… This is plastered on a sign taped to the front of my desk and they are words I live by. PDCA is a tool that every lean practitioner should use on a daily basis. Plan Do Check Act is used primarily when tackling projects or completing tasks in a timely, orderly fashion. However, I have recently found that it does wonders for your personal life.
I am a social butterfly. I pride myself in my ability to surround myself with genuine, caring, successful people… and a lot of them. However, sometimes it grows overwhelming to be this social all the time and I find that I spend less and less time caring for myself, because others tend to be more important to me. Eventually, I found that I was being walked on, that I wasn’t acting my normal happy-go-lucky self. PDCA saved the day! Now, I try to incorporate it into my daily routine to balance my tasks for the day. I plan my day out thoroughly and analyze each task, as well as how I am feeling, as I do them. After all of my necessary tasks are done (which now also includes thorough self-care) and I feel satisfied with myself, then I try to incorporate other people into the plan. At the end of the day I check how I am feeling again and go over the events of the day to see where things went wrong. Now I act by adjusting my plan for the next day, if need be!
So far this has been a great system of checks and balances for me. I highly recommend everyone PDCA all aspects of their life, not necessarily just professional. I myself am slowly learning that life will be more efficient and your time will be spent far happier if you pay attention to how you are feeling and adjust accordingly.