Are you tired of spending more time planning your work than actually doing it? Today, the average professional spends a large portion of every workday on low-value tasks - leaving little room for meaningful progress. But what if there was a way for you to cut through the clutter and focus on what really matters?
From individual task lists to team project management, Kanban boards provide a visual organization system that streamlines workflows, helps set realistic deadlines, prevents burnout, and improves time efficiency. This simple yet effective strategy can transform your office productivity.
Whether you’re juggling multiple clients or managing a large-scale project, implementing a better process promises transformative results.
A Kanban Board uses a system of columns and cards to organize workflows. Columns denote various categories, and individual tasks are assigned cards that move through the board.
Traditionally, the columns break up a project into three categories:
With digital Kanban software like KanbanFlow and Kanbanchi users can physically sort their tasks in piles, dragging each ‘task card’ into the correct category. This makes keeping track of work progress easy and seamless so you can stay on top of all your deadlines without wasting a minute!
Kanban boards are incredibly intuitive and easy to use, with columns and cards making up the core elements of this organizational system. This simple process will help you easily organize your workflow:
Step 1: Set Up Your Kanban Columns
The Kanban method works best when users customize it to their needs. While the traditional format follows a three-column system labeled - to-do, in progress, and done - you can alter these to best fit your project’s needs.
For example, a content agency may create additional columns for ‘edits’ and ‘re-writes’ to keep track of their workflows. A sales agency may add labels for ‘meetings’ and ‘follow-up calls’ to keep tabs on their leads.
Step 2: Break Down Your Project Into Kanban Cards
Assign each task a separate card in your Kanban board. You can add details for task description, deadlines, and assignees. Dividing your project into descriptive cards is vital to the success of this method.
Step 3: Categorize Your Kanban Cards
Drag each card to its respective column, tagging the team members expected to work on the task and uploading any pertinent information to the card.
Step 4: Drag Your Cards To Track Your Progress
As team members complete tasks they will drag their cards from one category to another. For example a writer may move an assigned task from ‘Doing’ to ‘Done’ letting their editor know it’s ready to be reviewed. While this is happening, a manager will be able to stay updated on the progress of each member in their team, creating a seamless project workflow.
Step 5: Set A Work-In-Progress Limit
A work-in-progress (WIP) limit restricts the number of tasks that can be in a particular stage, or in other words, the number of cards allowed per column. Managers can customize the Work Progress Bar to help manage the workload per project, day, or team member.
A key feature of the Kanban Board, WIP limits help prevent overloading and guarantee effective time management with realistic deadlines.
Step 6: Track Swimlanes
Horizontal lanes called swimlanes are used to separate different types of work or teams within the same board.
The benefits of a Kanban board resonate throughout a company, benefiting everyone from CEOs and managers to individual team members. When these individual advantages are combined, their impact compounds, driving success for the company.
Benefits For The Company
Benefits For The Team
Benefits For Managers
Benefits For Individual Team Members
Creating a customized Kanban Board is the best way for teams to get the most out of this method. The simplest way to start is by visualizing your business’s workflow. What kind of work do you do? What steps can it be broken down into?
In a sales team, members must track leads, follow-up with potential clients, and close deals. An optimized Kanban Board is the best way to make sure no leads fall through the cracks. The sales team can set up a Kanban Board with the following columns.
Kanban Board Example For A Sales Team
Now every time the sales team receives a new lead that can add them to the Kanban Board. The company may need to create specialized teams for each column/category.
Similarly, a small business may need a different kind of set-up.
Kanban Board Example For A Small Business
That way every time a new customer approaches the business a ticket can be generated in the form of a Kanban Card that will move through the board. Ideally, the columns on your board should cover every potential scenario your business might encounter.
The best part of course is that you can upgrade your Kanban Board to improve the flow of your work as you go along.
Kanban Boards empower teams to organize their workflows and enhance efficiency at every level.
When properly implemented, Kanban boards:
By leveraging digital Kanban Boards, teams can unlock their full potential, streamline their processes, and achieve greater success across the board.
