Do you want to give your productivity a quick boost?

It’s as easy as organizing and arranging a few tools before you begin your work.

In this post, I’ll show you how to set up your very own mise en place.

After all, when it comes to being productive, it helps to have the proper tools available to you at the proper time.

What is mise en place?

Mise en place is a French phrase which means “putting in place.”

It’s commonly used in the culinary world to describe the necessary preparations before one begins to cook, such as cutting up ingredients, measuring out spices and herbs, and organizing items into a convenient workflow or arrangement.

This technique not only saves time, but streamlines the actual process of cooking and preparing a dish.

Why should you use mise en place?

There’s several good reasons why you should apply this technique to your work. Here’s a few off the top of my head:

You won’t waste time looking for items.

Stopping your work every five minutes to look for a tool can be frustrating and tiresome. Why waste time if you can avoid it?

You’ll have easy access to the right materials at the right time.

No more moving chairs, pushing aside papers, or uncovering containers to find what you need. All you have to do is reach for the tool or item in question, and it’s in your hand.

You’ll confirm items needed for your work.

Preparing your work materials not only ensures you have the right tools for the job, but helps to put you in the right frame of mind before beginning your work.

You’ll be able to focus on what you’re doing.

A laser-like focus means you’ll get more done in a specific period of time. No multitasking and no distractions can make for a productive work environment.

Okay, now that we’ve discussed the bare bones of mise en place, here are some tips to help you set up your very own mise en place in your kitchen, work bench, art studio, garage, office desk…just about anywhere!

Make a detailed list.

What tools, materials, ingredients, or items will you need to help you complete or finish your work?

Generate a list of everything you’ll need to bake that cake, paint that portrait, or tune up your car’s engine.

If you’re not sure as to where to begin, refer to any instructions, recipes, or guidelines you’ll be following.

Define and clear your work area.

The next step is to figure out where you’ll be working.

Will it be the kitchen table? An area of the living room? A corner of the garage?

Once you’ve identified a work space, it’s important to completely clear out the area/clear off the space.

You’ll want to have enough room to maneuver comfortably without bumping into anything.

You can envision your workstation as if it were a framed painting;  your workspace will be the canvas or painting, and the tools that you’ll use will be on the outside, or the frame.

Gather and arrange your materials in order of use.

Lastly, refer to your list and gather all the items you’ll need for your work or project.

Now it’s time to organize everything. An easy way to do this is to divide your project into beginning, middle and end sections.

You can roughly organize items into these broad sections, and then refine each of the sections, one by one.

Place items to be used first at the top of your sections.

Let’s say you wanted to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You’d gather the following items:

• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Bread
• Spoon
• Butter knife
• Plate
• Sharp knife

…And then organize everything into broad sections:

• Beginning: bread, plate
• Middle: peanut butter, jelly, spoon, butter knife
• End: Sharp knife

…And then refine your sections:

• Beginning: plate, bread
• Middle: butter knife, peanut butter, spoon, jelly
• End: Sharp knife

Pretty easy, huh? As an added bonus, you may want to organize your materials in a certain direction, so you can track your progress as you work. You could organize items from left to right, right to left, and so on.

With your tools, materials, ingredients, and items laid out carefully, you can now begin your work, and get more done, without any distractions, interruptions, or hindrances.

How about you? Do you use mise en place for your work and projects? What items do you set up ahead of time before you begin working? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!