# Run the work board for a day

> **What you will learn**
> Not a chapter to read but one to **do**. Put three conversations on the board
> and see with your own hands **how the four states actually change.**

## What you need

```
□ 20 minutes
□ One workspace
□ Three small things you genuinely have to do today
   · pick things that resolve in about five minutes
```

If you have no workspace yet, do [creating an account and a
workspace](/guide/cn-signup) first.

**They have to be real.** Feed it practice questions and the board looks like a
practice tool, and then the states never justify themselves.

---

## Step 1 — Throw all three at once (5 min)

Start each one **as its own conversation.** Do not finish one before starting the
next.

```
e.g.
  Conversation A  "Draft an agenda for next week's team meeting; here are last week's notes"
  Conversation B  "Check the line items on this quote against the total"
  Conversation C  "Three sentences telling a client the schedule has moved"
```

### What to look for

```
□ Did all three appear as cards on the board?
□ How is each card's state shown?
□ Can you open another card while one is still working?  <- this is the difference
```

**The third is the point.** If you can look at the others while one runs, it is
work; if you have to wait, it is just a chat window.

---

## Step 2 — Manufacture each state (10 min)

Reproduce the [four states](/guide/cn-work-board) one at a time.

| State to create | How |
|---|---|
| In progress | send a long request and leave it |
| Replied | get a short answer and go back to the board **without opening it** |
| Your turn | read the answer and follow up — "more detail on the second one only" |
| Archived | archive one finished card |

```
□ You saw all four states on screen
□ You can explain the difference between "replied" and "your turn"
```

**Most people hesitate at the second line.** An answer arriving and you owing
something are not the same thing. That distinction is why the board exists.

---

## Step 3 — Archive and verify (5 min)

Archive one card and check **it still looks right from a teammate's view.** If
you are alone, switch between the tabs at the top.

```
□ Did the archived card leave the default view?
□ Does it come back when you switch tabs?
□ Is the content still there?   <- check this one
```

**Do check the third.** Plenty of people mistake archive for delete and then
never use it. Confirming it once makes it comfortable forever after.

---

## Self-check

```
□ You ran three at once
□ You saw all four states
□ You can state the difference between "replied" and "your turn" in one sentence
□ You confirmed with your eyes that archive is not delete
```

If the third fails, go back to step 2. **Without that distinction you will use
the board as a notification list, and then you will stop using it.**

---

## Check yourself

**1. Why start all three at once instead of finishing one at a time?**

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>

**Not having to wait is the whole point of the board.** Being able to look at the
others while one runs makes them work items; waiting one at a time makes it a chat
window.
</details>

**2. How do "replied" and "your turn" differ?**

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>

**An answer arriving is not the same as you owing something.** Some answers end
there and some need a follow-up. The board only works as a to-do list because it
separates the two.
</details>

**3. Why archive one yourself?**

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>

**Because many people mistake it for delete.** Archiving once and seeing the
content still there makes tidying up feel safe from then on.
</details>

---

Next, how to create an account →
[Creating an account and workspace](/guide/cn-signup)