The "Done" column on my personal kanban is satisfyingly obscured by all the things I've done
Writing a book is a project and it can be a long, lonely one. Most writers don’t have colleagues sharing the load, let alone a project manager making sure the book is coming in on schedule.
A book is a project taking months — or years — and it’s easy to lose sight of tasks, goals, milestones and achievements. If ever there were a time for personal productivity tools, writing a book is it.
In my own writing I’ve been a long-time fan of Getting Things Done but there’s always room for tweaks and improvements. Or an incredible new way of looking at things that works with what I’m already doing but makes it better.
The kanban can
Enter Jim Benson, the Japanese, and a collection of coloured Post-Its.
Jim is the co-author of Personal Kanban, a self-published book that describes the productivity system he’s made popular through the Personal Kanban website.
All you need are some pens, Post-Its, and a flat surface like a whiteboard to stick them to (“kanban” means “signboard” in Japanese). Kanban has only two rules, they’re incredibly simple; and yet it could revolutionise the way you write and work on your book.
And, even though it’s just a whiteboard, it can give you a pat on the back when you most need it.
If there’s any part of you that thinks you could be working on your book more efficiently, I highly recommend you listen to this, the first podcast from Kindle Self-Publishing.
Also, as Jim’s book is self-published through CreateSpace and Kindle, we talk about his experiences as a self-publishing author with Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the breakdown in print vs Kindle sales for Personal Kanban.
Illustrations from the podcast
 The "swim lane" on my personal kanban |
 The main columns on my personal kanban |
The man who got me to write more and accomplish more using nothing more than a small whiteboard and a handful of Post-Its
More to come
This is the first podcast from Kindle Self-Publishing, it won’t be the last. Future episodes will cover tips, tricks and techniques for writing, formatting and promoting your Kindle ebook. Episodes will show up in the blog, just like this one, but you can also click here to subscribe in iTunes.
Jim Benson appears courtesy of…
Jim Benson is coming to Sydney in June to speak at Amplify, a thought leadership festival run by one of Australia’s larger financial services companies.
I was at the last one in 2009 and will be in the front row for this one, too. It’s a rare chance to see speakers of this calibre in our corner of the world.
Rate this post at: Can Japanese Post-Its make you a more successful writer?
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