The Mind-Altering Effects of Having a Place for Everything
In the world of French cooking, there is a practice called Mise en Place. It means “put in place” and the idea is that in a well-run kitchen, there is a place for everything and a process that is followed so that efficiency is maintained and recipes are prepared properly with no steps missed. The steps are:
- Read the entire recipe.
- Prepare your workspace and the waste bins.
- Prepare your equipment and make sure it is clean.
- Gather your ingredients.
- Prepare your ingredients for use.
- Cook!
This process has one characteristic that stands out: each piece of the process and equipment has a place in the steps and a place in the kitchen. The chefs know exactly where everything is and when they are done with it, they put it back precisely where they found it. Every time! And that is beautiful simplicity of Mise en Place. Every time a piece of equipment, an ingredient or even a cookbook is required, they know exactly where it is without thinking.
This is the mind-altering effect of the practice. Not having to think about where things belong and automatically putting them back, removes the need to search for things and allows the mind the freedom to create and implement new ideas.
This process has been in use for many years in hospitals, classrooms, factories and airplanes. We cannot imagine an airplane cockpit, for example, without hundreds of switches and controllers, and yet it is vital that the pilots know where every one of them is and what they are used for. In all situations, pilots follow precise steps for the operation of the plane and the use of all of the controls.
So, this process is in use all around us, but is it possible to use it in our every day lives effectively? And, more importantly, is there a benefit from following it? The answer to both is yes. The psychological and efficiency benefits of limiting decision fatigue are well known. If you do not have to make small decisions like deciding what tool to use, or where it is, your mind will be free to make more important decisions and stay more effective. If you do not have to search for your car keys in the morning as you leave for the day, you can use your mind for more important issues like creativity and deep thinking.
The benefits are well documented, so how do we implement it daily? Many people already do it with keys. They have a bowl near the door where they enter, or they have a set of hooks where all sets of keys go when they enter their home. That way, when they leave, they know the keys are always in the same spot and they take them and go.
A way to supercharge this technique further is to make all of the sets of keys duplicates. Each set should have all of the same keys on it so that it does not matter which set you take, they are all the same. One less decision to make. Now, it may not be possible to do this as car keys with electronic fobs have gotten very large, but one car key and fob can be paired with a full set of the rest of the door keys so that the only decision is which vehicle to take. If you really want to limit the keys on the keyring, you can have all of the locks in your home changed to ONE key so that you are not fumbling when you enter. One key opens all of the locks in the home.
Another example would be to group all of your important papers in one place where they are safe and easy to find. Things like passports, birth certificates, wills, deeds and insurance could all be put in one folder or case, or for safety in a locked fireproof safe.
Tools, which are often all over the house, in drawers, the basement, the garage and the shed could all be gathered up into one toolbox which is always kept in the same place so that you are not searching for it or the tool you need.
Most people already do it to a degree in their kitchens with organizers for utensils and drawers for pots, pans and all other kitchen essentials so the work is already started.
Naturally, if your house is not perfectly organized like a French kitchen or an airplane you will need some place to start that will not overwhelm you. A good recommendation is to start small. Organizing your garage in one day or even a week might be discouraging and cause you to lose focus. Organizing a bowl or hooks for keys and putting them all in there, however, would be a great opening step. So would gathering all of your important papers into a central folder or organizing one of the drawers in your desk at home.
Once you start, you will begin to see where you can create more efficiencies. As mentioned, we often do it in our homes or workplaces without thinking so we are just building on that existing system.
Taking away these small daily decisions will free your mind for bigger things and make your more efficient and effective.