Taking giant steps to make radical changes in our lives is motivating, but once the excitement wears off, it rarely gets very far. Take a look at the New Year’s Resolutions… The Baby Steps Method (or Kaizen Method) is a gentle way to change for results.
You know the Italian proverb ” Chi va piano va sano e va lontano Which reminds us that he better start slowly and reach your goal, rather than rushing around and running the risk of failing.
This is a bit like our philosophy for moving forward in life. We are happy to use the baby step method, known in the industry as “the Kaizen Method”.
One small step every day
If this method was born in Japanese companies, it is actually a state of mind which can be applied to each of us, in our personal life, to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves.
” Kaizen “Is the fusion of the two Japanese words” Kai “and” Zen “which respectively mean” change “and” better “. The most common French translation is therefore “continuous improvement”.
The Small Steps Method tells us that every progress, no matter how small, towards the goal we set is a positive development that brings us closer to the goal.
The Kaizen method assumes that big results come from small changes successive over time. It consists of taking small steps at regular intervals to move forward.
Be careful, we only do one at a time and repeat it daily to try to set up a habit. The reasoning here is that it is better to take one small step daily for 20 days than ten steps on the first day and none for the next 20!
Kaizen was born in Japan in the post-war years to allow the reconstruction of Japanese industry. It was subsequently theorized in the 1980s by Masaaki Imai, founder of theKaizen Institute, for improve production processes big companies like Nipponica or Toyota.
A state of mind to progress smoothly
Beyond industry, this method actually translates a state of mind which can be applied to each of us, in our personal life, to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves.
One of the advantages of the Kaizen method lies in the fact that it allows us to accept possible failures. If we fail one day, it doesn’t matter since we will have the opportunity to start over (and do better) tomorrow. With small daily changes, we are moving in the right direction.
The kaizen method is results oriented. We ask ourselves more the question of ” How? ‘Or’ What “Than that of” Why “. We are looking for concrete solutions and practices rather than spending (wasting?) time analyzing the causes. Less brain juice and more action!
We are moving forward, of course, but by first setting ourselves objectives… achievable as we will see in the next chapter.
The Kaizen method begins of course with the definition of a SMART goal (we will see this in the next chapter). For example, you want to progress in a specific area such as managing a budget, overcoming your shyness, quitting smoking, learning Japanese, reducing your carbon footprint, or becoming a vegetarian.
Read also:
How to set a SMART goal?
Then, you break your down into short, easy-to-implement steps. You need to be able to move forward on a daily basis without the risk of getting discouraged. The preparation and prioritization of tasks are key steps for the future and the success of the business. To prepare it properly, it is best to consult online tutorials, discussion forums and testimonials that match your goal.
Then you get started by setting up one change at a time. The idea of taking small daily steps is to give yourself time to progress. You will therefore focus on one step at a time in order to make it a (good) lasting habit.
The small steps method in practice
Say you set a goal of losing weight. Since you have no desire to follow a drastic diet, you allow yourself three months to lose 10 kg. You should therefore lose between 800 grams and one kg per week; it is both realistic and achievable.
What small daily steps are you going to implement to implement the method of small steps (Kaizen)?
You will first get into the habit of weigh you every day. Then you are going to make small daily changes to your lifestyle. You will pay more attention to your balanced diet and your level of physical activity.
If you spend most of your day sitting at a desk, you’ll manage to move more. You are therefore going to draw up a list of activities that go in this direction. For example: going for a walk every morning, always taking the stairs, parking a little further away, vacuuming every day, going to work by bike …
These changes can be minor as long as they are contribute to the goal. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator once a day for the first week, add a morning walk the second week, in addition to your bike trips from the third week, etc.
Additionally, each of these daily activities may change in duration or intensity over time. For example, your morning walk can go from 10 to 15 minutes, then from 15 to 20 minutes.
After two weeks, apply this same logic to changes in your diet. For example: keeping a food diary, replacing sugary drinks with water, increasing the share of fruits and vegetables, stop buying ready-made meals, limit desserts to two per week, etc.
It’s up to you to determine what makes sense in relation to your goal. Always start with easy actions and then continue to accumulate activities day after day.
