

Using Trello to Keep Track of Ideas - feint
http://feint.me/articles/keeping-track-of-ideas

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nathos
Personally, I've found Workflowy
[[https://workflowy.com](https://workflowy.com)] to be indispensable not just
for keeping track of ideas, but for then turning those ideas into something
real.

Loads in any browser, has a (barebones) mobile app, and it's great for
collaboration. I just hope their business model is enough to keep them afloat
:/

~~~
s3r3nity
I LOVE this app, but it's run by 2 guys with a paid base that I question is
large enough to sustain them in the long run. I can't trust my data (my life?)
to a web-app like this, when you have stable systems like Evernote, Asana, or
even Trello that are going nowhere for the next few years.

Will Workflowy be there a year from now? Can you trust that if hacked your
data is secure? I'm not 100% sure. Still, I hope they can create a stable
business with sustained growth because it's such a great great idea.

~~~
captn3m0
They do have an export feature, which you can use to backup your data.

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burgreblast
Good use of Trello.

If I can give you feedback on your lists, I would say you are approaching
markets in way that will likely have you paddling upstream for years to come.

Here's the thing: You don't have to come up with the problem to be an
entrepreneur. Other people have problems. Lots of problems.

Your job is to create their solution.

I mean no disrespect--on the contrary, I'm trying to help.

Now, I can't see the details of your board, but how many people are trying to
combine a pen and music? Sure, they might want to flaunt your awesome solution
after they see it, but more than likely, they'll continue along with their
life and not give your idea the time of day. Even it it's awesome and you
execute flawlessly. Brookstone isn't even a big retailer in the scope of
things.

Alternatively, talk to someone in any job. Really, any job will do.

Ask them about their challenges. Their problems. What sucks. What they wish
they could do. I'll bet more people have complaints about their jobs&processes
than want to combine pens and music.

So go ask people about what they don't like. And even if your impromptu focus
group of 1 isn't forthcoming, this is where you lead. Wave your hands and
invent solutions on the fly. Double credit if you can make these solutions
with computers. Do any of your ideas strike their fancy?

Congratulations, hone in on it, then go talk to more people with that same job
and see if the problem exists...repeat and tweak, you might have a real thing.

I've found that understanding, and then solving other people's problems is
remarkably powerful and lucrative. You don't need to invent problems since
people have enough big ones already.

Put a few on Trello, and solve one.

~~~
feint
thanks for the feedback - all my ideas are to solve problems that I have come
across. All my apps past and present have been built because I couldn't find a
solution that worked for me. And luckily other people seem to have the same
problems and I've managed to attract awesome investors.

p.s - penmusic is nothing to with a pen, rather its a feature i was toying
with to integrate music streaming on my pen.io product

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tinco
I track my ideas using Trello too. If that list in the screenshot is all you
got so far, I have a bit more, and I have ordered them differently. In my
case, 99% of the ideas I will probably never take action on, so it's a bit
weird to track their phase. Instead I have separate lists for how big the idea
is, how much time/energy it would take to implement.

Then the order in the list defines how attracted I am to actually doing the
idea at the moment. So for example, making a Facebook competitor would be in
my 'big ideas' list, but all the way at the bottom, because I think it's not
very likely to end well.

I browse over my ideas every now and then, and update the ideas with
information about how I would go about implementing them if I chose to. I
usually move ideas up the lists when they come back in dreams or I find myself
thinking about them during the day.

I have a few ideas I am actually doing work on (architecting, exploring,
programming) and I move them to a separate 'doing' list. They also have their
own Trello boards of course.

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sideproject
This is exactly what I do - I also add label colours to differentiate
categories. I've also made "Stupid/abandoned" list, so that I don't just
delete my ideas, but put them there just in case. I find it helpful to review
it every now and then. Then I access them on my mobile too! It's a great tool.

~~~
kranner
I do much the same thing with two Evernote notebooks called "App ideas" and
"App ideas feasible". Every new idea, no matter how silly, goes first into
"App ideas" and later into "App ideas feasible". It's also interesting when
something moves from the feasible list to the former.

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ryanobjc
How about org-mode:

[http://orgmode.org/](http://orgmode.org/)

Emacs extension = is this hacker news or what?

~~~
berntb
Despite being an Org Mode lover, I have to add:Trello has a bit better multi
user support.

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rpicard
I started using Trello for this a couple of months ago. My "project" board has
4 lists: Ideas, Queue, Work-in-progress (It was "building" until I read your
post), and Launched.

I like "work-in-progress" better than "building" because I use this board for
more than just product-type ideas; I also use it for things like "learn about
X" or "try Y."

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jasimq
My ideas board has Ideas, Up next, Doing and Launch. I also add colored labels
to help organize cards better

