Archive for March, 2008
Why have a personal kaizen event?
For those you know me, you know I have many interests. My educational and personal background indicates this, and as a result I generally try to garner knowledge from various disciplines to inform aspects of my life. In short, I try to take lessons learned and improve.
Over the last few years I began feeling a little burned out. A combination of gaining yet another advanced degree, trying to grow a business and raising a toddler with my wife proved to be quite challenging. I’m sure many others are in a similar position and I began thinking… why am I burned out at age 35? Why are so many others? Isn’t that about 5-10 years before I should be having a mid-life crisis? So, I started thinking how to break through and recharge.
After working at a local Atlanta interactive agency for the last four months and getting a project pointed in the right direction, I decided it was time for my own personal kaizen event. Kaizen is a concept usually associated with Six Sigma and relates to slow, continuous improvement. Kaizen events usually involve rapid improvement in a very specific area or process and can be quite disruptive.
I realized that between mind, body and soul, I have spent the most time in my adult life on the mind and soul. This has been a positive, but with my family’s gene pool on display it also means that one important and impactful part of my life has been largely ignored. So, instead of getting another degree, or starting a business, or doing anything, I’m taking a moment to relax my mind and exercise more. I’ll write a lot about this and the challenges I face along the way.
The first step is for me to create an actual workout spreadsheet with reasonable expectations that I can follow, as well as a weight chart. I’ll share this once I put it together.