Working Hard but Wasting Your Time?

"We're working hard but getting nothing done. It's like some days we're organized and some days we're not, but I guess that's what it like everywhere. Today has been so frustrating though - it feels like I've spent hours just searching for files and trying to figure out where we're at."

Those are the words of a technician in a small, but busy, medical office. As she commented, this is typical of organizations everywhere, and, indeed, most of her work and most of her day was a waste of time. Not because she isn't a hard worker, but because the layout of the office and the design of her work processes have waste built into them.

Waste can take many forms, whether searching for stuff, trying to find answers, waiting for approvals and inspections, moving things around, walking for miles, or sorting and counting piles of Important Things. When you eliminate Waste from your processes, it frees up time for you to do more of the things that are truly valuable.

If you're working hard but feeling like you're wasting your time, you might want to investigate Lean thinking. Lean is about avoiding waste in our processes, getting rid of those activities that keep us busy but don't add any value to our customers. Lean identifies seven Wastes - Defects, Overproduction, Transportation, Waiting, Inventory, Motion and Processing - many resources discuss and clarify these.

Check out Lean thinking and stop wasting your time!