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In manufacturing, we have a process called the PDCA cycle: Plan-Do-Check-Adjust. You make your plan of action, you implement it, then you check to see if you're getting the results you expected, and make adjustments to your plan. Since it's the end of January, it's time to check-adjust how I'm doing on my New Year, New Me plan.
Write Every Day
Check: I've made a good start here. Not writing every day but #AmWriting. You are my witness.
Adjust: I'm going to get a journal that I can write in more often than just what I'm posting here.
Make Local Friends
Check: Didn't make much progress here until late last week. My boss had the lead team over to his house and the wives and I decided we're going to start our own book club. Super excited about this because A) They all acceded to having the same trouble making friends in a new city (production leaders get moved around fairly often in my company), and B) I've been wanting to join a book club since I got here but haven't figured out how to "find" one.
Adjust: Make some hard plans to get the book club started, decide how we'll function, when and where we'll meet, pick the first book, etc.
Practice Yoga
Check: Okay, been killing this one! I've done AM yoga every morning that I go to work - weekends and snow days excluded. I started out with a 15-minute back stretch and have now expanded into other practices. I've done a few PM restorative practices too.
Adjust: Just keep doing what you're doing.
De-Clutter My House
Check: I tackled my kitchen table and pet storage area one weekend. That was a good starting place because it is the messiest, most cluttered, catch-all in my house.
In manufacturing, we have another system called 5S: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. It's a method to reduce waste and organize the work space for efficiency. I am the 5S Champion at my mill. Which doesn't by a long stretch of the imagination make me the expert. But I held some 5S Audit Training this month and I realized that what I'm calling "de-cluttering" is 5Sing my home.
I sorted through all the stuff on the table, throwing out things we don't need, removing things we need but not on the kitchen table. Then I set all of the pet supplies in order - two food storage bins for adult dry food and puppy dry food; lidded storage bin for cookies and treats and another for medicine and paraphernalia. Once everything was cleared off, I wiped it all down with disinfectant wipes (shine). Standardizing would include labeling, min/max, making it obvious to anyone when things are in or out of place. Not sure that's really applicable to my kitchen table.
Adjust: Now we find ourselves at Sustain. It is hands-down the hardest part, both at work and at home. I would give us a C (maybe a C-) on sustaining my de-cluttering efforts at the kitchen table. I have to do better there. And then go to the next most-needed site: The top of my bedroom dresser.
How are your 2018 objectives going?
