The Japanese Habit That Helps Me Reduce Daily Stress

This article explores how principles from the Japanese “lean” production methodology can be applied to daily life to reduce stress and make it easier to form positive habits, drawing parallels with James Clear’s “atomic habits.”

Central Theme: The main idea is to simplify life and reduce stress by identifying and eliminating “stress points” or “resistance points” in daily routines and habit formation, making desired actions easier and undesired ones more difficult.

Key Points & Arguments:

• The concept is rooted in “lean” or “streamlined production,” a Japanese industrial strategy from the late 1940s focused on maximizing efficiency by removing all forms of waste (e.g., wasted time, movement, or resources) and detecting errors proactively.
• James Clear’s work on habits emphasizes making resolutions easy and integrating them into the flow of daily life, rather than relying on willpower to overcome resistance.
• The article highlights a friend’s strategy of installing and uninstalling social media apps daily as an example of creating a barrier to an addictive behavior, thereby reducing “added stress” and wasted time.
• Applying “lean” principles personally can reduce frustration, prevent procrastination, and save time. This includes simple actions like decluttering, organizing workspaces, and preparing for tasks in advance.

Significant Conclusions & Takeaways:

• By consciously designing environments and simplifying processes, individuals can achieve more with less effort, lighten their cognitive load, and reduce daily stress.
• Making small, strategic changes to remove obstacles is more effective for habit maintenance than forcing motivation.
• Practical examples provided include keeping healthy food readily accessible while hiding unhealthy options, minimizing digital distractions during focused work or meals, preparing workout clothes the night before, and organizing surroundings to make tasks smoother.

Source: https://www.voguearabia.com/article/the-japanese-habit-that-helps-me-reduce-daily-stress