Alright, let me tell you about this thing with John Hennegan. It wasn’t anything big, really, just something I tried out a while back.
I was cleaning out my garage, you know, one of those weekend projects that starts small and then suddenly eats your whole Saturday. Tucked away in an old toolbox, under some rusty wrenches, I found a crumpled piece of paper. It had some scribbled notes on it, barely readable. One line stood out: “Try the John Hennegan way for keeping things straight.” Who the heck is John Hennegan? I honestly couldn’t remember writing it or where I’d even heard the name. Must’ve been years ago.
The note didn’t explain much, just hinted at a really simple system, something about always putting a tool back immediately after using it. Like, immediately. Not down on the bench, not ‘I’ll do it later’, but right back in its spot. Seemed kinda obvious, maybe a bit too strict?
Giving it a Shot
My workbench was, well, let’s just say ‘organized chaos’ would be generous. So, I figured, why not? Couldn’t hurt. I spent the rest of that Saturday actually organizing the chaos. Made designated spots for the common stuff – screwdrivers, pliers, hammer, tape measure. Used some old tape to mark outlines for the bigger tools.
Then came the hard part: actually following the ‘rule’. First few times I used a screwdriver, my hand automatically went to put it down on the bench. Had to consciously stop myself, walk back to the pegboard, and hang it up. Felt weird, kinda slow, even annoying.
- Picked up hammer. Used it. Put it back in its loop.
- Grabbed pliers. Used them. Put them back in the drawer.
- Needed tape measure. Used it. Clipped it back onto its hook.
It felt like adding extra steps to everything I did. My workflow felt interrupted. I kept thinking, “This John Hennegan guy, whoever he is, must have had a lot of patience.”
So, What Happened?
I stuck with it pretty religiously for about two weeks. And yeah, the workbench stayed surprisingly clean. Like, remarkably so. Finding tools was quicker, no doubt about it. No more digging through piles.
But… yeah, there’s a but. It felt unnatural. Sometimes you’re in the middle of something complex, juggling three things at once, and stopping to put one small tool away exactly right then just breaks your concentration. Slowly, I started slipping. A screwdriver left out here, pliers there. Soon enough, the bench looked kinda like its old self, maybe slightly less cluttered.
So, the ‘John Hennegan way’, at least my interpretation of that cryptic note, wasn’t some magic fix for me. Maybe I didn’t do it right, or maybe it just doesn’t fit how I work. But the whole exercise wasn’t useless. It made me more aware of the mess I create and how much time I waste looking for stuff. Even though I don’t follow it strictly now, I’m definitely a bit better at putting things back sooner than I used to be. So, thanks for the experiment, mystery John Hennegan, wherever that idea came from.
