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"Personal kanban": a life-changing time-management system that explodes the myth of multitasking
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The Personal Kanban
It's a system to save us from our endless to-do lists, which can turn any job into a lifeless chore. It works on two principles:
Visualize your work and limit your total number of "works in progress."
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Setting up
- Create three columns on a board where you can use magnets or post-it notes. Label the columns: Options, Doing, and Done.
- Write your individual tasks down on separate cards. Post all of these cards in the "Options" column.
- From that column, choose no more than three to move into the middle "Doing" column. This is your work in progress.
- When a task is complete, move it into the "Done" column, and choose a new option to pull into "Doing."
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The Zeigarnik effect
Starting but not completing too many projects puts people at risk of the Zeigarnik effect, which states that people are better at remembering unfinished tasks than completed ones.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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We All Tend To Make The Same Mental Mistakes
Economists used to believe that people will always choose the option that maximizes their well-being. But people act against their rational self-interest all the time.
We p...
The Mere Urgency Effect
This bias addresses why we do unimportant tasks we think are time-sensitive over tasks that are not time-sensitive, even if the non-time-sensitive tasks provide greater rewards.
How to overcome this bias:
- Use the Eisenhower Matrix. It will reveal the urgent/not urgent and important/not important tasks.
- Block off on your calendar the most productive 2-4 hours each day for your most important work.
- Only answer emails at specific times. Don't allow email to bleed into other time.
- Give your important tasks a deadline and find a way to commit to it.
The Zeigarnik Effect
This effect describes our tendency to remember incomplete or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks. Each unfinished task takes up some of your attention, splitting your focus. It also interferes with your sleep.
What you can do about it:
- Write your tasks down as soon as they come to you.
- Have a system in place for organizing and regularly reviewing your tasks.
- Have an end of work shutdown ritual, so your unfinished tasks don't stay in your mind after-hours.
- Take a small step to help you get started. The act of starting can help you keep going to the end.
- Don't forget to review your completed tasks and celebrate what you've already accomplished.
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1. Time-Blocking
Time-blocking consists of assigning individual tasks to manageable time slots.
Instead of writing out short tasks alongside hours-long tasks on your list for the day and hoping you ha...
2. If/then Lists
To set reasonable goals make a list for high-energy days and another for when you are reluctant to work. Both lists should follow an “if/then” model.
The first lists should have the more involved tasks, while the second list should feature more mindless tasks like cleaning out your inbox, organizing your desk, or even napping.
3. Eisenhower Matrix
- Has items that are both urgent and important, is to be tackled immediately.
- Items that are important but not urgent, can be scheduled for a later time.
- Tasks deemed urgent but not important can be delegated to others if possible
- Tasks that are neither urgent nor important should be crossed off the list altogether.
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By the hour
This works well for the chronic procrastinator: those who say they will do it later and then wonder why it never gets done.
Instead of getting overwhelmed, tackle your to-do l...
The Pomodoro Method
Rather than trying to work flat-out, break down your day into a series of work-sprints with a short rest period after each session.
Set a timer for 25 min and focus exclusively on your work for that time, take a 5 min break, and repeat.
Some people find that taking a 5 min break destroys their flow. But it does help to break long complex tasks into a series on manageable sprints.
The 2-minute rule
The 2-minute rule is a strategy for quickly assessing and taking action on small tasks so they don’t take up too much mental energy.
Ask yourself if a task is going to take you 2 minutes or less. If so, just do it.