Personal Kanban: Fine-tune Tasks and Boost Productivity

In today's fast-paced world, it’s easy to get drowned in lengthy to-do lists, unending emails, and unexpected tasks. Staying productive can be a real challenge, and it's easy to feel stressed and anxious. The last thing you want is a productivity system that is hard to navigate and further complicates your task management. Thankfully, there’s a solution to this: a personal kanban.

Whether you're a student or a professional, having a personal kanban can be a game-changer. In this article, we'll explore what a personal kanban is and how you can implement it to boost your productivity and overall success.

What is a Personal Kanban?

Kanban is made up of two Japanese words: “Kan” meaning “sign” and “Ban” meaning “board”. It was created in the late 1940s by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota. He wanted to improve efficiency by providing factory workers with a visual representation of production progress.

Kanban usage exploded in the 1990s among software developers due to the popularity of Agile methodologies. It was especially useful for managing repetitive tasks like bug fixes, testing, and review.

If the Kanban system has made teams more productive, then it can work for individuals too…right?

In 2011, Jim Benson coined the term “Personal Kanban” and encouraged more people to apply it to their personal productivity. According to him, it’s a tool to visualize and organize your work. This makes it easier to get work done and track your progress.

How To Set Up a Personal Kanban

Setting up a personal kanban is very easy. It can be broken down into 4 simple steps:

Step 1: Find a large surface (eg. a whiteboard) and a stack of sticky notes.

Step 2: Split the surface into columns representing your workflow. The basic set of columns on a typical kanban board are:

• To-do: Has all the tasks that need to be done.
• In Progress: Made up of tasks you’re about to start working on.
• Done: Completed tasks are moved to this section.

Step 3: Write down one task on each sticky note.

Step 4: Arrange your sticky notes under each column.

Many people love this approach because it’s simple yet very effective. Also, writing down tasks and moving them around to different columns feels satisfying and rewarding.

This analog approach may not be ideal because:

• You have to constantly use lots of sticky notes.
• It is harder to handle multiple projects on different boards.
• You can’t work with a remote team on your kanban board.

This challenge has given rise to digital kanban solutions such as Trello, Kanbanize, Todoist, and Notion.

Additionally, advanced project management tools such as Monday.com, ClickUp, and Asana make provision for viewing project tasks on a kanban board.

Tips For an Effective Personal Kanban

Here are some tips for a more effective personal kanban.

1. Set a work-in-progress (WIP) limit

Your WIP limit is based on tasks under your “In Progress” column. It should be the maximum number of tasks you can work on at a time, without losing focus and getting stressed. Ideally, tasks in this column should be organized based on importance or priority, with the most important tasks at the top of the list.

2. Each sticky note should have a manageable task

You don’t want to start procrastinating once a task hits your “In Progress” column. To tackle this, ensure that each task is something you can easily start. A task shouldn’t be too small (eg. Open browser) or too big (eg. Write a novel). A manageable task could be “Research topic xyz”. Test different task sizes to find which works best for you.

3. Use the Pomodoro technique

Once you get started on tasks in your “In Progress” column, the Pomodoro technique can be helpful in doing deep work to get it done. The basic rule is to work in 25-minute sessions with 5-minute breaks in between. The 25-minute periods must be completely free of distractions, so you’ll have to turn off all notifications and put your phone away.

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4. Review your personal kanban regularly

Have regular weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly review sessions for your personal kanban. This allows you to reflect on whether the kanban board is helping your overall productivity or if there are any tweaks you need to make. Personal kanbans are customizable, so don’t be afraid to test different things to find a system that works best for you.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to improve your productivity, a personal kanban might be the solution for you. By setting up a personal kanban and applying the tips discussed in this post, you can stay on top of your tasks and accomplish so much more in less time. So, why not give it a try and experience the impact it can have on your work and personal life?