Kanban Desk Organisers

We’ve got these nifty personal Kanban organisers made for our course attendees. UPDATE: Generation 2 of these boards are now available from our shop!

What is a Personal Kanban?

A Personal Kanban is a simple visual management tool for your own work. It typically has three columns:

To Do → Doing → Done

The idea is simple: pull work from your to-do list, limit work in progress, and move things to done as you complete them.

Why It Works

Visual Progress

You can see at a glance what you’re working on and what’s left. There’s something satisfying about moving tasks to the “Done” column.

Limits Work in Progress

Most of us try to do too many things at once. A rule like “max 3 things in the Doing column” keeps you focused. When you finish something, you pull the next thing. This discipline actually makes you more productive.

Priorities Are Clear

Your to-do list is a prioritized list. The top items are what you’ll do next. No confusion about what matters.

Reduces Context Switching

Context switching kills productivity. By limiting work in progress, you minimize it.

Physical and Tactile

There’s something about moving a physical card (or sticky note) to “Done” that feels good. It’s motivating in a way digital tools sometimes aren’t.

How to Use a Personal Kanban Board

Set Up

• Create three columns: To Do, Doing, Done
• Use sticky notes or small cards for tasks
• Place them in the To Do column

Work

• Pull from To Do into Doing (respecting your WIP limit)
• Move to Done when complete
• Refill your to-do list regularly

Reflect

• At the end of the day or week, review
• What got done? How does that feel?
• What blocked you?
• What can you adjust?

The Teamworx Desk Organiser

We created physical desk organisers made from sturdy coroplast board:

• Three columns with clear sections
• Designed to sit on your desk
• Durable and reusable
• Perfect for home or office

They come in bright colors to make tracking progress visually appealing.

DIY Option

You can also make one yourself:

• Draw three columns on a piece of paper or whiteboard
• Use sticky notes for tasks
• Update throughout the day

The key isn’t the fancy board—it’s the discipline of limiting work in progress and moving work through to completion.

Integration with Scrum

Many Agile teams use a Kanban board within a sprint as a way to track work through the sprint. The same principle applies—limit work in progress, move work through stages, complete tasks.

Benefits Beyond Productivity

Morale

There’s something deeply satisfying about a “Done” column filling up. It’s visual evidence of progress and accomplishment.

Focus

Knowing you can only have 3 things in progress keeps you focused on the important stuff.

Negotiation

When someone asks “Can you also do X?”, you can point to your WIP limit: “I have 3 things in progress. I can do X after I finish one of these.”

Awareness

You become consciously aware of how much you’re actually working on. This self-awareness is powerful for change.

Getting One

You can:

• Order from our shop (the physical board)
• Print a DIY version
• Make one digitally with a tool like Trello
• Just use paper and sticky notes

The format doesn’t matter. The practice of limiting work in progress does.

Try It

If you struggle with focus or feel like you’re juggling too many things, give Personal Kanban a try. The simplicity of the approach belies how effective it is.

Start with sticky notes and a whiteboard. See how it goes. You might find it’s one of the most useful productivity techniques you adopt.

Order one of our physical desk organisers, or start with pen and paper. Either way, give your personal kanban a go.