Continuous Improvement During a Pandemic

In the corporate world, it is discussed about this idea of improvement with phrases like “hunger for best practices” and “commitment to continuous improvement.”  Continuous improvement, developed during the 1950s and the 1960s with an emphasis on quality control, is identified as one of the modern industry’s “critical components” for the survival of an organization, to assess, evaluate, and implement change to stay “healthy” and competitive.  These are not modern business concepts; people have been doing this for centuries.  For example, scholar A has been studying ancient cultures for fifty years and has become the leading expert in this field.  Scholar B was born several years before the death of scholar A and she began to study ancient cultures on an intellectual level the year scholar A died.  It would be crazy to think that scholar B would start all over where scholar A began, from scratch.  No, scholar B would begin where scholar A left off and learn from all the scholars of the past so that she can advance the understanding of ancient cultures and discover new knowledge to share.  This is the idea of continuous improvement.

What about personal improvement?  Continuous improvement isn’t just for the business world or academics, you can continuously improve on a personal level.  We, as a people, assess ourselves every day: “I’m gaining to much weight”, “I wish I had a better job”, “I’m not happy”, and “I shouldn’t have eaten that week old breakfast burrito from the Kwik Shop this morning.” this last one wasn’t anything personal, just an attempt at humor, if you did eat the burrito and wasn’t feeling the best later that day, you wouldn’t eat the burrito next time if the opportunity presented itself, hence, improvement.  We self-assess all the time, we may not realize it, but we do, the problem we face is acting upon that assessment to enact change.  If you aren’t aware of what you’re doing, why you are doing it, and the way it’s affecting others, you can’t change. If there is nothing wrong, then there is no reason to change. 

What are some of the things that you could do while quarantined?

1. Exercise– Everyone can improve their health, especially during this time.  If you are not a gym person, even if you were gyms are closed, you can still exercise in your home, or walk around your neighborhood.  James Campbell of Cheltenham, England ran a 26.2-mile marathon in his 20 foot backyard while quarantined.  He raised $32,000.00 for the United Kingdom’s National Health Service by having people tune-in on Facebook to watch. (Farzan, 2020)  The hardest thing to do, is to take the first step.
2. Read- Pick up a book, a magazine, or read a story on-line, something that you are interested in, self-help, or a how to book.  This is a chance to improve in your area of expertise and to move forward.  If you are in a leadership position, read a book on different leadership styles.  If you work in technology, read about what new technology is coming, familiarize yourself with this new technology.   Never settle, always strive to learn more, which leads me to our next category-learning.
3. Learn something new- Did you always want to learn how to build a cabinet, learn more about the applications to Microsoft Office, or learn a new language?  There is no better time than the present.  Come out of the pandemic better than when you went into it.  You can’t wish for change to happen; you must make it happen!

Self-reflecting during this time of quarantine will help you focus on the changes that you would like to make.  Mastering this skill can empower you to work toward improvement and all other aspects of your life.  Time is what we always claim that there isn’t enough of and now that we have a little bit more of it let’s use it wisely.  During the Great Plague of London in 1664, Sir Isaac Newton while quarantined at home invented calculus.  Use this gift of time wisely!

Farzan, A. (2020, April 2). A British man ran a marathon in his 20-foot backyard during the coronavirus lockdown – and thousands tuned in. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/02/backyard-marathon-coronavirus/