Real-World Scenarios: Kanban for Work and Study
Theory is one thing; application is another. Let’s look at how two different people—a hybrid professional and a university student—can use a Kanban board to manage their distinct challenges.
Scenario 1: Sarah, the Hybrid Marketing Manager
Sarah splits her week between her home office and her corporate headquarters. She juggles multiple marketing campaigns, team management duties, and her own personal life. Her to-do list is a mix of digital flags, emails, and notebook scribbles.
Her Kanban Board Setup: Sarah uses a digital board so she can access it from home and the office. She customizes her columns:
Backlog: A brain dump of all ideas and tasks.
This Week’s Priorities: Tasks she commits to for the week.
In Progress (Limit 2): What she’s actively working on.
Waiting For: For tasks blocked by her team or other departments.
Done: Completed tasks for the week.
How she uses it: Sarah uses color-coding extensively. Blue cards are for Campaign A, green for Campaign B, and purple for administrative tasks like performance reviews. On Sunday evening, she reviews her calendar and pulls cards into “This Week’s Priorities,” ensuring she has a mix of tasks suitable for her deep-work days at home and her collaborative days in the office. A card like “Finalize ad copy” is perfect for a quiet morning at home, while “Brainstorm Q4 concepts with team” is tagged for an office day. The “Waiting For” column is a lifesaver, allowing her to track approvals from the legal team without letting it stop her progress on other fronts.
Scenario 2: Leo, the University Student
Leo is a full-time engineering student. He has classes, labs, a major semester project, a part-time job at the library, and wants to have a social life. His workload is lumpy, with quiet weeks followed by intense periods before exams.
His Kanban Board Setup: Leo uses a large corkboard in his dorm room with different colored sticky notes. It’s a constant visual reminder of his commitments.
Semester Goals: A small section with high-level cards like “Pass PHYS 201” and “Complete Senior Project.”
Backlog: All assignments, readings, and tasks for the semester, pulled from his syllabi.
This Week: What he needs to get done this week.
Today (Limit 3): His daily focus. He moves cards here from “This Week” each morning.
Done: His wall of accomplishment.
How he uses it: Leo uses different color notes for each class. Yellow for Physics, blue for Calculus, green for his programming lab. Red notes are used for his part-time job schedule. When a big project is assigned, he immediately breaks it down into smaller task cards in his “Backlog,” such as “Research topic,” “Create outline,” “Write first draft,” and “Proofread.” This approach to project management prevents last-minute panic. Before a big exam week, his weekly planning session is crucial. He looks at his board and can clearly see he needs to reduce his work hours and say no to social events to create enough time for studying. The board gives him the clarity and confidence to make those tough choices.
