Mise-en-Place for Knowledge Workers

Knowledge work lacks a “culture of systematic improvement” common to other professions and trades.

Trainee nurses learn the best method for starting an IV, and apprentice carpenters learn the best practices for constructing a door frame; but knowledge workers receive no such guidance for structuring their work. Left to their own devices, they often end up using ineffective, self-concocted systems which breed chaos.

To prevent disorder in their kitchens, chefs employ a philosophy called mise en place, whose guiding principle is to “work clean.” Chefs prepare their equipment, ingredients and work stations prior to cooking to create simple, frictionless processes and to externalize a portion of their cognitive load to the environment. By automating the repetitive aspects of their jobs, chefs have more time to focus on the creative aspects. Knowledge workers can benefit from adopting a similar workplace philosophy.

To increase your productivity, borrow from chefs’ six-part mise-en-place philosophy. First, sequence your work.

Sequence is of vital importance in a kitchen; after all, you can’t cook pasta if the water’s...