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A weekly planner tells you when to work. A Kanban board helps you decide what to start, what to finish and what is already complete. This exercise uses six fictional tasks, without projects or automations.
1. Prepare your task list
In a practice database, keep the title property and add a Status property. Use three options: Not started, In progress and Done. Keep an unfiltered table named All tasks.
Already using our weekly planner? Practise separately first: that recipe uses a Done checkbox. Adding Status does not automatically synchronise it with the checkbox. Decide on one completion rule before combining the two setups.
2. Add a board view
Use + beside the current view and choose Board. On a narrow screen, open the view name and look for New view. Name it Task board. In the view settings, open Group and select Status. These controls are described in Notion’s board documentation.
Try six practice tasks
This is an illustrative dataset, not a screenshot or downloadable template. Enter these records in your practice database.
| Task | Status |
|---|---|
| Outline proposal | Not started |
| Collect reference images | Not started |
| Prepare review notes | Not started |
| Draft homepage copy | In progress |
| Check mobile layout | In progress |
| Send meeting summary | Done |
Not started · 3
- Outline proposal
- Collect reference images
- Prepare review notes
In progress · 2
- Draft homepage copy
- Check mobile layout
Done · 1
- Send meeting summary
3. Check one move
Leave the board unfiltered and keep all three groups visible for this test. Move Outline proposal into In progress. Return to All tasks and inspect its Status.
What should change?
The task should have Status = In progress. Your board should contain two Not started tasks, three In progress tasks and one Done task. All tasks should still contain six records. Restore Outline proposal to Not started afterwards.
4. Keep the board readable
Choose a compact card size under Layout. Under Property visibility, show only details needed to choose your next task. Start with the task name; add a deadline only when it helps you make a decision.
Before starting another task, ask whether you can finish one already in progress. For this exercise, try keeping no more than two active tasks. That is a working habit, not a limit enforced by this board.
Why is a card missing?
Find it in All tasks. Then check the board’s filters, its grouping property and any hidden groups. A filtered or hidden card has not necessarily been deleted. View settings apply separately to each view.
Three mistakes that make a board harder to trust
Using two completion rules. A Done checkbox and a Status property can disagree. If you keep both, decide which one your views use and check the same task in All tasks. Do not assume a card move also changes a separate checkbox.
Treating a hidden column as an empty database. A compact board can intentionally hide finished work. Before recreating a missing task, find its original record and inspect the board’s filters and hidden groups.
Showing every property on every card. Start with the task title. Add a property when it helps you choose or finish work. A board is easier to scan when each card answers the same small set of questions.
Before using the board for real work, move one practice task, check its underlying Status, then restore it. This small test checks the connection between your visual workflow and the record you rely on.
Check the board before and after two moves
Use the six practice tasks above, with no filters and all three groups visible. Perform these moves in sequence. Each row below describes the state after that step, not a separate starting point.
| Step | Not started | In progress | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original six tasks | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Move Outline proposal to In progress | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Then move Draft homepage copy to Done | 2 | 2 | 2 |
All tasks should still contain six records. Check the Status property on both moved tasks, then restore Outline proposal to Not started and Draft homepage copy to In progress. The original counts should return.
A short review before starting more work
Inspect In progress first. For each task, write one concrete next action in its page: for example, “finish the first paragraph” or “check the navigation on a narrow screen.” If you cannot act because somebody else must answer, record the missing input and your follow-up action instead of silently treating the task as finished.
Use the waiting-on-feedback guide for client dependencies. A task’s progress stage and its deadline answer different questions; review dates separately using the overdue tasks guide, adapting its completion rule to your chosen Status property.
If a whole stage is missing, use the missing board column checklist to separate grouping, visibility and filter problems.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need another database for the board?
No. Add a Board view to your existing task database. The table and board display the same records.
Does moving a card change its status?
When the board is grouped by Status, moving a card to another status column updates that property. Check the same task in your All tasks table.
Can I hide completed tasks without deleting them?
Yes. Hide the Done group or filter the view to exclude Done. Keep your All tasks table unfiltered so you can still find completed records.
Why does my board show different columns?
Check the Group setting. Select Status, review its options and check for hidden groups. Grouping by another property produces different columns.
Does the board enforce a limit on tasks in progress?
The two-task limit in this guide is a working habit, not a restriction configured in the board. Count your active tasks before starting another one and decide which existing task to finish or pause.