What Is a Kanban Board? Simple Guide With Examples

A Kanban board is a to-do list split into columns. Each column is a stage of work, usually To Do, In Progress and Done. Each task is a card, and you move the card from left to right as the work moves forward.

The board shows you at a glance what's waiting, what's underway and what's finished. Its main rule is to finish what you started before you take on something new.

What a Kanban board is

"Kanban" is Japanese for "signboard." The method started in Toyota's factories as a way to control how much work moved through the production line. Software teams and other knowledge workers adapted it later.

A board has three working parts:

• Columns for the stages your work passes through.
• Cards for individual pieces of work.
• Limits on how many cards can sit in a stage at once.

The simplest version is three columns on a whiteboard with sticky notes. Apps add labels, due dates and checklists, but the idea stays the same.

Here is a minimal personal board:

Columns and cards on a Kanban board

Columns describe stages, not categories. "Waiting for reply" is a good column because it tells you where a task is. "Work stuff" is a poor one because it only says what kind of task it is. Use labels or a separate board for categories.

A few rules keep columns useful:

• Start with three columns. Add one only when a real stage keeps holding work up, such as Waiting or Review.
• Order them left to right in the sequence work actually happens.
• Keep Done visible for a while. Finished cards show your progress, and they also show you what to clear out at the end of the week.

Cards should each hold one finishable piece of work. "Website" is too big to ever move. "Write the About page" can move from To Do to Done in a day or two. If a card sits in the same column for weeks, split it into smaller cards.

Most apps let you add detail inside a card: a description, a checklist of sub-steps, a due date and labels such as priority. Use these sparingly. A board works best when you can read it from across the room.

WIP limits: the rule that makes Kanban work

A WIP (work in progress) limit is the maximum number of cards allowed in a column at one time. If In Progress has a limit of 3 and already holds three cards, you finish or move one before you start anything new.

This is what separates a Kanban board from a list with columns. Without a limit, In Progress fills up with half-finished tasks and you spend the day switching between them. With a limit, the board pushes you to finish things.

Personal Kanban, a name popularized by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry, reduces the method to two rules: visualize your work, and limit your work in progress.

How to set a limit:

• For one person: start with 2 or 3 cards in In Progress. If you keep hitting the limit because you're waiting on other people, add a Waiting column rather than raising the limit.
• For a team: start near the number of people working on that stage, then adjust after a couple of weeks of watching where cards pile up.
• Write the limit where you'll see it. A paper board won't stop you from adding a sixth card, and neither will many simple apps. Put the number in the column title, for example "In Progress (3)."

When a column hits its limit, treat it as a signal. Something is stuck, and that's the next thing to fix.

Personal Kanban board examples

Each example lists the columns from left to right, with a few sample cards.

Weekly chores and errands

• Columns: To Do, This Week, Doing (limit 2), Done
• Cards: "Return parcel", "Book car service", "Clean out fridge"

Job search

• Columns: Saved, Applied, Interviewing, Offer, Closed
• Cards: one per company, with the role and application date in the description. The Closed column stops you from accidentally applying to the same place twice.

Studying for exams

• Columns: Topics, Reading, Practice Questions, Ready
• Cards: one per chapter or topic. If you're also building revision notes, see how to make a study guide.

Writing or a side project

• Columns: Ideas, Drafting (limit 1), Editing, Published
• Cards: one per article, video or feature. A limit of 1 on Drafting stops you from collecting half-written drafts.

Moving house

• Columns: To Buy, To Pack, Packed, Unpacked
• Cards: one per room or group of boxes, with a checklist inside for the items.

If long to-do lists overwhelm you, a board with a small Doing column can be easier to face than one long list. We cover other approaches in to-do list apps for ADHD.

Team Kanban board examples

Team boards use the same structure with a few additions. Each card has an owner, everyone sees the same board, and some teams add swimlanes (horizontal rows, for example one per person or per project).

Software team

• Columns: Backlog, Ready, In Progress (limit 4), Code Review (limit 3), Done
• A limit on Code Review stops finished code from piling up unreviewed.

Content or marketing team

• Columns: Ideas, Assigned, Writing, Editing, Scheduled, Published

Customer support

• Columns: New, Investigating, Waiting on Customer, Resolved
• Waiting on Customer keeps tickets out of the active column without losing track of them.

Kanban board vs. a to-do list

If most of your tasks take five minutes and have no stages, a plain checklist is enough. Our to-do list examples show formats that work.

How to make a Kanban board in Gubb

Gubb, our notes app for Mac and Windows, turns a note into a board when you type one line.

1. Hover over the top of the Gubb window and click + (Create New Note).
2. On an empty line, type gubb@board. You can also type gubb@, pick Board from the menu with the arrow keys, then press Return or Tab.
3. The line becomes a board with three columns: To Do, In Progress and Done. The note is titled "Kanban Board" (with the time added, such as "Kanban Board 14:05", if you already have a note with that title).
4. Click Add a card, type a title in Enter a title for this card..., and press Return.
5. Drag cards between columns as the work moves.
6. To add a stage, click Add another column, type a Column title, then click Add Column. Each column has Edit column and Delete column buttons. Use Edit column to put a WIP limit in the name, like "In Progress (3)".
   Click any card to open its details. There you can:

• Edit the title and add a Description.
• Add a checklist (Add to card ▸ Checklist), which shows on the card as "Checklist: x/y".
• Set a Due Date, shown on the card as a "Due" badge.
• Add Labels. The board comes with six: "Priority: High", "Priority: Medium", "Priority: Low", "Type: Bug", "Type: Feature" and "Type: Improvement".
• Use Actions to Move, Copy or Delete the card.

Hovering over a card also shows Edit card, Copy card and Delete card buttons.

Things to know before you rely on it:

• Type gubb@board alone on its line. If it sits inside other text, the note can open in an older board view that doesn't work properly.
• The six labels are fixed. You can't create your own.
• No attachments. There's no way to add files to a card.
• It's a personal board. The board is saved inside the note on your computer. There's no sync, sharing or collaboration, and comments always show "Current User" as the author.

Full details are in the Kanban section of the help center. The Mac download comes with a 7-day free trial, and a lifetime license is $59 one-time as of November 2026.

When a team tool fits better

A board inside a notes app suits one person tracking their own work. If several people need to see and update the same board, assign cards to each other, or check it on a phone, use a shared board tool instead. Trello is built around boards and cards for teams. As of November 2026 it has a free plan, and its paid plans are charged per user.

For more personal options on the Mac, see our roundup of personal Kanban board apps for Mac.

FAQ

What's the difference between Kanban and Scrum?
Scrum organizes work into fixed-length sprints with set roles and planning meetings. Kanban has no sprints: work flows continuously, and WIP limits control how much is underway. Teams use boards with both methods.

How many columns should a Kanban board have?
Start with three (To Do, In Progress, Done) and add a column only when a stage keeps holding cards up. If you end up with more than six or seven, check whether some are categories rather than stages.

Do I need an app for Kanban?
No. A whiteboard or a wall with sticky notes works well, especially for a household or a team in one room. An app helps when you want the board on your computer, need card details like checklists and due dates, or work with people in other places.