Lean into Productivity: 5 Methods for Personal Efficiency

In the recent decades lean manufacturing has established itself as the go-to form of organizing manufacturing. It improves the value for the customer, reduces lead times, waste & scrap and improves product quality.

There exist many lean methods. Some of them are tied to manufacturing exclusively, others are more general and applicable in different scenarios. Starting from the early 2000s, lean principles have extended their influence beyond traditional manufacturing and ventured into diverse domains, including software development and the startup sector.

In this article, I aim to draw from my experiences of lean in the manufacturing sector and translate them into the context of personal productivity.

Photo by Simon Kadula on Unsplash

Avoid Waste

Minimizing waste is a foundational element of Lean, underscoring its status as a principle rather than a distinct Lean methodology. Taiichi Ohno, the famous father of the Toyota Production System, uses the word “muda” - the Japanese word for an activity that is senseless, devoid of meaning or benefit.

How can you apply this principle to boost your personal productivity?

In the context of personal productivity, “waste” refers to any time, effort, or resources that are expended on activities, tasks, or habits that do not contribute to one’s overall goals, well-being, or desired outcomes. This can include activities that are unproductive, time-consuming, or not aligned with one’s priorities. Identifying and minimizing such waste is a fundamental aspect of enhancing personal productivity.

How do you identify waste? A straight-forward approach is to have a look on the 8 types of waste:

1. Defects: Be mindful of your actions: avoid errors before they occur.
2. Overproduction: Avoid perfectionism.
3. Transportation: Digital Solution reduce the need of physical transportation.
4. Non-value added processing: Define a concrete goal and do not overshoot.
5. Motion: Organize your tasks for efficiency.
6. Waiting: Have a “quick-win-action” list at hand to utilize waiting times productively.
7. Inventory: Keep a tidy working environment.
8. Unused Talent: Make use of delegation.

Kaizen: continously improve

Avoiding waste is nothing you can accomplish within a day. Avoiding waste is a constant process of getting better. The Japanease word Kaizen that means “good change,” “change for the better,” or simply “improvement.” Kaizen is used as synonym for continous improvement.

And how do you continously improve personally? By learning.

Learning is the cradle of innovation.

To foster a conducive learning environment, Cross-Functional Teams are an excellent starting point as e.g. Eric Ries notes in The Lean Startup. When individuals venture into areas beyond their primary expertise, they inevitably encounter a learning curve: once they conquer the initial challenges, the learning process begins.

This principle holds true within a team context, but the concept of constructing a learning-oriented atmosphere can also be applied to personal productivity.

Innovation often demands venturing beyond the ordinary tasks. Learning thrives when we face challenges. A general guideline suggests that the ideal learning condition arises when a task is just slightly more demanding than what we believe we can handle. However, there’s a delicate balance; if we become excessively overwhelmed, our ability to learn takes a nosedive.

The 5 Why Method

Picture this: You’re faced with a tricky problem, and you’re on a quest for the ultimate solution. That’s where the “5 Why Method” swoops in like a problem-solving superhero. It’s a simple yet incredibly effective technique that peels away the layers of a problem like an onion, helping you get to the root cause by asking “Why?” five times.

It is that simple.

The method dates back to the origins of lean and was developed by Taiichi Ohno. I will use his original example to showcase how the method works:

1. “Why did the robot stop?” The circuit has overloaded, causing a fuse to blow.

2. “Why is the circuit overloaded?” There was insufficient lubrication on the bearings, so they locked up.

3. “Why was there insufficient lubrication on the bearings?” The oil pump on the robot is not circulating sufficient oil.

4. “Why is the pump not circulating sufficient oil?” The pump intake is clogged with metal shavings.

5. “Why is the intake clogged with metal shavings?” Because there is no filter on the pump.

One-Piece-Flow: make use of small batches

Working in small batches is a feature inherent to lean: it stems from the Toyota Production System.

One-piece flow is a production method that emphasizes the continuous and seamless movement of individual items or products through a process, from start to finish, with minimal interruptions or delays. This approach prioritizes efficiency, quality, and flexibility by ensuring that each unit is completed and passed on to the next stage before starting to work on the next one. It reduces batch sizes and minimizes work-in-progress inventory and promotes a just-in-time workflow.

Why is it so powerful?

If you work in small batches you will discover errors much quicker and if you do, you did not “produce” a lot of scrap.

But how do you apply it in personal productivity?

One feature you can extract from the One-piece flow strategy is to work just on one product - or in the case of productivity one task at a time. We as humans are terrible at multi-tasking. Actually; we cannot even do multi-tasking at all. If we are working on multiple tasks in parallel, we are constantly switching between the tasks and this switiching needs energy.

So, it is much more efficient to work on one task at a time.

Just-in-time

Just-In-Time (JIT) is possibly one of the most renowned concepts in lean manufacturing, popularized by the influential lean book, “The Machine That Changed the World”.

It is a production and inventory management strategy that ensures that materials, components, and products are delivered or produced exactly when they are needed and not a moment sooner. This minimizes waste and eliminates excess inventory thereby reducing storage costs. JIT requires effective supply chain management, close collaboration with suppliers, and robust processes to function effectively.

When applied to personal productivity, Just-in-Time doesn’t imply procrastinating until shortly before a deadline to begin a task: instead, it involves making thoughtful decisions about prioritization. It also includes optimizing time management, streamlining communication, and regularly reviewing and adjusting your processes for continuous improvement (see Kaizen).

By implementing JIT in personal productivity, you can reduce waste, enhance efficiency, and improve the overall quality of your work.