Hi, I’m a systems thinker with a penchant for sticky notes, spreadsheets, and equitable leadership. I just wrapped up my MBA (cue the champagne and imposter syndrome), and I’m here to let you in on a secret that helped me survive the chaos: I manage my personal life like a project.

Before you roll your eyes—no, this doesn’t mean I hold sprint retrospectives about my laundry. But it does mean I’ve hacked tools like Trello to bring some much-needed structure to the madness of adulting.

🎯 Why Project Management Tools Aren’t Just for Work

As a woman in STEM, I’ve spent years designing systems, running root cause analyses, and optimizing workflows. So why was I letting my personal life run on hope, vibes, and scattered to-do lists?

Here’s what I realized post-MBA:

If I can manage cross-functional tech teams, I can manage my move, my meal plan, and my dentist appointments.

Spoiler alert: it works.

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💡 Meet My Life OS: Trello

Think of Trello as the Kanban-style dashboard for me. Here’s how I use it:

📌 My Boards:

• Home Ops: Chores, bills, repairs, seasonal prep
• Personal Goals: Fitness, hobbies, finance
• “CEO of Me” Tasks: Appointments, health, life admin
• Meal Planning: Recipes, grocery lists, repeatable favorites
• The Big Picture: Vision board + quarter goals

I label cards by category (health, home, social, etc.), set due dates, and attach relevant files or links. Power-Ups like Calendar view and Google Drive integration? Total game-changers.

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👩‍🔧 Life as a STEMinist = Running Parallel Projects

I don’t just manage tasks—I manage capacities. As women in STEM, we’re often balancing mentorship, family care, career ambitions, and side hustles. That’s a multi-project portfolio if I’ve ever seen one.

Using Trello helps me:

• Avoid mental overload
• Celebrate small wins
• Plan proactively (instead of reactively)
• Say “no” with clarity, not guilt

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🧠 MBA Meets Real Life: What I Carried Over

During B-school, I lived in Gantt charts and OKRs. I realized I could apply that same logic to:

• Quarterly Life Planning: I map personal OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) like “Rebuild strength post-surgery” or “Declutter 2 closets.”
• Risk Management: I identify blockers (like budget or burnout) and build in buffers.
• Retrospectives: I run monthly reflections. What worked? What felt heavy? What do I want to do next?

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💬 FAQs I Get From Friends:

Isn’t this exhausting?
Actually, it gives me energy. It’s like giving my brain a second processor.

What if I fall off the routine?
That’s fine. The board’s still there when I’m ready. This isn’t about perfection—it’s about structure that supports flexibility.

Do I need to be in STEM or have an MBA to do this?
Absolutely not. If you’ve ever said “I feel overwhelmed,” you qualify.

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🔗 Want to Try It?

Here’s a starter board template: https://trello.com/templates/productivity/personal-&-work-goals-QvHVksDa
Make it yours. Color-code it. Add emojis. Delete what doesn’t serve you.

Because your life isn’t just a collection of tasks—it’s a mission worth managing with intention.

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From one STEMinist to another: being “put together” isn’t about doing it all—it’s about building systems that support what matters.

#LifeHacks #ProjectManagement #STEMinistLife #MBAGrad #TrelloForLife