So a while back I was thinking about kaizen and applying it to my life. I first learned about this term while reading The Lexus Story, a behind the scenes look at the establishment of Toyota’s luxury division.
I have decided to apply it to my daily life. This post is mostly so that I will have no excuse if I don’t follow through with it. The plan involves the following.
- Keeping a list of problems that need solving always in mind.
- Preventing “boredom” from ever occurring, and should not because of #1.
- Keeping a list of 5 areas to improve on personally always in mind.
- Constantly being aware of time spent on all tasks, as well as a focus on efficiency wherever possible.
- Crushing the “id” which is rather overpowering and results in foolish decision making as it disregards investment. (This is all assuming my understanding of the concept of id is correct, as it seems to basically be the force that demands immediate satisfaction).
- Constant learning about everything.
The only problem I see is that setting specific time goals for certain tasks might interfere with the quality of work. Alternatively, it could train you to produce the same quality of work at a faster rate, but it’s hard to say which would result.
This sounds like a good plan. I know that I waste a lot of time worrying or “doing something else” when I should, by my own definition, be doing something else. You are correct about the Id (the “it” in German) It wants what it wants when it wants it. The Superego is all the relevant rules and restraints we learn from parents, religion, the law, peers, etc. The much maligned Ego, at least as Freud envisioned it, was the peacemaker between the other two, making the best acceptable compromise to carry into behavior. All three were theoretical constructs, used to explain decision making processes at different stages of life, not real things that could be located in a specific place. The upshot on the last paragraph would be to try it out and see what does or doesn’t work, then modify it to better suit your needs.
Peace, Doc