A Kanban board works for anything you can split into tasks and stages. Here are ten uses with suggested columns, all possible on a free board with no signup.
A private, browser-based board like kanban.fit is a particularly good fit for personal uses like these, since you don't need to share them and may prefer they stay on your own device.
1. Semester planner for students 🎓
Columns: To Start → Working On → Review → Submitted
Add a card for each assignment, with a due date, and tag it by course. See the study planner template.
2. Thesis or research plan 🔬
Columns: Reading → Experiments → Drafting → Feedback → Done
Break large chapters into small cards, so that progress stays visible during a long project.
3. Client tracker for freelancers 💼
Columns: Leads → Proposal Sent → In Progress → Invoiced → Paid
The Invoiced column makes unpaid work hard to overlook. See the freelance client tracker.
4. Backlog for side projects 🚀
Columns: Backlog → In Progress → Testing → Done
Use tags like bug and feature. See the software development template.
5. Solo founder's overview 🏢
Columns: This Week → Doing → Waiting → Done
Use a folder with separate boards for product, sales and marketing. A simple sales pipeline fits in well here.
6. Job search tracker 🧭
Columns: Saved → Applied → Interviewing → Offer → Closed
Use due dates for follow-ups, and keep links in the description. See the job search template.
7. Household jobs 🏠
Columns: To Do → Doing → Done
Use an assignee name to show who's doing what. Because the board lives in one browser, this works best on one shared computer or tablet.
8. Trip planning ✈️
Columns: To Book → Booked → To Pack → Packed
Make a board per trip, in a Travel folder. It's also useful for planning events.
9. Content calendar ✍️
Columns: Ideas → Drafting → Editing → Scheduled → Published
Use the publish date as the due date. See the content calendar template.
10. Reading and learning tracker 📚
Columns: Want to Read → Reading → Finished
Keep short notes and highlights in each card's description, which can hold up to 1,000 characters.
Getting started
- Open kanban.fit. There's no signup.
- Rename the columns, or choose a template.
- Add your first few cards and drag them along as you go.
Your boards are stored in your browser. They're private to that browser, but clearing your site data deletes them, and they don't sync to other devices. Read more about how no-signup boards work.