In today’s lesson, you’re going to move your top priority goals from your Board Game of Life into your kanban, set SMART goals, and organize your goals into the “Backlog”, “To-Do”, and “Doing” columns.
Video Lesson
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Time: 7:08
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Click full screen (lower right corner) to increase the size
Lesson Summary
Board Game of Life vs. Kanban
As you recall, your Board Game of Life contains your big dreams and life goals. And your kanban is laser-focused on helping you get the right things done at the right time. Since we’ll be using Trello for both, they may seem similar. But they’re very, very different.
Here’s how they compare:
Move priority cards from Board Game of Life to kanban
Remember, move only your highest priority cards—the first column in your Board Game of Life—into your kanban. That’s because life gets in the way: Work, social obligations, emergencies, and god knows what else. Therefore, it’s best to leave room for these things when they happen. Remember, we’re optimizing for flow, not capacity—so don’t overload yourself.
Rewrite each card so it is a SMART goal
Rewrite your goal so that it is specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely. For the “timely” bit, set a due date within Trello.
To add a due date:
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Click the card,
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Click “Due Date,”
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Select your date, and
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Click “Save.”
And there you have it: your biggest goals, hopes, dreams, and desires—each with clearly defined deadlines—all in a single, easy-to-use system that gives you clarity, flexibility, and a calming sense of control.
Add goals for all the stuff you “need” to do
You know the saying, “the devil is in the details”? It’s half-true. Because angels live in details, too. And both angels and devils play tug-of-war inside your brain, pulling you toward your purpose, then away, then back again, over and over—until you’re nothing but a frantic scrapheap of indecision.
Up until now, you’ve only added angels to your kanban. That’s the stuff you want to do.
But there’s a lot of other stuff in your head—usually random thoughts, or stuff you don’t want to do—and you’ve got to get rid of those devils.
Here’s how to do it:
**Step 1. Brain dump everything your mind into your backlog. **Pour all the thoughts and information bouncing around in your head—most of which is distraction—into your backlog. Once you’ve written it down, it’s out of your head, and you’ll enjoy clarity and focus.
Quick note: Your big life goal cards from your Board Game of Life have pictures, while your need to-do cards don’t. Don’t spend time visualizing stuff you don’t want to do; put the cards in your backlog as text-only and get on with your day.
Step 2. Prioritize items in your backlog, and move important items to your “To-Do” column. For each card, ask yourself,
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Will this help me achieve my big goals?
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Is it important and meaningful?
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Or distracting and meaningless?
Then move each meaningful card to your “To-Do” column.
Quick note: there are likely several items in your backlog you need to do—but don’t want to. That sucks, I know, but it’s okay. Move those devils into the “To-Do” column.
**Step 3. Move your 2–3 most important items into your “Doing” column. **Remember, your “Doing” column is for stuff you’ll work on today—and maybe the near future if it’s a large task. For example, “write a book” ain’t gonna happen in a day; but since it’s my top goal, it remains in my “Doing” column. This provides a visual reminder that, for me, writing a book is an important goal—and that I should work on it every day.
But here’s the rub: a big goal like “write a book” or “run a 50-mile race” or “travel across Africa” includes dozens, if not hundreds, of smaller steps to achieve, right? That’s why you will need to set up an additional board for each larger project.
Which may lead you to ask…
“Adam, WTF? How many kanbans do I need?”
We’ll answer this question in the next lesson and show you a quick and easy way to break down large projects using backward design.
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