Optimizing the Brew
Applying ergonomics and human-home interaction to my college dorm coffee routine
Overview
A tiny ergonomics experiment using time‑motion analysis to reduce wasted movement in my dorm coffee routine. Three small spatial changes cut time by 24%, actions by 18%, and footsteps by 23%
Inspired by Lillian Gilbreth’s work in kitchen ergonomics and time-motion studies, I analyzed my morning instant coffee routine to see how small spatial changes could reduce wasted motion.
The goal was not to redesign a beautiful kitchen. It was to study an ordinary, slightly chaotic routine and ask: where is the friction hiding?
When: Autumn 2022
What: Independent study project for Stanford CEE 33C: Housing Visions
Background
Lillian Gilbreth was an industrial engineer and psychologist who studied how domestic spaces could be designed around human movement. Her work challenged the idea that kitchens were just rooms filled with appliances. Instead, she treated them as workspaces shaped by reach, sequence, repetition, and fatigue.
That lens felt especially relevant in a dorm kitchen, where the constraints were very real: limited counter space, shared appliances, awkward storage, and a morning routine usually performed while half-awake before class.
Lillian Gilbreth, 1878 - 1972 (Source: Wikipedia Commons, Architectural Review)
Experiment
I approached this experiment using a time-motion study, a method that Gilbreth used in her research, and this method is still widely used today in scientific management.
The process consisted of recording my original coffee routine and breaking it down into small repeated actions: walking, reaching, grabbing, opening, rinsing, waiting, and cleaning.
The routine was very college: instant coffee, microwave, milk frother, syrups, sink. No judgment, please.
By mapping each step, I could see where the workflow created unnecessary movement. The biggest issue was that the routine kept pulling me between the sink, microwave, fridge, and storage areas instead of supporting one continuous sequence.
Above: Video of my original routine.
Routine breakdown by task type:
Changes
The biggest opportunity was to stop treating the routine as a trip around the kitchen and instead make the microwave the anchor of the workflow.
Since heating water was the longest fixed step, I reorganized the surrounding tasks around that wait time. The goal was not to create a perfect kitchen setup, but to reduce the small, repeated interruptions that made the routine feel more scattered than it needed to be.
I focused on three simple adjustments:
1. Cluster frequently used items
I moved the coffee syrups, instant coffee, and milk frother closer to the microwave, so the main ingredients lived near the step that took the longest.
2. Reduce unnecessary reaching
Frequently used items were kept within easier reach, reducing cabinet-opening and backtracking during the routine.
3. Sequence tasks around waiting time
Instead of alternating between stations, I reordered the routine so smaller prep tasks could happen while the water heated.
This turned the microwave from just one step in the process into the center of the whole coffee-making sequence.
Results
The changes made the routine noticeably faster and less scattered.
Before
# seconds: 125
# tasks: 62
# footsteps: 30
After
# seconds: 95
# tasks: 51
# footsteps: 23
That meant 24% less time, 18% fewer actions, and 23% fewer footsteps.
Conclusion
This was a tiny experiment, but that was the point.
Ergonomics does not only matter in idealized kitchens or industrial workflows. It also shows up in ordinary routines: where objects live, how often we reach for them, which steps interrupt each other, and how much movement we stop noticing because it feels normal.
This project helped me see domestic space as a system of repeated decisions: even when the “system” is just a college student trying to make instant coffee before a 9 AM lecture.