REVIEW: Kaizen by Sarah Harvey

A Japanophile and self-help sceptic explores the newest Japanese wellness fad, Kaizen

Kaizen by Sarah Harvey Published on 19th September 2019 by Bluebird

It seems like every month there's a new Japanese philosophy that can be applied to our lives. There's been Wabi Sabi, Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Kintsugi, Chowa and Marie Kondo's world-conquering tidiness techniques. You'd think at some point, Japan would run out of these types of philosophy, but it seems the trend is still going strong as of yet.

As someone very interested (AKA mildly obsessed) with Japan, I've always been intrigued by these concepts, and as I was about to start a few new projects and make a few lifestyle changes, a book on how to best change and adopt habits was perfect for me. I admit to being slightly sceptical of self-help in general, so I wasn't expecting too much when I started reading Kaizen, and it was a pleasant surprise to find the advice was very helpful, and even moreover, that the book itself is a thoroughly enjoyable, cleverly-constructed and engaging read on everything from Japanese culture to the various ways you can make easy changes to you life for big effect.

Kaizen, literally meaning 'improvement', is a way of making big changes to your life in small steps. Rather than diving in head first to huge life changes (whether that's changing your diet, starting a major new project, a new exercise routine etc.), the advice is to make gradual 1% improvements, rather than a major overhaul overnight.

As the author says 'It is about setting long-term, medium-term and short-term goals, then thinking of small, incremental adjustments you can make to work towards these goals.'

For instance, for me, this meant pledging to write 200 words of my novel a day, rather than the 1000 words I've tried to force myself to write on previous attempts. Making it a smaller, less obtrusive change on your life makes it much easier to be adopted.

The background to Kaizen is also fascinating. It originally comes from a Japanese concept, but wasn't widely known until it was transported to America, where it was adopted into business theory, encouraging businesses to make lots of small 1% changes rather than major overhauls.Ironically, and far-too-typically, America then shipped the concept back to Japan after World War 2, selling their own philosophy back to them as revolutionary. In fairness, it was highly effective, triggering huge growth and helping to revitalise the Japanese economy. The Toyota company in particular are cited as a great success, using the Kaizen philosophy on their production line to great effect.

As a guide to Kaizen, the book is helpful, with a remarkably comprehensive analysis of how Kaizen could work in many different areas of your life, from health to diet to work to relationship to your home to hobbies and projects. It's brilliant, and I picked up 5+ tips I'd have never thought about as they seem so small, but have proven effective (e.g. task yourself with drinking a full glass of water before you leave the house in the morning to help you get hydrated, have a digital detox for half an hour before bed etc). There's also lots of practical tips on things like how to journal.

As you'd hope from a self-help book like this, the package is beautifully put together. It's a small format hardback with a lovely jacket, and the interior pages are intricately designed and very aesthetically pleasing. There's tons of nods to Japan and it's a very relaxing experience to read the book given the way the pages are laid out. My one complaint would be that the imagery of Japan, as gorgeous as it was, didn't necessarily seem to fit with the content it was displayed alongside. It's a minor quibble, but I think it could've been more clearly linked here.

Overall, as a Japanophile and self-help sceptic I was expecting to enjoy a journey through Japanese philosophy without taking away too many practical tips for my own life, but I'm delighted to report that it was enjoyable and has already proven highly effective over the past week. Thoroughly recommended!

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I received a review copy from Bluebird in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.