This is How to Use Visual Management to Be Less of a Hot Mess!
I was having coffee with my friend Jessica the other day when all-of-a-sudden she went on a bit of a rant:
“Why can I never find the book I want on my bookshelf?
And those receipts from Bed, Bath and Beyond? I can never seem to find them.
Lord knows where I put the electricity bill?
I have so many keys on my keychain, I can never remember which is which.
And that insurance policy, where did I put it?
My husband can never seem to find the Phillips screwdriver or other tools when he needs them.
Speaking of my husband, why do he and my boys always miss the toilet when they get up to pee in the middle of the night?
You will have to forgive me, Rick, I am a bit of a hot mess lately! “
“I’ll say!”, I replied.
“I just wish there was a system or method I could use that would visually help me be more organized, coordinated and less mistake prone!” she shot back.
I don’t know if it was because my head was spinning from hearing about all of Jess’ problems or because I may have been a little dehydrated, but I was feeling a bit lightheaded.
“Hang on a minute Jess, I need to pee, be right back.”
I went and relieved myself and then sat back down to continue my conversation with my perplexed friend.
“I was right, I was a bit dehydrated, let me ask the waiter for some water,” I said.
“How did you know you were dehydrated for sure?” she asked.
“Good question Jess, I compared the color of my pee to this chart I pulled up on my phone:
Hey, wait just a cotton pickin’ minute Jess! The pee chart just gave me an idea! I think I may know what you can do to stop being such a hot mess (or at least less of a hot mess).”
“Really?!?!?!” she asked, her excitement at the potential of my solving her problem trumping the fact that I just called her a hot mess.
“I remember Howie teaching us about visual management systems in one of his classes back in the day.” I explained.
I then went on a bit of a rant of my own, teaching her about visual management by giving examples and pulling up images on my phone…
No matter what language you speak…
You can figure out what the signs below mean:
That, in a nutshell, is what visual management is all about!
It communicates or displays important information in a visual manner. It allows you to understand the meaning or intention of something with a quick glance. There are various forms it can take: instructions, color coding, signs, images etc. The point is to give you visual tools to make informed decisions as well as prevent mistakes from happening.
Another interesting example comes from Wired magazine which had a photo of a Google data center in Lenoir, North Carolina. Check out the photo below, talk about taking visual management to another level!
“If Visual Management Can Be Used So Successfully in Business…
You can certainly use it at home to be less of a hot mess Jess!”
Trust me, I’m not inventing anything here, many people use visual management at home – you may even use some visual management techniques already without even knowing it.
By using visual management in your personal life, you can:
Become more organized.
Spend less time looking for stuff.
Lose less stuff.
Increase your productivity.
How about some examples?
Let’s look at some ways that you can use visual management to make your life better!
Your closet
Instead of storing things haphazardly, why not utilize some color coding to make things easier to put away and easier to find. For example, arranging from dark to light.
Organizing your garage
You can use hand tool shadow boards and cleaning tool shadow boards like the ones below. That way when you need to put something away, you will know exactly where it goes – and it will be there waiting for you next time you need it.
Kitchen drawer shadow boards
This is the same concept as the garage tool boards above but instead for drawers in your kitchen. Notice everything has a place.
Time management
Are you trying to get better at time management? Perhaps if you are more visual, you need to get a visual timer like the one below.
Home Library
Always having a hard time finding a specific book in your home library? Try sorting the books alphabetically!
Color-coded personal filing
Always looking for files? Either get with the 21st century and file them electronically or use a color-coded filing system.
Color-coded key rings
Your problem of keys on your keychain that look alike and cause you to spend time trying different keys before you find the right one? Easy, get colored key rings, problem solved!
Personal Kanban boards
Recall our previous post on personal Kanban boards. Those are a great example of personal visual management!
Moving
Moving can definitely be a pain in the ass. It can be easier though if you utilize a little visual management. Simply put a visual on the box that signals where it has to go and what is in it.
Outlook calendar
Your Outlook calendar and email can be color coded so that certain things stick out and let you navigate much quicker.
Post-it flags
Can be used in all different filing and administrative situations to help you find things easier.
Wires
Does your computer or AV room look like a bunch of spaghetti due to all the wires? It can be pretty frustrating figuring out what is what. That is unless you use a little visual management like the photo below!
Eating too fast?
Check out this interesting product that uses visual management to let you know if you need to eat slower.
“That’s phenomenal!” she said, “I think I can figure out how to use visual management to solve most of the problems I was telling you about earlier, except one.
How do I stop the guys from peeing on the floor during the middle of the night?”
“I have a visual management solution for that one too!” I confidently retorted.
“Just apply these glow-in-the-dark strips around the toilet bowl and your boys will be able to keep their eye on the prize and stop peeing on the floor.
Speaking of peeing, I need to go again Jess. All that water I drank to hydrate myself has caught up with me…let’s see what the pee chart says now…be right back!”
Until next time, keep your eye on the prize and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick
Use It or Lose It:
To utilize visual management in your life, figure out how you can use instructions, color coding, signs, images etc. to give you the visual tools you need to make informed decisions and to prevent mistakes from happening.
When to Use It:
When you need to communicate or display important information in a visual manner.
What Do You Think?
How have you used visual management in your life – either intentionally or unintentionally? Are there any other ways you can think of using it? Please share in the comments below.
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References
http://www.tritonproducts.com/pegboards/shadow-board-self-adhesive-vinyl-tape/
https://www.lean5sproducts.com/shadow-boards-gallery/
http://blog.officezilla.com/google-server-room-inspires-color-coded-organization/
https://www.wired.com/2012/10/ff-inside-google-data-center/
http://www.bodymybody.com/are-you-thirsty/
https://www.osaapamerica.com/applications/shadowboards/kitchens/
Hot mess? That’s a completely new phrase that I’ve not heard previously. I suppose the exploding peas in the microwave qualifies as a hot mess. (the bad jokes are getting worse)
I’m sure a lot of people use similar visual mental reminders to ease the confusion. My books are sorted by subject – cars, antiques, collectibles, Civil War history, other history, biography….you get the idea. When we needed to make spare keys for my mother’s room at the nursing home, we chose a key blank that had stripes painted on. Makes it real easy to find on the key chain. The door to the house has two locks. A black dot on the lower lock’s key minimizes confusion as to which key I’m holding.
The spaghetti pile of wiring connecting the printer, modem, computer, and speakers I solved in a way similar to yours. Using pieces of masking tape, label each cable with a number, then add pieces of tape with the same number on the appropriate port/connection point on the equipment where each cable needs to be plugged in.
Constant repetition also helps. Place items back in the same location every time. Then you know which drawer holds the scissors, the checkbook, the postage stamps, the spare pens. It becomes second nature, you don’t have to think, just go to the appropriate storage location. When its time to pay bills, I sit down, reach behind me to the pile of bills stacked on the credenza, the checkbook will be in the drawer directly underneath the pile. Stamps to mail the bills are in the rear of the same drawer. No thinking needed, constant repetition over the years makes this process the same as walking.
Here’s how to solve the night-time bathroom aiming problem. Buy a battery powered motion activated stick-on light, and mount it on the underside of the lid. When the lid is lifted, the light comes on. We use these lights in closets and a storage cabinet in the garage. The glow in the dark strips you refer to might make the bowl hard to clean. Actually, our preferred method is to have a battery powered night light on top of the tank.
Until next time, keep on aiming straight.
Great examples and suggestions as always Dave! Have a great weekend!