Kanban Board
Lay your work out on a board and see, at a glance, what you’re doing right now.
The kanban board is the heart of toodoori. Work flows through Planning → In Progress → Finished, and dragging a card between stages makes your progress plain to see. If kanban itself is new to you, What Is Kanban? is a good place to start.
Why a kanban board
A to-do list shows you what needs doing, but not how far along each item is. A kanban board splits the same work into stages, so you can read at a glance what is in progress and what has stalled. For the difference between a list and a board, see To-Do List vs. Kanban.
Groups and stages
- Groups: Planning · In Progress · Finished — the same flow on every board.
- Stages: finer columns within each group. Split ‘In Progress’ into ‘Deep Work’ and ‘Waiting for Feedback,’ for example — shaped to the way you work.
- Inbox: a place to collect whatever comes to mind before you organize it. Toss an idea in lightly, and pull it onto the board when you’re ready to work on it.
One card at a time — WIP limits
Setting a limit on how many cards can sit in ‘In Progress’ keeps you focused on the one you picked instead of starting many at once. Finishing one at a time also reveals where work tends to get stuck. Managing Flow goes deeper.
Three ways to view
- Board: the default view, cards laid out by status.
- List: for a quick scan.
- Timeline: for work with start and due dates, across time.
You choose today’s cards
toodoori does not carry unfinished work over to the next day automatically. Because you pick today’s cards yourself, the board stays a flow shaped to where you are now, rather than a list that only piles up.
Getting started
To build a kanban board yourself, follow the Getting Started with toodoori guide. For the background behind personal kanban, read What Is Personal Kanban?.