life so much easier. Now, this video is not for Trello experts, but I'll warn you—you’re going to look like a Trello expert after you watch this video.
So let's jump in.
The first Butler rule I want to show you has to do with setting card defaults. Here, I have an example board with a fairly simple to-do list. I have ideas on the far left, two different to-do columns for this week and next week, a pending column, and a complete column.
You probably have at least one step in your Trello process where, when you move a card from one list to another, you would like a few things to happen. For example, maybe when I move a card from this list into my pending list, I would like a particular checklist to be added and a due date as well. I don’t want it to exist in pending forever.
That seems like a lot of clicks, right? First, I'm going to have to drag it over, then open up the card, add that checklist, and then add that due date. But watch this. I’ve just created a Butler rule, and when I drag this card into my pending list, give it just a second—first, there's a checklist, and now there's a due date exactly two days from today.
What is going on? This is the power of Butler. When you create customized rules, you can have these behaviors in play. When I open up this card, there is the due date, which is exactly 48 hours from now, and down below, I have my follow-up checklist—certain things that I want to accomplish when any card is added to this list.
So let’s see how we can create this recipe within Butler. When the Butler power-up is enabled, you will have a little Butler link or icon in the top right-hand corner of your screen. By opening it up, we have a few different options—card buttons, board buttons, rules, and scheduled commands.
I’m going to go over to rules, and you will see this first rule that I just showed you: when a card is added to the list pending, add the follow-up checklist to the card and set the due date to 48 hours. I’m going to click on the edit button just so you can see how easy it is to set up one of these rules.
All I have are three components. First, you need to select a trigger. The trigger in this case is when a card is added to that particular list. I could add a trigger to any one of my lists, and they could all be unique if I wanted. Then I’ve got a couple of different actions. The first is to add that follow-up checklist to the card. I could add multiple checklists and other features to this card if I wanted, and I also want to set the due date to 48 hours.
I don’t have to stop here. If I scroll down, I can add even further actions to this trigger if I want, but that’s the rule and that’s how I can move things over and have this happen automatically. Let’s see it one more time in action.
I’m going to drag this card over to the pending list, and as soon as I let go, there’s the checklist and there is the due date. Automatic functionality with this default rule.
The next rule I want to show you is one of my favorites because not only is it going to automate something within this board, it’s actually going to affect an additional board. Let me set the scene for you.
If you use Trello, there’s probably a good chance that you are collaborating with others. For example, maybe this board is a team board where several members of your staff are managing different cards and tasks, and you are assigning different cards to different individuals. Sometimes you may assign it to yourself, and other times, others are assigning you to those particular cards.
One effective way of working in Trello is to create relationships between cards, but let’s see how we can have Butler automate that process for us.
Let’s take a look at this card that says "write year-end marketing report." Let’s say I would much rather spend more of my day in my own personal Trello to-do list rather than the team board. I’ve created a Butler rule that’s going to do something special.
Let’s say my manager comes in here and assigns me to this particular card. She selects me, and now something is going to appear on the front of the card.
Look at that. I’ve got a Trello attachment. It took just a few seconds, but let’s explore what this Trello attachment means. This is different from a file attachment such as a PDF or an image. What it’s done is actually created a link to my own personal tasks and project list. Now I’ve created a link between these two cards.
I’m going to click on this to go to that board, and look at this. At the top of my to-do list, I have the exact same card. Now I can come in here with my own personal projects and work on this task. I don’t have to be notified by anyone. Someone else may assign it to me, and now it automatically shows up in my own personal to-do list.
It’s not a sync of the same card. It is actually a copy or a link between two cards. When I’m finished working on this task, I can put it through my own process. When I’m done, I just need to come back and select this connection, which will take me back to the original board, where I can mark it as complete or add additional comments.
Butler even has the power to automate rules among more than one board. Let me just show you what this recipe looks like. Again, it’s under rules, and I’m going to select the edit button here.
The trigger in this case is when I am added to a card. The actions are as follows: copy the card to the top of this particular to-do list within this particular board, and link those cards together. Another very powerful rule from Butler.
Next, let’s take a look at how Butler can help us to keep our Trello boards neat and tidy. One of the complaints I hear from many Trello users is that they have a list like this one. It may be labeled complete or finished, and over time, they get a long list of all the cards that finish up here. As you’re working through your processes, they all tend to end up in that final list.
What do they do? Do they come in here and archive them one at a time? Do they have to remember to click and say archive all the cards in this list?
Butler allows you to automate this process. Not too long ago, this particular list was quite lengthy, but something happened that Butler did on my behalf. That was a scheduled task.
Here, I’m going to select scheduled and then calendar, and you can see I have an automated task: every month on the first, archive all the cards in this list. I’ve chosen the list complete.
I can get more granular if I want. I don’t have to do it monthly. I could do it at the end of every day or maybe every Sunday night, and I could have this apply to multiple or have different triggers for different lists. Using Butler to schedule certain tasks at regular intervals is a fantastic way to keep your Trello board neat and tidy.
Here’s a scheduled task that I use quite frequently with Butler, especially when I have a relationship between two or more lists. Here you see I have a to-do this week list, but I also have a to-do next week list. In my this week list, these are all of the tasks that I want to focus on right now. However, things that appear in my next week list will have to be moved over to this list, and that’s usually a manual process—or is it?
With the help of Butler, let’s open up Butler and I’ll show you what I have set up. This is a scheduled due date command because I’m basing it on a day of the week or month. The trigger in this case is on the Sunday before a card is due. The action I want to take place is to move the card to the top of my to-do this week list.
If we go back to my Trello board, you can see these three cards. This coming Sunday is going to be the last Sunday before their due date, so I know on Sunday all three of these cards are going to automatically move into my this week column, which is exactly what I want.
If I have other cards in this list that are due much further out, the same rule will apply, but it will only look if that due date is within the coming week. So if I have something due in July or a few weeks out, it’s going to remain in my next week list or maybe this is listed as my future to-do list. Only the things that are in that coming week are going to be moved over to this list.
Another powerful way of using automation within Butler.
The last Butler tip I want to share with you might just make you look like the hero of your team. Think of the number of processes that you’ve tried to agree upon when managing a Trello board with others.
For example, maybe when someone assigns themselves to a card, you
would like them to also assign a due date, add a specific comment, and move it to a particular list. What if you could do all of this with just a single click?
I’m going to start by showing you the Butler recipe. In this case, we are looking at a card button. You can add customizable buttons to your Trello cards. Let me open up the recipe to show you all the actions that are going to happen if I or someone else on my team selects the take task button.
Yes, you can even customize the name of all of your buttons. When someone selects this button, they will join the card. A comment will be posted with the text "task started," the due date will be set one week in advance, and the card will be moved to the top of this particular list—all of these actions with just a single click.
Let’s see how it works. Let’s say I’m browsing the ideas list, and I come across this "contact client about meeting" card. I decide to take this task on. Here is my Butler button. All I need to do is select this button, and I’m assigned a due date one week from now. The card has already been moved to the to-do this week list, and if I scroll down, it’s even added the comment "task started."
Remember that earlier rule we created, where if anything is assigned to me, I also want it to show up on my own personal task list? That rule is in play as well.
I’m going to close this card, and here you can see that with just one click, it’s moved to the correct list, assigned me, added the comment, and set the due date—all with a single button. Pretty powerful stuff, huh?
I’d love to hear from you. How are you going to use Butler to optimize your Trello boards? Be sure to leave a comment for me down below.
I also want to thank Butler for sponsoring today’s video. You can try Butler absolutely free by clicking on the power-ups option within your Trello menu. If you haven’t subscribed, be sure to do so right here on the Simpletivity YouTube channel.
Remember, being productive does not need to be difficult. In fact, it’s very simple.
