Okay, so I wanted to share a bit about something I tried recently, kind of related to this name, Luke Steiner. It wasn’t like I met the guy or anything, but I stumbled onto this approach, maybe attributed to him, for tackling a problem I was having. Let’s call it the ‘Steiner Method’ for simplicity in my head. I was stuck on a project, things just weren’t clicking into place like I wanted.
The whole thing started because I was trying to organize a workflow. Not code this time, but actual physical steps for a small workshop setup I was building in my garage. Things felt chaotic, tools were everywhere, steps were inefficient. I kept losing time just looking for stuff or doing things in a dumb order. Really frustrating, you know? Felt like I was just wasting motion.
I remembered reading somewhere, maybe it was tied to Steiner, maybe not, about this really grounded, practical way of observing and then refining physical processes. Not some high-level theory, just basic observation and adjustment. So, I decided to give that mindset a go.
Getting Hands-On with the Process
First thing I did was just stop working. Sounds counter-intuitive, right? But I stopped trying to build and just watched myself, or rather, forced myself to think through the steps I usually took. I grabbed a notepad.
Then, I actually walked through the process slowly. Like, super slow motion. Pick up the wood. Walk to the saw. Measure. Cut. Where do I put the piece? Where do I get the next tool? I forced myself to notice every little movement, every time I had to double back or reach awkwardly.
- I noted down every single step, no matter how small.
- I physically placed markers (bits of tape) where I frequently stood or reached for things.
- I timed roughly how long certain transitions took, like walking from the saw back to the workbench.
This felt kind of silly at first. Just standing there, watching myself pretend to work. But it started to show patterns. Like, I always put the measuring tape back in a drawer across the room, only to need it again two minutes later. Dumb stuff like that.
Next, I started making tiny changes. Moved the tape measure holder right next to the saw. Cleared a specific spot on the workbench just for pieces waiting for the next step. Changed the order slightly – maybe do all the rough cuts first, then all the sanding. Simple things, really.
The key part was doing one change, then running through the process again, mentally or physically, to see if it felt smoother. Did it save a step? Did it feel less awkward? It wasn’t about a big revolution, just small improvements.
It took a couple of afternoons, mostly just observing and tweaking. Lots of trial and error. Move this shelf here, no that’s worse, move it back. Put the clamps there instead. Felt more like organizing a kitchen than anything high-tech.
In the end, the workshop flow is much better now. It’s not perfect, but I don’t feel like I’m fighting my own setup anymore. Things move more logically. It’s less tiring. This ‘Steiner Method’, or whatever you want to call this practical observation approach, it’s really just about being mindful and methodical about the physical world. Sounds obvious, but I wasn’t really doing it before. Sometimes you just need to slow down and watch carefully to see the simple fixes right in front of you.
