Three-column Kanban board (To Do / Doing / Done) with sticky-note placeholders: the classic personal or team workflow board.

Free printable Kanban board PDF. Three columns (To Do / Doing / Done) with sticky-note placeholders for the classic personal or team workflow board.

Kanban Board | Free Printable PDF

Kanban Board

The single most important Kanban rule: don't have too many cards in DOING at once. The point of the format is to constrain in-progress work and finish things before starting new ones. A common rule for individuals is 3 max in DOING; for small teams, 2 per person. If the column gets crowded, stop pulling new cards.

Limit work in progress

A card that goes from DOING back to TO DO has been abandoned or de-prioritised, which should be a deliberate decision, not an accident. Cards normally move rightward as work progresses. Backward movement is rare and worth examining when it happens.

Move cards rightward only

A card should be a single deliverable that can be marked done. 'Plan the wedding' is too big for one card; 'book the venue' is a card, 'pick the photographer' is another. Small cards move through DONE quickly, which is motivating; big cards stall in DOING for weeks, which is demoralising.

Use one card per task, not per project

Once a week, photograph the board (so you have a record), then move everything in DONE to a 'done this week' pile or notebook. Restart the cycle with an empty DONE column. The visual emptiness invites the next round of work without the historical clutter.