The Kanban method has become a groundbreaking invention for managing workflows and supporting agile project management. It’s a great way to visualize work and enhance personal productivity. Ever since invented by Taiichi Ohno, various industries have adopted the idea of better workflow and production management.
You can use this article to understand how exactly the Kanban methodology works and how it can be the best solution to the productivity problems in your daily life.
Why Kanban?
Initially, the word Kanban came from the Japanese word “billboards” or “card you can see”. The main idea was to visually map the work for teams to help them stay on the same wavelength. But nowadays, a lot of employees work remotely and often do not share the same office space with their co-workers. So for these remote teams, the Kanban boards transformed into digital boards.
Unlike other complex frameworks and productivity methods, personal Kanban has two important rules: make your to-do list visual and limit your work in progress. Limiting work in progress is essential for eliminating the fatigue and overwhelm that comes from having to manage many tasks at once. By modifying traditional Kanban to work for your personal to-do lists, you can save time, boost efficiency, and reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.
How to use the Kanban as a personal Kanban board?
The best and the easiest way to set up a personal Kanban board is to create three columns:
• To do
• In Progress
• Done
To make this, you can use any task management software. Then create a separate task for everything you have to do, adding every task as a “card” in the “To do” column.
Once you have created your Kanban cards, you can begin prioritizing them. The simplest way is to label each one either “Critical”, “High,” “Medium,” or “Low” priority.
Ideally, you’d want to tackle one task at a time. But, if you have an ongoing task that will stretch over a few days, you may be okay having a few tasks in progress at one time.
Once you’ve finished the task, you should move it to the “Done” column and pick a new task for the “In Progress” column.
As you use a personal Kanban board, you should always strive for a minimal number of tasks in the ‘In Progress column. That will ensure a steady stream of work, which increases productivity, eliminates downtime, and helps prevent you from being overwhelmed by too many things in progress at once.
What do I put on my Kanban board?
To keep your personal Kanban board as effective as possible consider adding tasks using the next guidelines:
1. Split your goals into concrete tasks that take a maximum of a few hours to complete. For instance, instead of “marketing campaign,” get into more details like, “write an email”, “upload an email list,” etc.
2. Stay adaptable. The Kanban method is meant to be flexible, so it’s recommended to adjust your personal Kanban board to meet your needs.
3. Limit the number of tasks that you have in the “In Progress” section at one time. Start with one and add more only if you feel focused and productive.
4. If you have tasks that you didn’t decide on them yet you can keep them “undefined” and leave them as a sort of a backlog. Later on, when you”ll finish all your tasks you can look at your backlog and prioritize them too.
How do I use Planndu as a personal Kanban board?
Getting started with Planndu Kanban boards is easy. The board is pre-built and ready for you to use. All you have to do is open the app and change the sorting to “Status”, and you will see the “To-do”, “In-progress” and “done” sections right away. Plus, you can incorporate other powerful Planndu features, such as priority and reminders, to better manage your productivity and keep an eye on the big picture.
A physical board can be useful for learning the process, but ultimately it just can’t stand up against the online personal Kanban board features. After all, a personal Kanban board online can be accessed from anywhere, and tasks can easily be added, prioritized, and shifted between columns using drag & drop.
The most suitable Kanban app for you depends on your own needs and preferences. If you want a simple personal Kanban board that’s already built for personal use Planndu is the ideal option for you.
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