Understanding Kanban and How It Can Increase Productivity

In the Japanese language Kanban is derived to mean a signboard, or more recognizably — a billboard.

Within the world of productivity, business, and design it is a scheduling system comprised of 3 parts:

So what is the point?

Kanban is one the simplest ways to prioritize and keep track of tasks at hand. It creates two structures: visualizing tasks at hand and controlling work progress.

Multitasking can crumble productivity and a Kanban can prevent over-crowding your “doing” tasks and allow you to focus only on the tasks at hand.

It allows for a quick visual that creates a clear and concise way to manage your tasks. Not just business tasks, but personal tasks as well. With so many tasks and often not a lot of time, a Kanban can help you organize it all with hopes of making you more productive.

Not familiar with what one looks like? Check out this example of what it may look like for a start-up business looking to brand and scale their business:

It works just like that. Begin with brainstorming tasks that must be accomplished. List as many tasks you can that need to be accomplished and place them in the “To Do” section.

If you notice, the amount of tasks and differentiation of them can be a wide variety. It is important to have a way to manage tasks and be able to visualize them as you work through obligations of growing a business.

As you list your “To Do’s” it is important to have a clear understanding of the tasks that will require the largest amount of time as well as the tasks that are the most urgent. Pick and choose as to when you want to start projects and advance them in to the “Doing” section.

See below:

When you have completed your task reward yourself by pushing the cards over into the “Done” column. As you finish tasks you can continue to add new pieces in to the “To-Do,” you can update task to the “Doing” section, what ever needs to be added. Allow the “Done” section to provide mental clarity as you grow the “Done” section and the “To-Do” section decreases over time.

With Kanban gone are the days of juggling too much. This ensures the highest priority items get completed first, and increase focus while decreasing stress. Regain control of your schedule by trying out our new Kanban template!

Consider using Kanban to increase productivity? Check out cardboardit.com and sign up for your free 30 Day Trial today!

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Originally published at cardboardit.com on October 31, 2018.

Understanding Kanban and How It Can Increase Productivity was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.