Using the Kaizen method for personal growth and success

Everyone has goals, but you may never get started if they seem too complex. One way to approach your most ambitious goals is to play the long game. Instead of jumping in feet first, take the incremental road to change.

The Kaizen method, made popular in Japan by brands like Toyota, focuses on small, consistent changes. Businesses like it for building sustained improvements. It’s popular for implementing lean manufacturing and boosting business processes. The Kaizen approach is also an effective way to start working on self-improvement.

Learn more about Kaizen and how to apply its fundamentals to personal development.

In business, the Kaizen process is a whole-business approach. It encourages efficiency and lean operations in every role. Through incremental progress, the Kaizen philosophy can enhance productivity, quality, and business performance. Kaizen is also used in other settings. For instance, a hospital used the Kaizen method to reduce a specific, common patient injury.

Although Kaizen was born in the business world, this science-backed practice can be used for many types of improvements, from industrial improvements to personal goals. The keys to business success also apply to fitness goals, personal finance, and general skill-building.

Kaizen as a personal development vs. business philosophy

Articles about Kaizen often focus on how to use it for business development. But with a few adjustments, you can use the method to improve your personal performance in any area. Since Kaizen strives for gradual progress, it’s an accessible framework for change. If you find big, sudden changes intimidating, Kaizen may be a great fit for your needs.

In business, Kaizen calls for collective efforts to improve group efficiency and productivity. It requires leaders to encourage teamwork and track employee performance. The company uses the data to assess the operational results. One study highlights how Kaizen has been shown to improve employee well-being.

In personal development, you only need to focus on your own efforts. Personal goals are easy to track. You can use a simple notebook or spreadsheet, or download a goal-tracking app. Apps can also provide daily reminders to work on your goals.

Some goal-attainment practices (like manifestation methods) focus on visualization. Kaizen focuses on action. Its effectiveness is the concept of compounding returns. A 1% behavior change occurring every day over a month yields better results than a drastic, immediate effort to change. Kaizen is useful whether developing a habit or learning something new.

The 3 pillars of Kaizen & why they're relevant to your personal development 

When learning how to better yourself, start with your environment. With good organization, creating routines supporting incremental improvement becomes easier. Kaizen recognizes the importance of environment (whether workplace environment or personal) as it relates to goal attainment.

The method outlines three pillars of organization that set the stage for success:

1. Housekeeping

In the Kaizen method, "housekeeping" goes beyond its traditional meaning of maintaining cleanliness. It follows the five principles of 5S to create the right conditions for success. Each of these five components addresses a specific obstacle to progress:

• Sort: This means gathering things into their logical categories. Keep only what you need within the workspace, and organize it well. 
  • For instance, reserve the kitchen for food prep and cooking only. Find a home for the tools, stationery, and incidental items that often end up in kitchen drawers. With less clutter and distraction, you will be more productive. You'll encounter fewer distractions and have more mental and physical space to work.
• Set in order: Setting your tools in order creates ease of access. We see examples of this principle in everyday life:
  • A place setting always follows a familiar order and sequence of utensils
  • A well-organized pantry places the most useful ingredients within easy reach
  • The flow of a grocery store puts common items on the perimeter for quick access

Arranging things in order of use makes the next steps automatic. You won't interrupt the flow of work searching for the right tool.

• Shine: This is the practice of intermittently cleaning the workspace or setting it up for the next use. Some professional organizers suggest "closing duties" for your kitchen every night. This sets the space up for use the next day.
• Standardize: Set some best practices or a template for your goal achievement. Perform the task the same way every time, with the same environment and tools. 
• Sustain: Keep the momentum of your goal by maintaining the other four S-factors. Maintain the practice each day and build on your improvement as you go.

The principles of 5S allow you to organize your working environment so that every item has a place and purpose. The framework reduces the time used searching for items, tools, or information. When you organize your life, you can increase your efficiency and productivity.

2. Elimination of waste

Eliminating waste (called “muda” in Japanese) helps you identify and remove unnecessary processes, activities, or items. Anything that doesn't add value to your individual development can, and should, go. 

Waste isn't only about physical resources. Remove wasteful habits, tasks, steps, and possessions to streamline your efforts. Clearing the excess lets you focus on activities that help you achieve the goal. For instance, getting rid of expired pantry items creates more efficiency in the kitchen. Throwing out or donating old tools or unused appliances creates more space for useful items.

You can streamline a process the same way. For instance, make a meal plan and grocery list instead of free-styling based on what's in the kitchen. Shop for the week and organize ingredients by day. It will simultaneously cut down on shopping time, meal prep, and food waste.

3. Standardization

Standardization means deciding what level of performance is acceptable for your goal. Standards set minimum performance, expected time for tasks, and how you'll measure improvement.

For instance, if you spend more time than you’d like preparing meals every week, your goal may be to reduce your cooking time. To do so, you'll need to meet a few standards:

• Have your meal plan and shopping done ahead of time
• Organize your prep and cooking activities for efficiency and effectiveness (such as having tools within reach and ingredients collected for use)
• Start with a clean and neat kitchen
• Outline your expectations for each meal (time to prep, nutrition, etc.)

Standardization helps you understand your goal and build a routine to achieve it. Standards provide a guideline for quality management, from stocking to cleanup. It also lets you quantify success: the right meals, nutrition, and efficient prep time. If one area falls behind (for instance, if you can’t prepare meals in the time you have for the task), you'll know what needs to improve. 

5 steps to apply Kaizen outside of work to achieve your goals

Kaizen helps you reach a big, ambitious goal through consistent effort. It works well for short-term goals or setting and achieving bigger goals. In Kaizen, this process is called plan-do-check-act (PDCA). Use these steps to apply Kaizen to any self-improvement goal:

1. Identify your goal

What do you want to achieve? The most important part of incremental improvement is understanding your goal. Goal-setting helps you in two ways:

1. You'll define what you want (and why).
2. You'll understand the time and effort required to achieve it.

By identifying a goal, you'll know your baseline and your rate of incremental increase. For instance, if you don't currently read at all, you can build up to an hour of daily reading by adding one minute per day. In two months, you'll have achieved your goal and established a daily routine.

2. Address areas of wasted time, energy, or resources

Personal goals often call on you to change how you manage your time. Identify time pockets currently spent on lower-value activities (such as scrolling social media). Identifying these "wasted" periods can help you find time for the goals you want to work on.

Managing your energy is also important. Changing how you do things at home can conserve your energy for better pursuits. For instance, say you currently have more books than shelves. It may make it harder to choose new titles. Streamline your collection to focus your efforts and keep your to-be-read pile small.

3. Establish your standards and environment

Consider the metrics you use to measure success. For instance, using reading as an example, you should be able to define what “read more” means. Does any reading count, such as a newspaper or magazine? Or must you make progress on novels or nonfiction works like self-help books? Will you count the minutes spent listening to audiobooks or only those engaged in physical reading? Whatever your standards, define them and stick with them.

Set up your environment for success by deciding where and how you will read. Carry your book, tablet, or ereader so you'll be ready to enjoy reading at the right time. 

4. Start making tiny changes

Once you establish your goal, tools, and environment, it's time to start making progress. Begin working on your goal, incrementally increasing on a defined schedule. Keep track of your progress and improvement. 

As you make progress, take note of how you feel. Focus on the next step rather than the end goal. Enjoy the journey and appreciate the progress you've made thus far. 

If you miss a day, don’t lose motivation. Get back on track and continue moving toward your goals. If you find yourself in a slump, read up on how to overcome a lack of ambition.

5. Reflect on what works & what doesn't

Flexibility can help you achieve your goals with less frustration. If you find an aspect of your Kaizen journey isn't working, adapt your expectations. You may find that reading for an hour isn't practical with your current schedule. It's okay to adjust your goals to match your needs.

In business, this might require a root cause analysis. For your personal process, take stock at regular points throughout your continuous improvement. Adjust as necessary and keep an eye on the big picture. Any progress is worth it, even if you amend your initial goals or adopt smaller increments. With a little problem-solving, you’ll be more likely to achieve your personal goal.

3 real-life examples of Kaizen in action

You can achieve virtually any goal with small, consistent improvement. Here are three everyday goals for self-improvement and how you can use Kaizen to achieve them:

Fitness

Say you currently walk 5,000 steps per day in your daily activities (without planned exercise). If you aim to walk 10,000 steps a day, you could start by going for a long walk to double your steps. But your plan could backfire if you aren't accustomed to this activity level. You may injure yourself or become intimidated by a new, drastic change.

Using the Kaizen method, you can boost your step count over time. Start with your current step count of 5,000:

• If you add one percent to your count on day one, that's only 50 extra steps
• At two weeks of daily one-percent increases, you've added almost 600 steps to your routine
• In 10 weeks, you'll reach your goal of 10,000 daily steps while avoiding injuries and setbacks

Reading

Many people struggle to fit reading into their daily schedule. Finding time to settle in with a good book may seem daunting. With Kaizen, you can slowly increase your reading time, adding a little each day. The best part is that you don't need to fit reading into one session. You can break up your reading time to fit your schedule.

Decide how long you want to read per day. Start with a five-minute session at a time that works for your daily routine. Add a minute every day. If you need to break reading into multiple sessions per day, build up your first reading block. A session could be five, 10, or even 30 minutes. Once you've established one solid session, add another. Aim for a time that works daily to help you establish a long-term reading habit.

Savings

If you want to put away money to reduce financial stress, saving a large amount of money can be daunting. Instead, use the Kaizen method to start small and slowly build wealth. Start with a weekly or monthly amount you know you won't miss. Even a few dollars per week is a great start. Put the savings into a separate account (auto deposit is a great way to achieve this).

Increase your contribution at regular intervals. Over time, you'll build up a nest egg without sacrificing any of your monthly budget. If you choose the right savings vehicle, you'll also enjoy compounding interest.

Start your journey to change with BetterUp

Kaizen has helped many achieve their goals for self-improvement and progress through tiny steps. The simplicity and approachability of Kaizen make it a popular driver for change. Small adjustments may help you solidify your new habits by slow integration.

A partner can make continuous improvement even easier. Do you want help from a coach who understands the power of small, sustained change? Get started with a BetterUp coach today.