🧭 Twenty minutes that give you your week back

A small practice to see what’s really happening and make one edit you can live with by next Friday.

Spend 20 minutes to see the real work.

---

🧭 Welcome to this week’s issue of The Shift from Mindset Rebuild, where we update your inner map so that next week moves more easily.

You’re on the free plan: Monday’s Clarity Letters and Friday’s The Shift.
Want the mid-week build pieces and templates? Upgrade for Wednesday’s Leadership Architecture.

---

You open your laptop.

The year is young, the inbox is loud, and the part of you that wants a big vow starts whispering.

I get it. I’ve tried to outrun weeks like this with fresh goals and better dashboards.

What usually helps isn’t more energy; it’s clear sight for a few quiet minutes and one small change that removes a snag you keep tripping over.

Here’s a practice to use when you want your week to breathe again.

It comes from Taiichi Ohno’s habit of drawing a chalk circle on the factory floor and asking people to stand inside it and watch.

No blame. No speeches. Just watch long enough to notice where the work slips.

You don’t need a factory to do this. Your circle can be a browser tab, a channel, a queue, or a calendar block. Anywhere real work moves.

I’ll walk you through it like we’re sitting at your desk.

find your circle

First, choose one spot where friction occurs.

Maybe it’s the support inbox, the ticket board, the place where handoffs start, or the message thread where “quick clarifications” live.

Set a simple timer for twenty minutes. Stay in that one spot. You’re not hunting for culprits. You’re counting what actually happens.

As you watch, write three short lines in plain language:

• what repeats,

• where people wait,

• which question keeps returning.

That’s it.

Three lines you would not be embarrassed to show another adult.

If you drift into shoulds, bring yourself back to “what I saw.”

make one edit you can keep

When the timer ends, choose one small edit to implement before lunch.

Think of it as removing a pebble from your shoe.

It might be adding the status page link to the first reply.
It might be assigning an owner in the handoff template.
It might be setting a real date for the review everyone keeps postponing.

Post the edit where the work lives so the next person sees it without asking you.

Add a short note of care: “If you relied on the old way, tell me once and we’ll either restore it or show the better path.”

Put a ten-minute review on next Friday’s calendar.

Not a meeting; just time to open the same spot, check what happened, and keep the change or revert with dignity.

what this looks like in real life

Here’s a simple example one of the leaders I work with ran last week.

Circle: our shared support inbox, late morning.

What I saw: eight “Where is it?” tickets in a row, three different answers, and a status page that exists but isn’t in the macro list.

The edit: add the status link to the first macro; name one person to keep it current; review a week later.

Nothing flashy.

The volume dipped a little. Answers matched. People stopped improvising at 4:45. That’s all they wanted: a calmer afternoon and a week that steers.

why this works when motivation doesn’t

Motivation argues with reality.

The circle listens to it.

You aren’t demanding more effort from people who are already trying; you’re removing one place where their trying gets wasted.

That’s a kinder way to lead yourself and everyone around you.

It also gives you something concrete to point to. “We added the link.” “We put a name on the template.” “We set a review and kept it.”

Those receipts are small, but they change the tone of a week. The room trusts you more when your changes are visible and reversible.

if this feels too simple

Good. Simple survives.

If the edit breaks something, restore it and write one line about what you learned.

You’re not being graded. You’re training your eyes and giving your week back some margin.

If you want to scale it, don’t add more changes; add more Fridays you actually review. The rhythm does the work.

try it today

Choose your circle.

Watch for twenty minutes. Write the three lines.

Post one edit with care. Put the review on next Friday.

Save one receipt that proves it helped, or proves it didn’t. Either way, you’ll walk into next week with clearer sight and one less snag.

With a lighter grip,

~ Warren

---

P.S.

Want help picking the right circle and writing the single edit so people thank you for it? The Clarity Sprint is open. Reply with one sentence about the knot, and I’ll point you to the smallest move.