From moving pebbles to boulders; the amazing effect of Kaizen

Life happens while you made other plans. In the midst of that is your daily reality. Like I planned to write one blog at least each month. Yeah, that didn’t happen and I have at least 12 excuses why, but it all came down to overwhelm and lack of focus. I wasn’t in flow state and my house was certainly not in a flow state.

In the process of understanding how to tackle this chaos, some Japanse concepts caught my eye. I specifically looked at Kaizen to try to find ways to create more rest and possibly even some peace in my life.

Yes, I know, this sounds dramatic. I don’t mean to be, but being fed up with being chased by chaos, drama, deadlines, chores and things being a mess (I mean that literally) has its limits.

Kaizen

Kaizen is the process of continuous improvement with small positive changes. Small and positive. That sounds good, right? The concept has a balance and natural flow to it and that really resonated with me.

Also the “work in progress”-feel to it really spoke to me; you don’t have to get it right the first time. Instead, you start and make small adjustments as you go along. That sounded doable in the current state of my life!

So, I took on the quest to improve at least one thing daily. But with one big rule; it needed to fit  into our lives like a glove. And that meant taking into account our flaws, quirkiness, our needs and our habits.

The pile of boulders versus pebbles

I haven’t been able to take care of the house for over two years due to an accident I had. Ever since the accident I had to let things slide. An now it’s not just walls that need fixing and doors that need painting. Also, the kids are older now and have different needs and habits. So the list of chores to do is pretty long, but there aren’t only big chores (like painting the walls) on them. I have a replica of Theoden's sword that was sitting in the box in came in for months.

For the longest time, it felt like I had build up the energy first to be able to move the biggest boulders. But the Kaizen method challenges that state of mind.

That’s’ why I just got started and kept myself from making a long (and depressing) list of everything that needed to be done; I started with just one “pebble”.

The sword I was talking about; I picked a spot on the wall, measured where I wanted to drill the hole and took it from there. And now it's like a centerpiece of my living room.

So in my mind, just those small pebbles, created a landslide that made moving the boulder possible.

A few days after that I repaired holes in the wall with putty in 15 minutes. The next day I sanded the dried putty, made some further repairs and it took me no longer than 10 minutes. And with just 25 minutes in two days, my hallway already was in much better shape.

This boosted my energy like nothing else and I finally had the energy to paint half of the walls in the hallway. It took me less than half a day. I finished the day after in under two hours.

My Herugrim sword finally got a prominent place in my living room

You cannot push a river

With this upgraded hallway it was time to improve the decoration too. For this I also asked my kids what they liked on the walls. They have cool taste and some great ideas. I got their input and went to work on some simple sketches on the computer. After the sketches were finished I got their input again and we decided together how things would turn out.

It’s important to know that I asked them to check on the sketches when they felt like it. I also gave space when they wanted to think things over first. I didn’t rush or tried to “push the river”.

I admit, this was a bit of a challenge when I was all fired up, enthusiastic and in my get-stuff-done-mode. But I really wanted them to feel like they were part of the decision making process too and not pushed into it. So I had to adjust my speed to theirs a bit.

And you know what’s funny? It was just a short moment that I had to swallow my ego. An hour later I was totally fine with waiting a couple of days. What’s also very funny to me, is that the total layout of the hallway took less than an hour. That time was just divided up in 8 days…

And now the hallway looks great and it’s really US.

How would it look like if it was easy?

I use this question by Tim Ferris often and it’s a very valuable one. It helped me Kaizen the set up of my painting station by really thinking about how I create most effortlessly. This led to a better equipped and more accessible work space.

I got rid of a lot of extra tubes of non-professional paint, pencils and other stuff I never used anymore, but somehow always were on display. Making the setup more simple, helps my focus. I can already tell this improved my work and I experience more joy creating.

Now there’s a box ready to be donated to the local thrift store so all the materials can be used by someone in need for hobby paint.

Less is more; less tubes, less overwhelm and more focus

The secret of success

These are just some small examples of how easy and effective this method works. I was surprised how fast I really experienced the improvements on so many levels. I can honestly say I experience more rest, focus, space and yes, even peace.

The secret of succes in this case is that it’s all about deduction and refinement in simple and calm steps. Like chipping away everything that doesn’t hold up to your ideals and giving more space (at times literally) to what does. You gradually remove what’s not working and you upgrade your living space.

Of course this insight is not new, but to me the way of achieving this more effortlessly was. It ws Kaizen with a twist of Marie Kondo and Tim Ferris.

So I came up with my very own tailored Kaizen-flavoured recipe to really attack the clutter in my head and house. I share it, just in case you might benefit from it;

• Keep it simple, less is more; downsize to create space and focus. What would it look like if it were easy (Tim Ferris).

• Be brutally honest with yourself; think of how you function best and not how you should function best. Give room to your quirkiness, habits and flaws.

• Don’t be in a rush; take time to complete something. It will make you enjoy your small wins even more; if you have an overload of ideas (like I do), write them down in a small booklet. I brain dump regularly and come back to them later. Works great!

• Go with the vibe and energy; if you’re tired or not in the mood; just pick one 10 second chore. If you have time and energy, then move the bigger boulders. But to it daily; it builds a habit that’s very powerful.

• If you need others to work with you; take their vibe and energy in account too. Don’t look at the clock or hold on to your own idea of what the deadline should be. Remember,  you can’t push a river and it takes a lot of energy to fight the current.

• When sorting through stuff; keep only what is necessary, useful or sparks joy (yes, some Marie Kondo in there!). What’s broken goes intro the trash, find a permanent place for the things that bring you joy (not in a box, but somewhere more prominent)

• Get rid of the rest; sell it or donate it. There are many good causes around who will put the things you let go of to good use.

I hope this gave you a little nudge to Kaizen your life your way too!