From Managing Work to Doing Work: Why I'm Building a New Kanban App for Individuals

Two weeks ago, when I wrote a post comparing Kanban to the standard To Do list (here), it started a chain reaction. I began reflecting on my experience with Kanban boards across different tools, and how much time I spent managing the board instead of doing the work. This was especially true when managing several boards at once: shifting gears to move between boards was a small but real and recurring barrier. Eventually, some boards would essentially come to a standstill for extended periods. There had to be a better way.

The idea of a Kanban Board as a more sophisticated To Do list kept coming back to me - what if that was made reality by combining the in-progress items from multiple boards and showing them all in one simple list? Behind the scenes the different boards are all still there, and by centering a pull oriented process when an in-progress item is completed the top task from the to-do column would offer itself, ready for work with just a click.

Most tools, even Kanban apps, assume you’ll push work: navigate to a board, select a task and manually move it to the next step. That works well in teams with stand-ups and supporting structures, but for solo operators, it becomes overhead. This approach could significantly reduce, or even eliminate, that friction.

That brings me to the core idea that I’m going to put to the test. Drawing on my experience with Python, Kanban, and Agile methods, I’m building a lightweight Kanban app specifically designed for solo practitioners. One that uses automatic task pulling and a consolidated view of in-progress work to help users spend less time managing, and more time doing.

As one of my user stories puts it:

“As an individual with multiple concurrent goals and projects I want to accomplish those goals without spending significant time and energy managing tasks so that I make more progress.”

This isn’t about checking to feel productive, it’s about real movement toward meaningful goals - by showing you the next step (as you arranged it) and then getting out of your way.

And it isn’t just about efficiency. Another user story captures a deeper need to be addressed:

‘As an individual in a culture that pressures one to continually optimize themselves, I want my task management program to help me accomplish goals without adding stress or self-recrimination.’

That’s why this app won’t track streaks, send guilt-inducing reminders, or punish you for pausing. It assumes you’re doing your best—and helps you keep moving forward, gently.

To start with, I am going to stay tightly focused on the basics:

• multiple boards, each with a simple to-do => in-progress => done set of columns
• a unified To Do list that shows all in-progress tasks in one place
• automatic pulls: when you mark a task done the next task from that board offers itself as a new in-progress item
• local-only, no cloud features or internet connection required - your data is yours

I will be building this in Python and QtQuick/QML, which is a new toolkit for me, but one that offers great flexibility while still integrating with different platforms. I’ll be sharing what I learn, including design decisions, technical hurdles, and progress in future posts.

Takeaways

If an idea gets its hooks into you - if you get and stay excited about it - it’s worth exploring. Not because it might become a product, but because the act of building fosters creativity, improves your understanding, and hones your skills.

Next time

I’ll share UI sketches, core design decisions (like why there are no task dependencies), and the foundational principles guiding this project.

Photo credit: Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash