Out with chaos, in with Kanban, a Japanese productivity tool for organisation

Express News Service

Picture this: You’re at the office, working on a project, surrounded by an array of sticky notes on a whiteboard. Each note represents a task and they’re neatly organised into columns like ‘to do’, ‘doing’, and ‘done’. The visual method, known as Kanban, is a Japanese productivity tool to stay organised. The word itself means ‘signboard’ or ‘billboard’. Emphasising collaboration, flexibility and iterative progress, it helps you understand what needs to be done for yourself, your team, or your organisation to achieve the goals. The method was originally developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota. Ohno used it as an inventory management system, which utilised just-in-time manufacturing processes to monitor production and initiate orders for new supplies of components and materials.

While kanban can become quite detailed in large-scale applications, you can also implement it on a smaller scale to optimise personal workflow. Many people use whiteboards to create their kanban boards. The core concept revolves around the idea that to accomplish tasks effectively, you must have a clear understanding of where you stand in a project at any given moment. On your board, you typically have three columns: one for actions that haven’t started, one for those in progress, and one for completed jobs.

In kanban, all tasks start at the leftmost column and progress across the board. This provides you with 
a visual representation of the status of each job. Besides the sense of accomplishment when duties reach the ‘done’ column, the approach also helps you gauge the time various processes require. You can also track and improve it by noting the transition time between columns. These boards are typically displayed in the office, and you can shift the corresponding sticky notes as you progress through your tasks. If you’re working on an individual project, you can opt for a small whiteboard placed on your desk.

Creating an online board too can be done in different ways. You can start with a simple Excel sheet, which includes the project name at the top and three columns for ‘to-do’, ‘doing’, and ‘done’. Leave space for notes regarding delays, specific requirements, or any other relevant details for each task. Alternatively, you can use productivity tools like Asana and Trello, which enable you to add notes, files and important information while facilitating team synchronisation.

You can fully commit to this approach by purchasing a pre-made physical board. They often include an extra column for backlog, housing older and predefined tasks that don’t require immediate attention. Some packages even come with markers, erasers and a mounting kit. For a simpler variant, you can consider a folding board equipped with dry-erase magnets, which can replace coloured notes.

<br /> Picture this: You’re at the office, working on a project, surrounded by an array of sticky notes on a whiteboard. Each note represents a task and they’re neatly organised into columns like ‘to do’, ‘doing’, and ‘done’. The visual method, known as Kanban, is a Japanese productivity tool to stay organised. The word itself means ‘signboard’ or ‘billboard’. Emphasising collaboration, flexibility and iterative progress, it helps you understand what needs to be done for yourself, your team, or your organisation to achieve the goals. The method was originally developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota. Ohno used it as an inventory management system, which utilised just-in-time manufacturing processes to monitor production and initiate orders for new supplies of components and materials.</p> <p>While kanban can become quite detailed in large-scale applications, you can also implement it on a smaller scale to optimise personal workflow. Many people use whiteboards to create their kanban boards. The core concept revolves around the idea that to accomplish tasks effectively, you must have a clear understanding of where you stand in a project at any given moment. On your board, you typically have three columns: one for actions that haven’t started, one for those in progress, and one for completed jobs.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>In kanban, all tasks start at the leftmost column and progress across the board. This provides you with <br /> a visual representation of the status of each job. Besides the sense of accomplishment when duties reach the ‘done’ column, the approach also helps you gauge the time various processes require. You can also track and improve it by noting the transition time between columns. These boards are typically displayed in the office, and you can shift the corresponding sticky notes as you progress through your tasks. If you’re working on an individual project, you can opt for a small whiteboard placed on your desk.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>Creating an online board too can be done in different ways. You can start with a simple Excel sheet, which includes the project name at the top and three columns for ‘to-do’, ‘doing’, and ‘done’. Leave space for notes regarding delays, specific requirements, or any other relevant details for each task. Alternatively, you can use productivity tools like Asana and Trello, which enable you to add notes, files and important information while facilitating team synchronisation.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>You can fully commit to this approach by purchasing a pre-made physical board. They often include an extra column for backlog, housing older and predefined tasks that don’t require immediate attention. Some packages even come with markers, erasers and a mounting kit. For a simpler variant, you can consider a folding board equipped with dry-erase magnets, which can replace coloured notes.<br />