1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Personal Kanban
In Personal Kanban, Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria teach you how to use kanban boards—a visual workflow management method—to organize your life. Your life is probably too complex for a to-do list and too dynamic for complicated productivity systems. That’s where kanban comes in: a visual board where you can easily see your workflow, keep track of your work-in-progress, and make flexible plans for the future.
Benson is a self-described effectiveness expert and the creator of personal kanban, and DeMaria is a historian and coach. After organizing their own...
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Personal Kanban Summary Introduction to Kanban
Before you start developing your own personal kanban, it’s helpful to understand the system’s background. This section will explore what kanban is, its origins and benefits, and the difference between traditional and personal kanban.
What Is Kanban?
Kanban is a visual tool for keeping track of tasks as they move through your workflow. The authors explain that, in its most rudimentary version, kanban is a chart divided into three sections laid out as columns: to do, doing, and done. All tasks (usually written on individual sticky notes) begin in the “to do” section, move to “doing” once you’ve begun working on them, and eventually make their way to “done”.
(Shortform note: The key to Kanban is its simple visual nature. It can scale up or down to meet your needs without compromising its core function: letting you visualize your tasks as they progress (or not) through your workflow. If your work demands more complexity, you can use a kanban app that you can customize and integrate into your other digital tools. Or it can be at the other end of the complexity spectrum, like a [chore chart for your...
Personal Kanban Summary How to Get Started With Your Personal Kanban
Now that you know the basics of personal kanban, it’s time to create your own kanban. Benson and DeMaria lay out the steps to take to get started, as well as some optional add-ons to personalize your kanban.
Step 1: Choose Your Medium
You can use any medium you’re comfortable with, like a notebook, computer, or the authors’ favorite: a whiteboard and sticky notes. Whatever you choose to work with, make sure it’s not permanent. The more you use personal kanban, the more you’ll understand how you work and how you can tweak your kanban to make it fit your work. The medium you use should allow you to make those tweaks without too much hassle.
(Shortform note: While there are countless kanban apps on the market, including some that are specifically for personal use, Benson and DeMaria appreciate the physical nature of a whiteboard and sticky notes. Other productivity experts like Ryder Carroll, creator of The Bullet Journal Method, also suggest you avoid technology when trying to organize your life. According to Carroll, research has shown that [we’ve become...
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Shortform Exercise: Create Your Personal Kanban
Follow the steps Benson and DeMaria outline and create your own kanban.
What materials are best suited for your personal kanban? For example, if you’re always on the move, you might want to use a notebook, or an app on your phone. If you mostly work in one place, you might want to use a whiteboard and sticky notes. Describe your needs for your personal kanban, and choose a medium to work on.
