Lean as a Lifestyle

By Erick Shyaka

When I took my Lean Green Belt training back in 2020, I didn’t expect it to stick with me the way it has. At the time, it felt like a work-driven effort—something tied to process maps, Pareto charts, and structured improvement workshops. But what surprised me most wasn’t what I applied in formal projects, it was how those ideas slowly made their way into my everyday life. I started noticing how much smoother things felt when I applied simple Lean principles, even in small ways.

I’ve gradually organized things like my computer files to eliminate desktop chaos, limited my phone apps to only the essentials on the home screen, and optimized my inbox using rules, filters, and auto-archive. It’s a thing of beauty, though I admit I might be a little biased. I’ve caught myself doodling value stream maps to eliminate low-value tasks from my day, and I once asked aloud, “Is this task value-added?” while doing the dishes. For the record, I still did them.

I now timebox deep work as if my brain were a production line, and I’m slowly standardizing my morning routine to reduce decision fatigue—still a work in progress. At this point, Lean has become part of how I try to make life a little smoother, with fewer distractions and more space for focus.

Also, a fun fact: when I first heard that muda means “waste” in Lean, I froze for a second, because in Swahili, muda means “time.” For a moment, I thought we were trying to eliminate time itself.