The Six Fix #022: Lean Thinking Meet ChatGPT

Lean Thinking Meet ChatGPT. Leveraging AI for everything is all the rage. And there are dozens of examples, but I thought I would start by sharing a tactical approach I had that may.

This weekend I brought my old PC back to life with ChatGPT, and it saved me more than $1,300 and hundreds of hours of lost productivity.

No new computer. Trips to the Geek/Genius/etc bar. Just better questions.

This wasn’t some high-tech overhaul. It was a slow, frustrating desktop made fast again, with a little guidance and a couple budget parts.

While I am using a specific, pragmatic example, think about the overall process and how we can now apply this tool not only in our day-to-day lives, but also in our workplaces.

Let me explain.

The Problem

For months, I’d sit down to work and immediately get derailed.

Apps took forever to load, my browser crawled, and switching between tasks caused constant lag. While I waited, I’d get distracted—check email, open other tabs, start something else.

This wasn’t just annoying, it was costing me serious focus.

Eventually, I realized the lag itself wasn’t the only time sink. It was the domino effect. A mental tax of never staying on task.

After looking at my own habits, I estimated I was losing at least:

• 5–10 minutes per hour due to system lag
• Another 15+ minutes per day due to distraction loops
• Over 5 hours per week of wasted, fragmented time

Multiply that over the course of a year, and that’s 200–260 hours gone.

Can you think of processes at your job that have these little vampiric time-sucks that quietly steal productivity?

The Turning Point

I didn’t want to spend $1,500 on a new machine. But I also didn’t want to keep losing time.

So I opened ChatGPT and asked:

“Here’s a screenshot of my Task Manager. My system is slow. What can I do to make it faster?”

And honestly? That one question launched a full performance revival. (Yes, I have a PC, don’t tech shame me!)

The Fix, Guided by ChatGPT

Over the course of a few conversations, ChatGPT walked me through:

Step 1: Free Optimizations

• Turned off unneeded startup programs
• Disabled heavy background services
• Enabled Memory Saver and GPU acceleration
• Adjusted power and indexing settings

OK, cool. We’re getting 1-5% better here. Not life changing, but definitely enough for me to start taking notice. (Note the obvious parallels to small improvement initiatives we all see at work that get executives curious about what other ‘meat is left on the bone.’)

Step 2: Hardware Upgrades

I pushed ChatGPT harder;

Now that you know my system, what small, cheap component upgrades could I do that would give me tremendous improvement. Prompt me for any additional information you need to determine this. Take your time. Ensure 100% compatibility with my existing system.

Shortly after my new ‘computer expert’ helped me narrow down to 2 upgradge – SSD replacing my old hard disk and an upgrade of RAM.

It doesn’t matter if you know what those components do. The takeaway is that by leveraging a knowledgeable partner, I was able to quickly find the 80-20 that would best boost my computer’s performance.

Step 3: Misadventures and Corrections

But AI isn’t perfect. It’s not yet ready to operate on a critical (to me!) system without knowledgable insight.

At the onset, ChatGPT was very confident in proposing exactly what I needed. It even gave me the Amazon links to purchase the equipment. And I thought I could just go with its recommendations without consulting with people who knew better or mitigating downside.

After a few rounds of buying and returing the wrong parts (SSD with the wrong cycle timing, RAM geared for a laptop, not a desktop, etc) I better framed my questions. I even used a mini FMEA to cap my downside.

If I had followed the process I use in any other deployment, we would have gotten there much more quickly with less waste and rework! Turns out even in the new paradigm of AI assist the tried-and-true methods still hold up. We just have more tools to enable them.

In the end, we got there. ChatGPT helped me

• Identify exactly what type of RAM and SSD would work in my system (and the cables needed to connect them!)
• Avoid (additional) compatibility mistakes.
• With the confidence to buy and install the parts myself.

Step 4: Setup Walkthroughs

I haven’t built a computer since highschool. So, if these steps look like a bunch of jargon to you, you’re not alone!

• Cloning my system from HDD to SSD
• Setting BIOS boot order
• Reusing the old drive as backup
• Troubleshooting a RAM installation issue without bricking anything
• I was even able to upload pictures of my motherboard and have it guide me exactly on where to place the components!

This wasn’t a 20-hour project.

It took maybe 2 hours total of me mostly asking questions and following instructions. And another 2 hours of ordering, returning, and reordering equipment.

And now?

• My system boots in seconds
• Programs open instantly
• I stay on task
• I get more done without upgrading to a new machine

What I Spent vs. What I Saved

Let’s use some topics I cover in my courses about cost-benefit analysis.

Savings: Over $1,300 in hardware, and 260+ hours of productivity time

I based the $200/hour rate on what most Six Sigma Black Belts would conservatively value my focus time, especially when doing deep work, writing, planning, or problem-solving.

Why I’m Sharing This

You may be thinking that this is neat, but out of character for me to share. I typically talk about Lean, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence and things like that.

Well, long ago I discovered that “How you do one thing is how you do everything.”

And I know that for Lean and Six Sigma students it’s often difficult to translate the concepts to meaningful action.

Think about this case and the following core concepts:

1. The 8 Wastes (TIMWOODS) — Especially Waiting & Motion

• My laggy PC created the classic waste of waiting, which triggered motion (task switching, refocusing).
• This aligns with Lean’s idea that non-value-added time adds up fast, even when each instance seems minor.
• See more about classic waste here.

2. Hidden Factory

• All the invisible time you spent fighting your tools is a “hidden factory”: effort that doesn’t show up in reports, but eats productivity.
• How much loss is your company experiencing due to hidden factory costs?
• How would your career progress if you were the one to identify them and fix them?

3. Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)

• My “old PC” wasn’t broken—but its poor performance created rework, delays, and lost productivity.
• That’s savings, which Six Sigma quantifies as COPQ.
• Learn more about Cost of Poor Quality here.

4. Process Efficiency vs. Resource Efficiency

• Replacing the whole PC = resource efficiency.
• Upgrading bottlenecks = process efficiency — the smarter, leaner fix.

5. Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

• The value stream of my workday was interrupted by delays between tasks.
• Fixing the PC was like removing bottlenecks in a production line.
• Value stream mapping is a way to visualize what is really happening and then provide concrete numbers so you can prioritize the best way forward.

6. First Time Yield (FTY) & Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY)

• Every time you had to redo something because of distraction or lag? That’s a hit to your yield.
• Ever wish a process would just work the first time? That concept is First Time Yield.
• Ever notice a process where everyone optimized the individual links in a chain of events but didn’t deliver results because no one optimized the whole? Tha’t Rolled Throughput Yield.
• Learn more about Process Performance Metrics here.

Recap: Lean Thinking Meet ChatGPT

I didn’t use a technician. I didn’t watch hours of YouTube. I didn’t spend thousands. Just asked the right questions and followed the guidance and saved a ton!

That’s what studying Lean and Six Sigma can do for you. You will learn the right questions to ask and how do deliver value.

In an age where even deep knowledge work is being commoditized, this is permanent. You can have all the tools in the world. But even with 100% automation you still have to decide what is worthwhile to pursue.

Try This Prompt:

OK, let’s get practical again. I know many people will want the prompt so they can try the tactic.

Here you go. (Assuming you’re using a Window’s PC)

“Here’s a screenshot of my Task Manager. My computer feels slow. Can you walk me through a few free optimizations and recommend the best low-cost hardware upgrades I could make based on this system?”

Attach a screenshot. Ask follow-ups.

You don’t have to be technical—you just have to be curious.

We often think we need new tools to move faster.

Sometimes we just need to make the tools we already have… work better. And ask the right questions.

If something is slowing you down, don’t waste another day tolerating it.

You might be one chat conversation away from a much faster workflow.