Productivity Tools: Lists vs. Boards

Lists are the simplest form of task management. They don’t require any special software or learning curve. A kanban board is used to visually depict tasks. Many people are either die-hard list users or Kanban board users, but I happen to love both. Here’s how I incorporate both in my work and personal life.

Lists

Think paper and pen, Microsoft Outlook tasks, iPhone Notes, or Reminders. I like to use lists for:

Quick hits and when I’m on-the-go
Getting tactical and into the details of exactly what needs to get done for each high-level task I might have on a board

Examples of what I might use lists for include grocery shopping and individual tasks.

Kanban Boards

Think Post-Its on a wall or whiteboard, Trello, or Microsoft Planner. Lists are great for ad hoc tasks or tasks related to one specific area, but they can get pretty unwieldy when you have multiple projects. I like to use boards when:

I want to visually track my progress
I have several projects or components of a larger project and want to keep the tasks organized
I have a lot of tasks that I need to start but can’t complete sequentially and want to track what’s not started, what’s in progress, and what’s complete

Examples of what I might use boards for include wedding planning, blog post planning, and project management.

**My Wedding Planning Board made using Trello**

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Boards and lists can be used separately but if you really want to level up, try using them together. In fact, many board applications/software actually have built-in checklists so you can have the best of both worlds.