The joys of Kanban

"Kanban is intuitive and flexible"

I’ve talked about using lists, journals and calendars as simple tools to stay organised, plan ahead and ensure that things that need doing aren’t forgotten. Often, though, those simple tools are not flexible enough or don’t offer the exact solution that works for you.

Of course, there are more complex tools to consider that may need a little more time and input to make them work, but could possibly serve you well.

Online planners like Trello, Asana or monday.com are project management tools that create workflows for more complex projects, but can also be used to integrate calendars, to-do lists and tasks. They are collaborative tools that allow sharing tasks with others, but they require a good bit of learning how to use it and setting it up just right.

I have never used any of those because I have other tools at my fingertips that I’m already comfortable with, like Excel, my google calendar (for appointments and timely reminders), and a table calendar for a visual overview of today’s tasks and activities.

That said, I sometimes use a Kanban board for projects rather than investing a lot of time into a software solution that offers similar options - I think of Kanban as “lists with added benefits”. A basic Kanban board consists of three side-by-side columns:

• A large left column is used to collect all upcoming tasks = basically it’s a list, but each item is written on a separate card. I think of this as the result of a brain dump: every single upcoming task will go here.
• The middle column has 3-5 spots for tasks picked from the left column. Whenever you choose your next task, you pick from the middle column. Once it’s finished, you move the item to the right column, and then fill the empty slot in the middle column with an item from the left column.
• The right column serves as a reminder of what you have achieved. It is reviewed and emptied in regular intervals. It is also a great end of week review opportunity.

The system has many advantages: the brain dump removes the need to remember everything because it’s ‘on the board’, the middle column selection makes it easier to choose from than going through a long list of tasks, and the end of week review is a good way to gauge your productivity during the week.

Beyond this basic version, here are some possible upgrades:

• Different colours for different kinds of tasks or different people
• Several middle columns for different people picking from the same pool of (household) tasks, with a “finished tasks” area at the bottom of each column.
  
• Stacks of cards for complex tasks with multiple steps that follow each other (birthday party: invitations > presents > menu > setting up, etc.)
• Do-dates on the task items to indicate urgency (place the dated cards in a separate area in the left column!)

Try it out and play with it until it offers all the options you need!