When you think of kanban, Notion is probably the last service that comes to mind. After all, Notion is more of a note-taking app on steroids that just happens to be able to bend into the shape of a project management tool.
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That doesn’t mean that you cannot add kanban-like boards to Notion: You can. With this board view in place, you can enjoy columns, cards, drag and drop, statuses, priorities, assignees and many of the features you’d find in more traditional kanban solutions.
Once you start using the Notion board view, you’ll find it just as viable as any other option in the market. You can add new columns, add various blocks to cards and much more to make Notion not just a kanban knockoff, but also a serious contender for your project management needs. I would never consider Notion an option for larger complex projects, but for smaller, simpler projects, this is a great tool.
What you’ll need to create a board view in Notion
To create a board view in Notion, you’ll only need a valid Notion account. This can be a free account or one of the paid tiers.
Creating a board view in Notion
Either log in to the Notion website or open the Notion desktop and log in to your account. Once you’ve done that, either select an existing database from the left pane (Figure A) or click the New drop-down and create an Empty Page.
Figure A
Once you have the database or page in question open, you should see a toolbar that includes either the default views or any views you’ve created. For example, in Figure B, you’ll see the All Docs, Created By Me, Stakeholders Include Me, In Review and +.
Figure B
Click + to reveal a drop-down menu that includes the view options (Figure C).
Figure C
Click Board and the view will automatically be added. You should also give the new view a name. To do so, type the name in the View Name text field. Once you’ve named the board, you can also customize some of the card options and then scroll down and click Done to save the view.
You will now see a fairly basic kanban board with a few default columns. You can rename those columns as needed by clicking on the name, giving it a new title and clicking Done (Figure D).
Figure D
And there you have it. You now have a kanban-like board view in Notion. With this addition, Notion is better capable of serving as a management tool for your smaller projects.
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