Kaizen: a plan to achieve the goal

Что отличает цель от мечты? Прежде всего — план. Если у вас есть план достижения цели, вы готовы идти к ней. Как приучить себя действовать планомерно? Используйте кайдзен-вопросы!

Translated from Japanese, “kaizen” means “improvement, change for the better.” This practice was born in Japan after World War II, influenced by American self-organization techniques and traditions with local roots.

By the way, the period of active use of kaizen coincides with the rise of the Japanese economy – a phenomenon that was later dubbed the “economic miracle” of Japan. From the world of entrepreneurship, kaizen methods have migrated to the sphere of everyday life.

What is special about kaizen?

The main advantage of kaizen technique is its maximum specificity and consistency: all the goals that you set for yourself must be methodically sorted out point by point. Starting from the most prosaic “put things in order in the house”, and ending with the global “gain financial well-being and high status”.

Another important feature is awareness. If we want to make a working plan to achieve the goal, it is important not only to motivate ourselves every morning, but also to monitor our progress, constantly push ourselves and celebrate every step we take.

Что лежит в основе практики?

The foundation of kaizen is guiding questions that you need to ask yourself periodically. They range in size: from small ones that you can spend no more than 30 seconds on – “What should I choose for lunch to lose weight?”, To large ones that reflect the meaning of our lives – “What would I like to do to feel satisfied from work?”

Complex ones are needed in order to outline the direction of movement, and small ones are needed directly to work on the goal. There are four principles that will help you come up with small but precise questions:

• Specifics. In order to quickly work on the goal, you need to ask a question clearly and clearly.
• Реалистичность. Вопрос должен быть сформулирован так, чтобы стимулировать вас к действию. Чем меньше вам нужно, чтобы совершить это действие, тем больше шанс, что вы не остановитесь на полпути.
• Sequence. Move on to a new question only when you have dealt with the previous one.
• Регулярность. Не пропускайте ни одного дня. Если случайно пропустили, задайте вопрос дважды на следующий день — утром и вечером.

How to practice kaizen?

Для начала выберите цель, которой вы бы хотели добиться. Допустим, вы хотите научиться печь капкейки. Спросите себя: какой конкретный шаг я могу предпринять, чтобы приблизиться к цели?

Avoid questions that cannot be answered as specifically. Let’s say, before writing this article, I asked myself the question: “What specific useful idea do I want to express with this article?”.

The answer is clear: “What I’m saying is that kaizen is a convenient way to organize your thinking in such a way that you consistently achieve your goals.”

Write down your question and ask yourself regularly, preferably at the same time every day. Give yourself some time to think and write down your answers.

Не пытайтесь придумать нечто умное и существенное. Если ничего не получается — пишите первое, что приходит в голову. Любые ответы, которые рождаются в течение дня, тоже нужно фиксировать.

Remember that your brain can find the answer to a question not only while you are working on a task, but also while you are doing other things or even sleeping. Moreover, it is often during rest that creative forces are released.

Once a week, review whether your question is relevant now. Perhaps you have already learned how to bake cupcakes and want to move on to more complex dishes? Or do you want to put your knowledge into practice?

Then it would be more appropriate to ask: “What can I do to demonstrate my culinary skills to others?”