Kanban board setup
The Tasks section in Ultrathink displays your tasks on a Kanban board, a visual layout where tasks are organised into columns that represent stages of your workflow. You can drag tasks between columns, reorder them within a column, and configure the board to match how you work.
This page covers the default board layout, how drag and drop works, column width options, and how tasks map to columns.
Accessing the Kanban board
- Click Tasks in the sidebar
- The Kanban board loads as the default view, showing all your tasks organised into columns
The board displays every entry with the entity type set to Task. Entries with other entity types (Knowledge, Project, Unclassified) do not appear on the board.
Default columns
Every new Ultrathink account comes with four default columns:
| Column | Purpose | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Backlog | Tasks to do eventually | Captured tasks that have not been prioritised yet |
| To Do | Tasks planned for soon | Work you intend to start in the near future |
| In Progress | Currently working on | Active tasks you are making progress on |
| Done | Completed tasks | Finished work |
These columns represent a simple workflow that suits most use cases. You can rename, reorder, or add to them; see Custom columns for details.
How tasks enter the board
When an entry is classified as a task (either by AI auto-classification or by manually setting the entity type), it is placed in the Backlog column by default. From there, you move it through columns as you work on it.
Drag and drop
The Kanban board supports full drag and drop for organising your tasks.
Moving tasks between columns
- Click and hold a task card
- Drag it to the target column
- Release to drop it in place
When you move a task to a different column, its status updates automatically based on the column's status mapping. For example, dragging a task from To Do to In Progress changes its status to "In Progress".
Reordering within a column
- Click and hold a task card within its current column
- Drag it up or down to the desired position
- Release to set the new order
Your custom order is saved per column and persists across browser sessions. If you close and reopen Ultrathink, your tasks remain in the positions you set.
Drag and drop tips
- You can drop a task at any position within a column, not just at the top or bottom
- Dragging a task to an empty column places it as the only card in that column
- If a column has many tasks, scroll within the column while dragging to reach cards further down
Column width options
Each column can be set to one of three widths to control how much horizontal space it takes on the board:
| Width | Best for |
|---|---|
| Narrow | Columns with fewer tasks or shorter titles |
| Medium | General-purpose width (the default) |
| Wide | Columns with many tasks or tasks with longer titles |
To change a column's width:
- Go to Settings > Display > Kanban
- Find the column you want to resize
- Select the desired width from the width dropdown
- The board updates immediately
Mixing widths across columns lets you give more screen space to the columns you use most. For example, you might set In Progress to wide and Done to narrow.
How tasks map to columns
Each Kanban column has an associated task status. This mapping controls what happens to a task's status when you drag it into a column.
Default status mapping
| Column | Mapped status |
|---|---|
| Backlog | Not Started |
| To Do | Not Started |
| In Progress | In Progress |
| Done | Done |
When you drag a task into a column, Ultrathink automatically sets the task's status to match the column's mapped status. This keeps the status field and the board position in sync without requiring you to update both manually.
Changing status from the detail panel
You can also change a task's status directly:
- Click on a task to open the detail panel
- Find the Status dropdown
- Select a new status
The task moves to the appropriate column on the board based on the status you selected. If multiple columns share the same status mapping (for example, Backlog and To Do both map to "Not Started"), the task stays in its current column unless you drag it.
Column settings
Beyond width, each column has additional settings you can configure:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The title displayed at the top of the column |
| Colour | A colour indicator shown on the column header |
| Icon | An optional emoji displayed next to the column name |
All column settings are managed from Settings > Display > Kanban. Changes take effect immediately on the board.
Board layout recommendations
Here are a few approaches to setting up your board, depending on your workflow:
Simple personal workflow
Use the four default columns as they are. Move tasks left to right as you work through them. This works well for individual task management with a straightforward process.
Team-style workflow
Add columns for review or approval stages:
- Backlog, To Do, In Progress, Review, QA, Done
Project-based workflow
Use custom columns to reflect your project phases:
- Planning, Design, Development, Testing, Shipped
For instructions on adding and configuring custom columns, see Custom columns.
Next steps
- Custom columns: add, rename, and reorder columns on your board
- Task workflows: move tasks through statuses and apply filters
- Creating tasks: learn how to add new tasks to your board