Let’s face it: staying organised and on top of things takes a lot of time and practice. Has it ever gotten so bad that you don’t even know what you have to do anymore? It sure has for me.
But ever since learning about and working with different project management tools and methods at university, my life, once full of chaos and stress, has changed drastically. I now find myself feeling in control of my assignments and blogging schedule. Even daily tasks in my everyday life have become easier to complete.
How?, you might be asking yourself right now. Well, let me introduce you to…
KANBAN BOARDS
Kanban, meaning “signboard” or “billboard” in Japanese, is a tool which helps you visualise your work and maximise your efficiency when working. You can make a physical board or use digital platforms such as Trello.
I personally use a digital board, as it saves me a lot of time and space and can be brought anywhere with me (via the Trello app or the website on my laptop).
How do Kanban boards work?
They consist of 3 columns, “TO DO“, “IN PROGRESS” and “DONE“. You list all of your tasks in the “TO DO” column at the begin. Once you start working on different tasks, drag the items into the “IN PROGRESS” tab and when you’re finished you can move them to “DONE”.
Tip: Give yourself a certain amount of time to complete all tasks (for example a week) to ensure you don’t procrastinate too long.
You can add descriptions, checklists, labels and even deadlines to each task. The great thing about the Kanban method is that it is customisable to fit your individual needs.
Kanban Boards as a collaborative tool
In addition to this, you can also add people to your digital Kanban board and assign them specific tasks. That way everyone has an overview of what everyone else is doing and how far along they are. This can be particularly beneficial in group work projects for school and university.
A lot of teams within companies (such as McDonald’s) use Kanban boards and/or variations of them to maintain transparency and an efficient workflow throughout projects. It’s also a great way to work together when you’re physically apart and reduces the risk of “email/text tennis” where dozens of messages are sent back and forth due to lack of knowing what the other person is working on.
I hope you found this post to be interesting/useful and hey, maybe it will help a few of you out there. I myself have definitely benefitted from this method a lot since first using it for university and can highly recommend it to anyone having trouble with keeping an overview of their work load.
If you try this method yourself, definitely let me know what you think!
Sticky Situation 
So I have Trello opened on another and this sounds like something I need in my life. Will definitely update you on how that’s going!! Great post girly x
LikeLiked by 2 people
So glad to have helped and definitely let me know!! Thank you Priya, hope you’re doing well x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this……and I’m going to try it…..sure it will save me lots of post it😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
It definitely saves you a lot of paper, yes! Originally, Kanban was actually paper-based but it was digitalized which makes it all the more efficient! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You. Are. A. Lifesaver!😭💕 This is the solution to all my problems, thank you so much for sharing🍃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to have helped, hope this technique does the same wonders for you as it does for me!! x
LikeLike
What a brilliant idea! It’s such a simple solution to keep on track of things. I write to do lists, but never add in progress.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I feel like people often think project management is this really scary and complicated thing, but this method is used by so many successful companies (and it’s so simple!) What the in progress column does (at least for me) is that it helps giving you an overview of your progress and really motivates you to get things done. And let me tell you, moving a task from “in progress” to “done” feels so rewarding!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love to-do lists so this is definitely something I would be interested in! I normally use a notebook and pen but I love the idea of being able to share with others what you are currently working on so you do not complete the same task and overlap and also so you can keep up to date with each other. Thank you for sharing. xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to hear this was of interest to you! Let me know if you try Trello in the future xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I been using Trello for a while now n omg I love it!!!!
I didn’t know they were called Kanban tho, that’s interesting.
Thanks for sharing!
— Kiki | soyvirgo.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh hey there fellow trello lover! Trello basically offers a bunch of options, you can basically design your boards to your liking. This method with the three columns is called Kanban 🙂
LikeLike
This is such a good idea! I need to buy a new bullet journal for 2019 to keep my shit organised, but this would make a really good monthly spread idea for keeping tasks over the month tracked xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, happy to hear this was of some interest to you. Definitely let me know how you’re liking it (if you try it), would love to hear your thoughts! xx
LikeLike