tidying up: finding joy in systems
Recently, I watched Marie Kondo’s “Tidying Up” docu-series on Netflix. While it may seem like an unusual choice, it profoundly influenced my approach to both personal and professional life. What resonated most wasn’t just the physical decluttering — it was her philosophy of intentionality and the idea that systems should ‘spark joy.’
As someone passionate about operations and process improvement, I discovered surprising parallels between her methodology and effective business operations. Just as Kondo encourages people to touch each item and question its value, I’ve learned to examine each process or system with the same intentionality. At Atölye, an strategic design and innovation consultancy, I’ve put this philosophy into practice by transforming our digital support system. By implementing a 24-hour resolution target for low-complexity support requests, we’ve achieved a 99% success rate. But what truly embodies the ‘spark joy’ principle is how we’ve integrated no-code solutions in our workflows streamlining processes. These aren’t just metrics — they represent real improvements in how our team experiences their daily work.
At the early-wage access fintech startup where I also work, this mindset helped me transform our customer support system. Instead of simply adding more tools and processes, we stripped everything back to the essential elements and rebuilt from there. The result was an 88% increase in efficiency, but more importantly, both our team and customers reported feeling more supported and heard.
Similarly, while streamlining warehouse operations at Farm To Feed, I applied this mindset to evaluate every step of our process: Does it add value? Does it serve our ultimate purpose? This evaluation led us to eliminate several redundant steps and implement Zapier automations, improving efficiency by 35%. But the real success wasn’t in the numbers — it was seeing how much more time our team had to focus on meaningful work, like building relationships with farmers and ensuring food reached those who needed it most.
The show beautifully demonstrates how the right systems can transform not just spaces, but people’s lives. There’s a powerful moment when a family finally sees their dining table after months and suddenly begins eating together again. It reminded me that good operations aren’t just about efficiency — they’re about creating space for what truly matters. I witnessed this principle in action at Daba Finance, where simplifying our user onboarding process did not only increase customer engagement — it made investing in African startups more accessible to people who had never considered it before.
This philosophy has become central to how I approach problem-solving in tech and operations: creating clean, intentional systems that not only work efficiently but actually improve people’s daily experiences. Whether I’m implementing a new financial system, streamlining data processes, or building automated workflows, I always ask myself: Does this spark joy for the end user? Does it create more space for meaningful work? Is it truly serving our purpose?
When something is well-designed, whether it’s a home organization system or a business process, it should feel almost invisible while making life noticeably better. Just as Marie Kondo helps people rediscover joy in their homes, I’m passionate about helping organizations build operations that allow their true purpose to shine through. This extends to the future of AI and how it augments our workflows — an area that deeply excites me.
