Has anyone else tried using a kanban board to manage the things they would normally forget to do? Specifically moving physical sticky notes through columns as you start and complete tasks.
I’m a software engineer professionally, and it occurred to me that this organization method is natural to me for work, so maybe it would also work for life tasks.
So far, I’ve gotten like 100x more tasks done than I normally do, but maybe it’s a short term thing. Need more time to tell.
What’s a kanban board?
Kanban is a system the Japanese made up. You have tickets (things to do) in lanes (to do, in progress, done, etc.). Move the tickets along as you work on them.
Just imagine a to-do list board.
You have items in the to-do column, in progress column and then finished column.
I think it was originated in Japan and was popularised in manufacturing but then gained even more adoption in the software world.
It’s a very simple concept and seems unnecessary but it can help at times and can hack your brain a bit to get work done. Many people combine it with the Pomodoro technique where you block off uninterrupted work for 25 minutes or so and then giving yourself a 5 or 10 minute break to check emails or phone and then going back.
When I was unemployed and wanted to skill up. I did a weekly targeted kanban board. I put things like read a 2 chapters, go for a walk, watch a video … apply for a job, and I’d would reset and review it at the end of the week.