Personal Kanban: How to Learn to Do Work on Time

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The main thing about the Japanese method of organizing work in questions and answers.

What is this incomprehensible word - "kanban"?

Personal Kanban is an interactive map of your employment. One of the most common and affordable options is a sticky board that helps you get the job done right on time.

The word "kanban" itself is translated from Japanese as "billboard". It came to us from the Toyota plant, where the production organization system is called so.

How can a sticky board help you meet deadlines?

It allows you to see the main thing: what are your priorities and what you have already achieved. It also teaches you not to be scattered on secondary, unimportant activities at the moment and not to take on too many obligations.

Probably all this is very difficult?

No. There are only two main rules in the kanban system:

1. You need to visualize your workflow. This helps you see your actual load and, if necessary, change it.
2. You need to limit the number of tasks you are actively working on. Often, to illustrate this rule, they cite the example of a juggler: the more objects he picks up, the higher the chance of breaking something.

Visualizing means putting up a board with stickers?

Not necessary. You can use any option that is convenient for you: a whiteboard, a refrigerator with magnets, a notebook, special applications, and so on. The main thing is that you draw at least three columns: To do, Doing, Done. They need to be filled with stickers or inscriptions in order to see at any time how busy you are at the moment.

You can also add a Pending column for non-urgent tasks. Or any other columns, for example "Rest" (with the tasks "order pizza", "go skiing" and so on).

It works simply: you move stickers (or notes) from one column to another as you complete tasks.

And what will it give me?

An opportunity to get effective feedback. When you move the sticker to the "Done" column, your brain gets a sweet: the task is complete, you can rest or start a new one.

Over time, you will develop the habit of starting a new task only after the previous one has been completed. This means, ideally, there will be no unfinished business.

How can I determine how many tasks I can complete?

Empirically. Start using your personal kanban, and over time you will find out what your "bandwidth" is. It can change depending on the complexity of the tasks, your condition and mood. Pick a minimum and then raise the bar.

By the way, this is a good protection against burnout at work. You will learn to manage your workload without compromising your career.

How is a personal kanban different from a regular to-do list?

Visualization, the ability to see the final result (how much you did in a day) make it possible to conduct an analysis, determine which tasks inspire you, and which ones are performed with difficulty (it is better to perform them first).

A regular to-do list is not interactive, does not provide feedback, does not relieve stress, since it does not structure the working day.

What apps are replacing the sticker board?

Trello is a free app that is great as a tool for building your own work and managing small projects. It can also be used for training, visualization of a list of goals and desires, repairs, travel planning, research, and so on.

KanbanFlow looks like Trello, but in fact, it even more fits the classic concept of "kanban". The application, in addition to creating boards and tasks, allows you to track the time spent on their execution (the Pomodoro method is used).

Kanbanote is an augmented and popular Evernote app that visualizes to-do lists.

If I want to know more about this, what should I read?

One of the most popular publications is Personal Kanban: Mapping Work / Navigating Life by Jim Benson and Tonian De Maria Barry, which provides basic knowledge of the system.

Jim Benson also runs a blog where he answers questions and consults.