Kaizen: The Japanese way to beat laziness

Everyone has goals, ambitions and aspirations. But to achieve them, we must work hard and give it our all. However, most often, we procrastinate, become lazy and do not accomplish our objectives, at least not in time.

Although we start a new project with great enthusiasm, with people to motivate us, over time, we lose the zeal and passion. The will to postpone the job, to keep it for some other day is so strong that we sometimes fail to revisit it again. If you are struggling to finish off a task or waiting to get over the slump, here's an interesting strategy to follow, like the Japanese, known as 'Kaizen', that can help us stay on our feet and overcome laziness.

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Kaizen, also known as a 'one-minute principle' for self-improvement, is a great Japanese technique to beat laziness and get work done.

The idea or the concept behind this practice is that people should commit themselves to an activity for at least a minute, every day at the same time. The word means ‘kai’ (change) and ‘zen’ (wisdom) and it was invented by Masaaki Imai, a Japanese organizational theorist and management consultant, popular for his work on quality management.

In Japan, Kaizen is a technique applied to enhance management skills and to encourage personal growth. As per Imai, “The message of the Kaizen strategy is that not a day should go by without some kind of improvement being made somewhere.” "You can’t do Kaizen once or twice and expect immediate results. You have to do it for the long haul," he adds.

Kaizen is a simple technique that demands only a minute of your life, everyday. For instance, if you're looking to read a book, or play a musical instrument, you must dedicate a minute of your time doing it, everyday at the same time. That said, no matter how lazy you are to finish the task, you make it a point to get up and commit yourself to it for a short period of time.

Often, we brush off certain activities claiming it's a waste of time. However, a minute is all you need for this technique to work.

When it comes to Kaizen, you need not hurry. Just contribute a minute of your time. Once you get a hang of this practice, you will gradually find yourself increasing the time limit, sometimes stretching it to an hour.

It is a technique anyone can take up, at any point in life. All you have to do is understand what you wish to achieve and what are your objectives.

Japanese culture are the source of many useful techniques. While Kaizen helps beat laziness, Kakeibo is the art of saving money. There is KonMari, the technique that involves decluttering and organizing homes.