Comments on: Are you Efficient? Save Time by Applying Lean Thinking to Everyday Life http://www.darwinsfinance.com/lean-industrial-engineering-workplace-efficiency/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lean-industrial-engineering-workplace-efficiency Financial Evolution: Education, Adaptation, Achievement Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:59:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Revanchehttp://www.darwinsfinance.com/lean-industrial-engineering-workplace-efficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-1448 Revanche Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:28:14 +0000 http://www.darwinsfinance.com/?p=864#comment-1448 This sort of thinking is what gets dinner on the table in 20-30 minutes instead of an hour. I usually plan ahead so that I'm prepping ingredients for the next two stages of cooking while the current stage is cooking/roasting/whatever. The order in which the courses are cooked are nested: main course usually takes the most prep time and cooking time, so that's started first. If the side dishes require some of the same ingredients as the main course, all of those are minced, chopped, sliced or peeled at the same time and divided up in separate dishes. Occasionally, a side dish requires more cook time: that's fine, it goes on the stove first. I think of it as nested cooking: every dish is completed with minutes of each other and the total time required is much less than if you were to cook each dish, start to finish, one after the other.I practice it during the day as well, "nesting" my activities so that things that can run without attention do so while I do other things. ie: making sure that I get laundry into the washer before sorting the next load and vacuuming, transferring clothes to the dryer before cleaning the bathroom, etc. Keeps things quite a lot more efficient and I usually finish before my energy runs out. .-= Revanche´s last blog ..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/YWow/~3/r-ErCKZXmAA/carnival-of-personal-finance.html" rel="nofollow">Carnival of Personal Finance</a> =-. This sort of thinking is what gets dinner on the table in 20-30 minutes instead of an hour. I usually plan ahead so that I’m prepping ingredients for the next two stages of cooking while the current stage is cooking/roasting/whatever. The order in which the courses are cooked are nested: main course usually takes the most prep time and cooking time, so that’s started first. If the side dishes require some of the same ingredients as the main course, all of those are minced, chopped, sliced or peeled at the same time and divided up in separate dishes. Occasionally, a side dish requires more cook time: that’s fine, it goes on the stove first. I think of it as nested cooking: every dish is completed with minutes of each other and the total time required is much less than if you were to cook each dish, start to finish, one after the other.

I practice it during the day as well, “nesting” my activities so that things that can run without attention do so while I do other things. ie: making sure that I get laundry into the washer before sorting the next load and vacuuming, transferring clothes to the dryer before cleaning the bathroom, etc. Keeps things quite a lot more efficient and I usually finish before my energy runs out.
.-= Revanche´s last blog ..Carnival of Personal Finance =-.

]]> By: The Frugal New Yorkerhttp://www.darwinsfinance.com/lean-industrial-engineering-workplace-efficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-1447 The Frugal New Yorker Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:52:08 +0000 http://www.darwinsfinance.com/?p=864#comment-1447 I've found that the more time you "save" through efficiency measures like this, the more there is to do. The idea that "Efficiency = less time required to get out of the house = more sleep, completing an extra activity, playing with any kids that are up, etc = healthier/happier me" is, I believe, misguided.50 years ago offices had no computers, no internet, no overnight deliveries--and yet we now work longer hours than ever. The fact that we are sleeping less and feel like we have less time for fun activities is due to our mindset, not to how efficient we are. We are so obsessed with speed that we are never satisfied and feel as if there aren't enough hours in the day. I think it is better to allocate your time in a steadier, more measured fashion, rather than trying to rush through everything. .-= The Frugal New Yorker´s last blog ..<a href="http://frugalnyer.blogspot.com/2009/08/time-management-better-way.html" rel="nofollow">Time Management: A Better Way</a> =-. I’ve found that the more time you “save” through efficiency measures like this, the more there is to do. The idea that “Efficiency = less time required to get out of the house = more sleep, completing an extra activity, playing with any kids that are up, etc = healthier/happier me” is, I believe, misguided.

50 years ago offices had no computers, no internet, no overnight deliveries–and yet we now work longer hours than ever. The fact that we are sleeping less and feel like we have less time for fun activities is due to our mindset, not to how efficient we are. We are so obsessed with speed that we are never satisfied and feel as if there aren’t enough hours in the day. I think it is better to allocate your time in a steadier, more measured fashion, rather than trying to rush through everything.
.-= The Frugal New Yorker´s last blog ..Time Management: A Better Way =-.

]]> By: Jimhttp://www.darwinsfinance.com/lean-industrial-engineering-workplace-efficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-1446 Jim Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:31:30 +0000 http://www.darwinsfinance.com/?p=864#comment-1446 Great article.One way I try and be efficient is by automating tasks. For example our coffee maker is on an automatic timer so its waiting for me in the morning. I also do as much automatic bill payment as possible.I batch process by making all my weekly lunches at the same day. Takes about 5 minutes total that way.One thing that irritates me at work is the layout of the sandwich bar in the cafe. They have items laid out in this order: bread, plates, condiments, meats. The first thing you get is the plate then the bread so you have go go one direction then back track to get to the condiments. They should swap the plates and the bread. .-= Jim´s last blog ..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FreeBy50/~3/uCq8-x6DNN4/is-southwest-rapid-rewards-visa-card.html" rel="nofollow">Is the Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa card a Good Deal?</a> =-. Great article.

One way I try and be efficient is by automating tasks. For example our coffee maker is on an automatic timer so its waiting for me in the morning. I also do as much automatic bill payment as possible.

I batch process by making all my weekly lunches at the same day. Takes about 5 minutes total that way.

One thing that irritates me at work is the layout of the sandwich bar in the cafe. They have items laid out in this order: bread, plates, condiments, meats. The first thing you get is the plate then the bread so you have go go one direction then back track to get to the condiments. They should swap the plates and the bread.
.-= Jim´s last blog ..Is the Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa card a Good Deal? =-.

]]> By: Funny about Moneyhttp://www.darwinsfinance.com/lean-industrial-engineering-workplace-efficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-1442 Funny about Money Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:22:23 +0000 http://www.darwinsfinance.com/?p=864#comment-1442 I do the same "parallel" activities with the dog, the breakfast, the e-mail, the watering, the pool cleaning, and the various other chores. The term that comes to my mind is "multitasking," and it drives me screaming BATS!!!Far from feeling efficient, it leaves me feeling frazzled, with 15 gerjillion things going on at the same time -- microwave dinging at me, teapot whistling at me, dog yapping at me, dryer buzzer yelling at me, dirty dishes accumulating on the drainboard, watering timers bumping off and needing to be reset...gaaaaahhhhhhhh! IMHO, it's far better for your mental health to do One. Thing. At. A. Time.Uh oh. That reminds me: gotta fly out and wash the car before the sun gets any higher! .-= Funny about Money´s last blog ..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/funny-about-money/funny/~3/ea4SqeS-jJk/" rel="nofollow">RIP $64 butternut squash</a> =-. I do the same “parallel” activities with the dog, the breakfast, the e-mail, the watering, the pool cleaning, and the various other chores. The term that comes to my mind is “multitasking,” and it drives me screaming BATS!!!

Far from feeling efficient, it leaves me feeling frazzled, with 15 gerjillion things going on at the same time — microwave dinging at me, teapot whistling at me, dog yapping at me, dryer buzzer yelling at me, dirty dishes accumulating on the drainboard, watering timers bumping off and needing to be reset…gaaaaahhhhhhhh! IMHO, it’s far better for your mental health to do One. Thing. At. A. Time.

Uh oh. That reminds me: gotta fly out and wash the car before the sun gets any higher!
.-= Funny about Money´s last blog ..RIP $64 butternut squash =-.

]]> By: Carnival of Personal Finance #217: The French Money Quotes Edition — Almost Frugal- a frugal bloghttp://www.darwinsfinance.com/lean-industrial-engineering-workplace-efficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-1439 Carnival of Personal Finance #217: The French Money Quotes Edition — Almost Frugal- a frugal blog Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:24:32 +0000 http://www.darwinsfinance.com/?p=864#comment-1439 [...] pick: Darwin from Darwin’s Finance presents Are you Efficient? Save Time by Applying Lean Thinking to Everyday Life, and says, “This article compares new efficiency exercises corporations are employing with [...] [...] pick: Darwin from Darwin’s Finance presents Are you Efficient? Save Time by Applying Lean Thinking to Everyday Life, and says, “This article compares new efficiency exercises corporations are employing with [...]

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