Today, we’re taking a look at a super useful tool that helps you visualize your work, limit your work in progress, and maximize your efficiency. The Kanban Board is an organizational poster-style home for your tasks, projects, and important reminders. A simple, three-sectioned board divided into quarterly goals. If you’re looking for a way to keep your eyes on the prize, this is the way to go.
The Kanban Board’s three columns use Post-it notes–to-do, doing, and done. On each post-it note, you’re going to put whatever it is that you think you need to focus on. It can be as large or as small as you need it to be, the task can take two-minutes or it could take 2 years. The point is that you have a visual place to keep track of everything that’s on your plate. No matter how much comes at you, a Kanban board is there to make sure nothing takes more time than it needs, and nothing slips through the cracks.
In the to-do section, it’s helpful to break down what it is you need to get done by the day of the week. So, within your to-do column, you’re looking at what your priorities are for the day without getting bogged down by other tasks. Instead of saying “Okay, I have this to do” you can say “I’m doing this on this day of the week.” It holds you accountable and ensures you stay on top of things, especially the small ones.
The ‘doing’ section is where your to-do tasks go as you start the project. Any type of task you have to do can be moved from the day it’s supposed to happen to the day it’s happening. This way you can glance at your board and remind yourself of what you may still need to get done or notice that you can move it back to the to-do or forward it into the “done” section.
The third section is the ‘done’ column, where you move everything you’ve accomplished throughout the day. Sometimes it can feel like we have wasted our day away doing nothing or spending too much time on menial tasks.
This section is great for giving you concrete evidence that you have been productive. It’s super gratifying.
Another cool aspect of a Kanban board is how it offers a physical representation of taking on too much. You can break this down into 90 days to see what is manageable for you.
Jill’s technique of breaking down tasks that take minutes or less works well with a Kanban Board. When you write down your tasks on sticky notes, you realize just how much you can get done in a focused, intentional period of time. Plus, it feels really good to move a lot of stuff to the “done” section! With larger goals, it can be equally gratifying to finally move that sticky note to the other side of the board. And from there, you can keep a collection of them and go over your accomplishments at the end of the year!
Game Changer: you can have an online Kanban Board through platforms like Asana and Trello. These project-management sites work the same way your personal board does, but here you can share it with your team members who are tasked with certain aspects of a project.
Other quick tips:
-Only use 3M sticky notes. You want to make sure these last and can handle being moved!
-Consider color-coding types and varieties of tasks. There are tons of colors out there!
-Use an apothecary jar to collect your biggest accomplishments.
Check out Jillian’s Instagram to learn more about Kanban Boards!
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