There’s this story I think about constantly—it’s my Roman Empire.
The founders of McDonald’s once drew their entire kitchen layout in chalk on a tennis court.
Then they had their team walk through it.
They watched for the bumps: where people ran into each other, took unnecessary steps, or had to wait awkwardly for space.
It was low-tech. Obvious. Genius.
They saw the inefficiencies—and then eliminated them.
Faster fries, happier workers, smoother systems.
But Here’s the Thing…
We’ve all lost our tennis court.
Most of us work remotely now, juggling Slack threads, calendar invites, texts, and half-finished notes in six apps.
You can’t see the bumps anymore.
You just feel them:
Why does everything take longer than it should?
Why did I forget that thing (again)?
Why do I feel behind, even when I’m working constantly?
Spoiler: It’s not you.
It’s the invisible systems we’ve built around ourselves.
🕐 Try This Today (5 Minutes)
Sketch your tennis court.
Pick one frustrating thing you meant to do this week but didn’t. Maybe it’s RSVP’ing to something, finishing a work task, or actually booking that appointment you’ve had in your head for weeks.
Now ask yourself—really:
Where did the process break down?
Was it the moment you picked up your phone to do the task, then got sucked into Instagram or email?
Did you overestimate how quick it would be? (Spoiler: they always ask you to make a login.)
Did you get 80% there and quit before the finish line?
Are you giving your tasks enough runway?
We tell ourselves, “Oh it’ll just take a minute.”
But then you hit a snag—forgot the password, have to confirm your email, find the Zoom link in a random email.
And suddenly that “quick task” becomes tomorrow’s problem. Again.Did you finish-finish it?
I signed up for a conference last month. ✅
Flights booked, ticket confirmed, calendar updated. Look at me go!
…But I didn’t take the 5 extra minutes to download the app and log in.
So day-of? I’m scrambling. No agenda. No session info. Totally avoidable.
📌 Bottom line?
You’re not forgetful or lazy—you’re running invisible processes in a world full of distractions.
Make the steps visible. Give them room to breathe.
And for the love of all things organized, finish the task when you’re already 80% there.
You’ve got this.
-Monica
