How to Use Trello Planner (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Quick Overview

Trello's Planner feature allows users to integrate their external calendars, like Google Calendar, directly alongside their Trello boards, enabling drag-and-drop scheduling of tasks onto specific dates and times, which automatically syncs updates back to the external calendar.

Key Points: Trello's Planner feature integrates external calendars, such as Google Calendar, allowing users to view scheduled events side-by-side with Trello boards (00:38). Users can drag and drop Trello cards directly onto time slots in the Planner's calendar view to schedule tasks (00:04, 00:45). When a Trello card is placed on the calendar, it creates a corresponding event in the connected external calendar (00:48). Modifying the scheduled time or deleting the event within the Planner updates the corresponding entry in the external calendar (02:57, 03:06). The Planner allows customization of the visible calendar range, offering options like Day, Week, or a custom number of days (3:38). The synchronization is bidirectional: changes made in the external calendar (like Google Calendar) are reflected back in the Trello Planner (02:05). The demonstration shows scheduling a task card titled "Design new brand logo" from the 'TO DO' list into a specific time slot (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM) on Wednesday, January 28th (01:39, 02:28).

Context: The video features productivity coach Karl Jacobson demonstrating how to leverage the Trello Planner feature to seamlessly integrate task management with time-based scheduling, specifically using Google Calendar as the external calendar example. The core concept is moving tasks from a Kanban board structure (lists like Ideas, To Do, Doing) directly onto a visual timeline to create a concrete weekly schedule, thus avoiding context switching between separate applications.

Detailed Analysis

Karl Jacobson demonstrates utilizing the Trello Planner view to synchronize Trello cards with an external calendar, specifically Google Calendar. To begin, the user switches from the default Board view to the Planner view at the bottom navigation bar (00:31). The Planner view shows the Trello cards on the right and a calendar timeline on the left. Users must connect their calendar by clicking "Connect a calendar" and selecting their provider (Google or Outlook) (00:53). Once connected, existing calendar events appear on the left timeline, such as 'Client Meeting' and 'Marketing Team Meeting' (00:57). To schedule a task, the user drags a Trello card, such as 'Design new brand logo' from the 'TO DO' list, onto a desired time slot on the calendar (01:37). This action creates a scheduled event in the calendar view (01:43) and simultaneously updates the linked Google Calendar (02:10). If the user adjusts the duration of the scheduled event on the calendar (01:57) or deletes it (03:03), the change reflects back in the other application, confirming two-way synchronization. Furthermore, users can customize the calendar range shown in the Planner settings, selecting options like Day, Week, or a custom number of days (3:38). The video concludes by emphasizing that this integration ensures tasks scheduled in Trello appear on the external calendar, helping users stay focused on completing those tasks within their allotted time blocks.