A mashup of Personal Kanban and GTD (from David Allen) to create a powerful visual Personal Productivity tool/approach.

1. Execute with a free mind…1
As to the methods, there may be a
million and then some, but principles
are few. The man who grasps
principles can successfully select his
own methods. The man who tries
methods, ignoring the principles, is
sure to have trouble!
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. About myself…
 25+ years in the industry
 Agile/Lean practitioner (85%)
 Development of SwiftKanban and SwiftALM
products
 Head of Professional Services
 Head of Products
 Agile/Lean Student (15%)
 Organize the LimitedWIP Societies in India
2

3. A bit about yourself....
3

4. These guys deserve an
applause…4

5. 5
25-50% of the people feel over-whelmed or burnt
out!
- Harvard Business Review

6. Some get tired...
http://media.bizj.us/view/img/2960741/howtooverloaded*xx2122-1194-0-111.jpg
http://blog.targethealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/20100708-4.jpg
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7. Some try different methods...
Some ask for help...
http://homemakersdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Schedule-Overload-515x344.jpg
http://diyorganization.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/help-sign-man-buried-in-paper-picture-225x300.jp
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8. 8
https://selflovewarrior.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/change-begins-with-me.gif

9. “Personal Kanban” from
Jim Benson
Help comes knocking with...9

10. 1st principle: Visualize your
work!
According to research using brain
imagery, visualization works because
neurons in our brains, those electrically
excitable cells that transmit information,
interpret imagery as equivalent to a real-
life action. When we visualize an act, the
brain generates an impulse that tells our
neurons to "perform" the movement.
Whether you're a student, businessperson,
parent or spouse, visualization will keep
you tethered to your goal and increase
your chances of achieving it. The power of
visualization is available to all people.
There are two types of visualization...
The first method is ”outcome visualization” and involves
envisioning yourself achieving your goal. To do this,
create a detailed mental image of the desired outcome
using all of your senses.
The second type of visualization is ”process visualization”.
It involves envisioning each of the actions necessary to
achieve the outcome you want. Focus on completing each
of the steps you need to achieve your goal, but not on the
overall goal itself.
10

11. Work is no more an amorphous concept – it has a definite shape,
a form and a storyline and a flow. This gives work coherence,
which is powerful. The brain can then take this new coherence
and based upon it make decisions. Prioritization becomes easier,
tasks become less daunting.
Jim Benson
11

12. 2nd principle: Limit your WIP!
 Multi-tasking is not an asset!
 STOP Starting; START Finishing
 Hidden WIP!
http://agileprague.com/a-practical-introduction-to-kanban.htm
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13. People who are regularly bombarded with
several streams of electronic information do
not pay attention, control their memory or
switch from one job to another as well as
those who prefer to complete one task at a
time
"They're suckers for irrelevancy,"
"Everything distracts them."
The researchers are still studying
whether chronic media multitaskers are
born with an inability to concentrate or
are damaging their cognitive control by
willingly taking in so much at once. But
they're convinced the minds of
multitaskers are not working as well as
they could.
"When they're in situations where
there are multiple sources of
information coming from the
external world or emerging out of
memory, they're not able to filter out
what's not relevant to their current
goal," ... “That failure to filter means
they're slowed down by that
irrelevant information."
13

14. Why is it that between 25% and 50%
of people report feeling overwhelmed
or burned out at work?
It’s not just the number of hours
we’re working, but also the fact that
we spend too many continuous
hours juggling too many things at the
same time.The biggest cost — assuming you don’t crash
— is to your productivity. In part, that’s a simple
consequence of splitting your attention, so that
you’re partially engaged in multiple activities
but rarely fully engaged in any one. In part, it’s
because when you switch away from a primary
task to do something else, you’re increasing
the time it takes to finish that task by an
average of 25 per cent.
But most insidiously, it’s because if
you’re always doing something,
you’re relentlessly burning down
your available reservoir of
energy over the course of every day,
so you have less available with every
passing hour.
14

15. I will add a 3rd dimension: Flow
15
Conversely, when the challenge is substantially higher than our skill, we
become anxious. And when the two are relatively balanced, we find
ourselves in a state of "flow," where we lose track of time and become fully
absorbed in the activity. This is the state we're referring to when we say
we're "in a groove" or "in the zone." While Csikszentmihalyi's research has
shown a number of advantages to cultivating opportunities to experience
flow, Lyubomirsky's work shows that more flow experiences result in greater
happiness.
When we chart our mental state during activities that
present us with a varying level of challenge relative to
our skill we find that when our skill is substantially
higher than the challenge being posed, we become
bored.
http://www.edbatista.com/2010/09/happiness.html

16. … with visualization, WIP and flow!
So, lets get going...16

17. My “ToDo” was on PostIts
already...
That’s 50+
things to be
done on these
lists!
17

18. ... what about my “stuff” on
Outlook?
Add another 15
odd tasks!
Result: Important
things are waiting
for 13 weeks!
18

19. I decided to make a fresh
start...
19

20. Step 1: I started with a simple
board...20

21. Step 2: Identify my different work
types...
 Do I treat them
same?
 Office work
 Project work
 Corporate Stuff
 Personal work
 Personal projects
 One-off tasks
 Some for the family
 They have different
nature...
 One time
 Recurring
21

22. Step 3: Plan for recurring tasks
Added a (swim) lane
for “Recurring
Tasks”...
22

23. Step 3: Lets make it a bit
smarter...23

24. Step 3: On Nov 20...
24

25. Step 3: Set the next due date...
25

26. Lets go back to my work
types...
 Do I treat them
same?
 Office work
 Project work
 Corporate Stuff
 Personal work
 Personal projects
 One off tasks
 Some for the family
 They have different
nature...
 One time
 Recurring
Use colors to distinguish between the work types!
28

27. Step 4: Card Types for my
board...29

28. Projects: consider a “staged”
process (Value Stream)
 If you have work in projects going through
repetitive stages, you can define them in a
staged manner
 Staged based execution gives greater control
30

29. Adding a Value Stream for my
projects...
31

30. Some approaches...
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 Block/Unblock Cards
 Throughput based approach
 Focus on cards that you expect to complete first
 Task based approach

31. Lets prioritize the Backlog...
33

32. Moving ToDo(s) from PostIts to
Board34
I realized
that about
30% of what
I had on my
stickies are
obsolete!
Time to start
saying “NO”
So, periodically
look at this lane
and delete what
has become
obsolete!
What we also see is that if tickets
aren’t done within the month
they’re put on the Personal
Kanban, they probably won’t get
done. You’re better off making a
second board called “Things I
might want to do some day”
– Jim Benson

33. Having moved all my work to the
Board…
 Office work
 Project work
 Corporate Stuff
 Personal work
 Personal projects
 One off tasks
 Some for the family
 One time
 Recurring
… STOP Starting; START Finishing
35

34. A few more ideas...36

35. Break the “Done” lane...
37

36. Clean the “Done” lane end of
week...38
 Reflect on all that you have been able to
accomplish
http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Done-Column-Daily-Weekly-Review.p

37. Flag your “Promises”!
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 Important to stick to commitments/specific
deadlines!
 Flag them on the card with the Due Date

38. Breaking out projects...
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http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/blog/#sthash.dKrxXc7H.rlE7KYig.dpbs

39. Applying 5S to Personal
Kanban41

40. 1S: Sort and clean
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 Throw your junk cards away
 If you have used (or still use) different ways of
keeping track of your tasks, get rid of them
 Do a spring clean, if it’s a task, put it in your
Personal Kanban (the backlog, if it’s for later on),
if it’s useless information, dump it
 Trust your board; that should be your “go to”
place

41. 2S: Straighten
 Bring things in order
 Make everything
“easily” accessible
in an order
 A corner in your
room is a bad idea
for a Personal
Board!
 Use an online tool…
… with a mobile
version!
43

42. 3S: Shine
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 Keep your Personal Kanban tidy and in good
shape.
 Look at it, everyday...
 Is still a representation of your work?
 If tasks become obsolete, drop them.
 Rearrange what’s left... reorder it... make it look
good.

43. 4S: Standardize
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 Define for yourself a method/working pattern
and stick to it
 You want to be able to rely on the information
your Personal Kanban gives you to make your
decisions.

44. 5S: Sustain
46
 The most difficult part…
 Sustain the effort
 Keep things clean and tidy; stick with “your”
system
 Commit to what you are trying to achieve
 Without discipline, your method will
deteriorate over time and fall back into chaos

45. … but the mind was still always
overwhelmed, anxious!
Too many things to, too little time to
do!
It was going OK….47

46. Learning from GTD!48
The art of resting the mind and the
power of dismissing from it all care
and worry is probably one of the
secrets of our great men
- Capt. J.A.Hatfield

47. GTD(Getting Things Done)
49
 A method from David Allen
 GTD is a total work-life management system that
transforms overwhelm into an integrated system
of stress-free productivity.
- - gettingthingsdone.com
 We choose some best practices that will make our
Personal Kanban system, stronger and resilient
 Not the complete system

48. 50
 The Paradox:
 Higher quality of life BUT we take more than we
can chew  STRESS!
 Work has no clear boundaries
 No edges creates work for all!
 Almost every project can be done better….
 Leaving you feeling “wish I knew this!”
Problem: Infinite demand; finite
resources!

49. Today’s tools: inadequate &
scattered51

50. Problem: Infinite demand; finite
resources!
52
 There is one thing we can do, and the
happiest minds are those who can do this
to the limit of their ability – we can be
“completely” present. We can be all here.
We can give…. our attention to the
opportunity before us.
- Mark Van Daren

51. Why things are on our mind?
54
 This consistent, unproductive preoccupation with
all the things we have to do is the single largest
consumer of time and energy
- - Kerry Gleeson
 Thought is useful when it motivates action and a
hinderance when it substitutes for action
- - Bill Raeder
 So, transform all the “stuff” in your mind into a
clear inventory of actions, projects, usable
information

52. Step 1: Capture
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 Get it out of you mind…do a “Mind Sweep”
 To an identified repository!
 The repository you choose, must be with you,
ALWAYS
 Notepads, smartphone devices… for me, I had my
“mobile” SwiftKanban always with me

53. Step 2: Process the Item
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 Identify if its actionable or not
 Many of these would be related to a Project
 A series of tasks need to happen to get an “outcome”;
define the “outcome”
 “Waiting For” – Person or a Date
 Make a note and RELAX!
 2min rule!

54. Defining a context…
57
 Defining a context helps you focus on “what”
you need to do when you are in that specific
context
 Recommended by GTD:
 Work OR Home
 Call OR @ Computer OR Errands OR Agendas
 Waiting For

55. Refactoring my “WIP”
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 Step 1: Split my “In Progress” by “context”

56. Refactoring my Board, again…
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• Moved Waiting for to a separate lane;
• In Waiting For, if something is waiting for
an external event, it is blocked. No block
if it just waiting for a date to finish but set
that date so that you know when to do
something about it and not look for it
everyday…

57. Refactoring my Board… the last
one60
27-10-201660
Moved Agenda
items out of the
WIP limits

58. Here’s how it looks today…
61

59. Benefits for the PK
practitioners…62
 Boost your productivity to the next level…
 Practice “mind sweep”  Execute with a free
mind
 Use mind to do stuff; not to remember stuff
 By defining your context, you are ready to execute
when you are in that context
 Don’t worry about anything else
 Trust the system that its all in there
 You might initially miss some but with a

60. Benefits for GTD practitioners
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 Visualization… see how much “stuff” you got to do!
 Work is no longer amorphous; it’s a card…
 You drag/drop from one lane to another as your progress
 Define WIP limits; if you are overwhelmed, reassess, de-
prioritize what you can
 Recall: one of the greatest source of dissatisfaction is
not being able to meet commitments!
 Flow: When work flows and you move cards to “Done”,
experience a sense of accomplishment

61. Let me finish by saying…
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http://www.edbatista.com/2010/09/happiness.html

62. Thank you….
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 Reach me at:
 @sudiptal
 slahiri@digite.com
 sudiptalahiri.wordpress.com