I have so many irons in the fire, I didn’t know what was what, so I dusted off my Trello kanban board and started creating to-do lists. (I didn’t really dust it off. It’s electronic.)
What’s a Kanban Board and Why?
A lot of authors use kanban boards to track their tasks. Personally, I use them during my day job and my side hustle, which is writing and publishing novels.
A kanban board usually has three columns: To-Do, Doing, and Done. At the beginning of your project, you identify the tasks required to complete the project. Those tasks go into the To-Do column. As you pick up a task and begin working on it, the task moves to the Doing column. When you’ve completed the task, it is moved to the Done column.
Pretty simple!
Kanban boards can be used to track any projects, including your kid’s chores so they know exactly what to do before they can earn screen time. (I say that like I’m one of those moms who is disciplined and organized. Reality check: I’m not.)
Author and teacher Sarra Cannon uses kanban boards daily. She tapes paper to her walls and uses Post-it notes for each task. I prefer the electronic route with Trello because I’m clutter averse when it comes to my writing space.
My Kanban Board Set-up
Currently, I have five boards created in Trello, but only two are active. One is for my current project, which is coming out this fall. The other is tracking prep work for future projects.
I have five projects in mind for this year and I’m determined to work on scene cards for each one before I start writing them. I’ll explain why in a future post.
My Current Project (HFTH)
Speaking of my current project, which I shall call HFTH, I’m at 40K words and I have about twenty-three scenes to go! I say this with excitement because I just pushed through “the wall” and I’m excited to write again. If you’d like to know what “the wall” is, I can talk about it in another post.
Outlook is good for me to finish HFTH by the end of May. I will keep you posted!
Final Bookish Thoughts
I’ve been reading sooo many books. About a book a week, actually. I am loving the current one, so expect some bookish thoughts in the near future.
If you’re impatient or curious to know my thoughts now, go to my Instagram account where I’ve already provided short reviews.
Happy reading (and writing if you’re an author)!
Erin
P.S. Here is one of Sarra Cannon’s videos where she discusses her kanban board and project planning. Enjoy!