Declutter that Key Chain
Have you ever been bringing in groceries from the car and struggled to pull your key chain out to unlock the door to your home? I know I fumble around with my key chain, balancing groceries in my own arm, trying to jigger the key chain to free up my house key so that I can stick the key in the door knob, turn the key and let myself in.
I never really thought about why it was so hard to get the house key untangled from the rest of my key chain, but I know it is a constant source of frustration for me.
The thing is, I only have three keys on my key chain. I have my house key, my car key, and a third key. The car key is tucked into a fob and it stays in my pocket when I am locking and unlocking my car and when I turn on the engine. In other words, it isn't something I need to access at all while using my car. It just needs to be in my pocket.
As to the third key, that key is for...well, to tell the truth, I have no idea what that third key is for. It might have been a key to a previous house or apartment used by my parents. It might be to something I will someday need to get into. Who knows? Unfortunately, I don't know so I have to keep it on my key chain just in case I find myself in a situation where it might come in handy.
Three keys on my key chain by themselves would not cause me much problem in finding the right key and getting it properly positioned in my hand, even with one arm occupied holding groceries. So what else is on the key chain?
I have three plastic tags with barcodes on them. One is for my local library, which makes sense, until one considers that I haven't stepped foot in the library in at least three years. The next is for Dick's Sporting Goods’ rewards program. Again, this is not an unreasonable thing to have handy, until you learn that my two sons are now well into their 20s, so it has been a while since I have had a need to shop for sporting goods on a regular basis (not to mention that now you can just give your phone number to get credit for your purchase). The last one is some multi-business rewards program, Belly, that was last relevant to me in maybe 2012. What's the harm, you say, in having these plastic tags on your key ring? They don't add much weight to the key ring, but they provide enough clutter and obstruction to complicate finding the key I am searching for.
I also have a Philadelphia Eagles bottle cap opener that was given to me as a gift two years ago that I keep handy on my key chain. You have to understand that I really don't drink beer very much and therefore very rarely have a need for having an opener available, but my love for the Eagles dictates that the opener will remain on my key chain permanently.
Perhaps my biggest downfall occurs every time I take my car in for a routine maintenance service. I drop off the car in the service department's driveway, taking off the key fob for the car for the service department's driver to pull it to the rear of the facility for servicing. Once I pay for my service, hop back in the car, and find the key fob waiting for me, there is a little mini-ring along with a service tag attached to the fob. Once I get home and reattach the fob to my key chain, I remove the service tag, but often keep the mini-ring from the dealership attached to the fob. Part of this is me being lazy and part is the fact that the opening on the key fob itself is very small and it is much easier to use the min-ring to attach the fob back on my key chain. After subsequent visits for car service, I often find myself with multiple mini-rings now living on my key chain, sometimes on their own and sometimes connected in a sequence of mini-rings.
Now it all makes sense as to why pulling my key chain out of my pocket, trying to find the right key, and then positioning the key to be free of all the auxiliary mini-rings, all while juggling groceries, is a frustrating experience for me. However, since the experience is merely frustrating and not life-altering, I have continued to accept the status quo, never questioning why someone with only three keys has a high friction experience opening up a locked door.
No longer! I removed all the mini-rings from the car servicing appointments and the three plastic tags with bar codes on them. It's amazing what such a simple and small change can make. Now when I pull out my key chain, it's no longer a complex untangling to find the key I need. I am left wondering why I didn't undertake this clean up years ago.
Of course, this accumulation of bloat and detritus does not just apply to our key chains. How many of the workflows that your team uses are filled with unnecessary steps, ceremonies, and handoffs? What made sense at one point in time likely no longer serves its original purpose yet continues to take up time and energy from your team as it goes about its daily business. This is something that Dan Heath refers to as "the accidental accretion of outdated habits" in his latest book, Reset: How to Change What's Not Working. (Love that alliteration!).
Similar to my cluttered key chain, we are likely not consciously aware of the impact that these accumulated but non-value adding items are having on our time, efficiency, and effectiveness. Also similar to my key chain, it only takes a few minutes of reflection and recalibration to remove the erstwhile useful steps from our workflow.
If you are looking for some quick wins that will simplify your daily routines and reduce unneeded friction in your work, give yourself and your team the gift of some spring cleaning on your key workflows. All it takes is a little introspection and asking the question "Why are we doing this?", which not so coincidentally was the subject of the first blog article I ever wrote, some 3 1/2 years ago.