How to Supercharge Your Trello Boards With Easy Automations

I will show you how to add simple yet powerful automations to your Trello boards to save time and boost your productivity. These are the two automations I add to almost every Trello board I create. They are quick to set up and make a big difference in keeping your workflow clean and efficient.

If you are new to Trello, here is a quick refresher. Trello is a visual project management tool that lets you organize tasks as cards and move them across lists or swim lanes. It is great for mapping out projects, content pipelines, and day to day workflows. This post is not a full Trello tutorial. Instead, we will jump right into the automation features that help your board run itself.

Finding Trello Automations

Trello’s automation lives in the top right corner of your board. Look for the lightning bolt icon labeled Automation. Click it to open the Rules area. From there, you can create rules that tell Trello what to do when certain things happen. For example, when a card is added to the board, when a label is applied, when a due date is set, or when a card is moved. These rules can automatically add checklists, assign members, move cards, add due dates, update custom fields, and more.

My Automation Part 1: Auto-add a Checklist to New Content Ideas

I run my content workflow through Trello. Whenever I upload a YouTube video, I use an external automator that takes the transcript and generates a full content package for me. It creates a YouTube description, spins out new video ideas, and even drafts a blog post so I can repurpose the content across platforms. Here is what that system produces from each video transcript:

• A complete YouTube description

• Five additional video ideas from the same topic

• Relevant hashtags

• A blog post draft

• A freebie PDF generator I can use in my funnels

If you want a deep dive on that setup, let me know. I share the whole workflow inside my Passive Paradise community.

Back to Trello. When those five new video ideas are created, they each become a Trello card. I do not want to rebuild my task checklist for every single one. Instead, I use an automation that adds the full checklist to any new card that fits my criteria, such as a new card with a purple label or a card created by my automator.

Here is the checklist I add to each new video idea:

1. 1. Record the video

2. 2. Edit for Passive Paradise

3. 3. Send transcription to my automator

4. 4. Schedule the video for release on YouTube

5. 5. Add the video to the Passive Paradise community

6. 6. Schedule a blog

How to set it up

1. Click the lightning bolt icon on your Trello board to open Automation.

2. Create a new rule. Set the trigger to something like When a card with the purple label is added to the board or When a card is created.

3. Add an action to Add checklist and name it something like YouTube.

4. Add the items above as checklist items. You can always edit your rule later and add more items. For example, I recently added Schedule a blog to the YouTube checklist, saved the rule, and now it is included automatically.

Why this works so well

This saves me a lot of time because five new videos are created for every one I upload, and each needs the same steps. Instead of clicking around and building the checklist five times, Trello does it for me the moment the card appears. That consistency also keeps me from missing a step on busy days. What else can Trello automations do here

When you are building your rule, you will notice Trello offers a wide range of actions. You can:

• Move cards to specific lists

• Add or remove labels

• Set due dates and start dates

• Add members and watchers

• Add descriptions or comments

• Update custom fields

• Sort lists and cascade changes across lists

• Integrate with Jira, Bitbucket, and Slack

Even if you start with a simple checklist rule like mine, you can expand it later. For example, you might auto-assign yourself when a card gets a specific label, or set a due date for two days after creation, or move the card to Editing once the Recording checklist item is checked.

My Automation 2: Auto-archive Cards When They Are Marked Complete

Here is another small but powerful automation I use on every board. By default, Trello does not archive cards when you mark them as complete. Some people create a Done list and drag cards there, then archive later. That works. My preference is different. When a card is marked as complete, I want it off the board right away. Fewer cards visible means cleaner focus on what is still in progress.

Here is how I set that up:

1. 1. Open Automation, then create a new rule.

2. 2. Set the trigger to When a card is marked complete. You can apply this to any card, or restrict it to when a specific person marks it complete.

3. 3. Add the action Archive the card.

That is it. From now on, as soon as a card is marked complete, Trello archives it automatically. You can still search for archived cards or bring them back if you need to, but they will not clutter your active board.

Why this helps

Automation is not only about saving clicks. It is also about enforcing consistent workflow habits that keep your board clean. This rule prevents Done lists from overflowing and keeps your attention where it belongs. If you like to see a Done list for the visual win, you can skip this and archive manually. It is all personal preference. For me, the board is a working space, so I prefer to remove completed work immediately.

Final Thoughts

These two automations are simple, fast to implement, and make a meaningful difference in speed and clarity:

• Auto-add a checklist to new cards so every piece of content follows the same process.

• Auto-archive cards when they are marked complete so your board stays focused.

Trello’s rule builder is flexible enough that you can layer more logic as your system grows. Start small, get the wins, then expand. If you want me to break down my content automator that generates descriptions, blog posts, extra video ideas, hashtags, and freebies from a single transcript, drop a comment and I will make that tutorial. I share the full setup for free inside the Passive Paradise community.

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