What is a Kanban board and why do they matter?

Instead of repeating the same old explanation of what a Kanban board is, where it came from, and why you should use it, let me explain it in the simplest terms.

Imagine you have a board in front of you that is made up of rows and columns. Let's say there are three columns labeled something like TO DO, DOING, DONE. Now, let's say you have a bunch of tasks you need to take care of, which are:

• Fold Laundry
• Write a report on Proust's “In Search of Lost Time”
• Target run
• Take cat to groomer
• Go to record store and buy Rush “Signals: 40th Anniversary”

Before you do any of the above tasks, they would be in the TO DO column. Let's say you then start folding your laundry. That task would be moved to the DOING column. Once you've folded that last piece of laundry, the task then gets moved to the DONE column.

Also: Having trouble getting work done? This technique can help

Effectively, Kanban is a way to visualize the progress of each task as it makes its way from start to finish. With a quick glance, you could see exactly where each task is in its lifecycle, making it an incredibly easy way to manage your day, week, month, or year.