Since cooking is so central to both our survival and our sense of creativity, it should be no surprise that we’ve invented words that specifically describe things we do while making our way around a kitchen. One such phrase is “mise en place” a French term that (crudely) means “everything in its place.”

In essence, mise en place, or “mise” for short, refers to the practice of preparing and organizing all the ingredients, tools, and equipment needed for cooking before we every light a flame or preheat a pan. Not only does a well planned and well execute mise make our time in the kitchen more enjoyable, but thanks to the added level of preparation and thoughtfulness it helps us create a better dish. While a proper mise may seem like a task set aside for those special one-off dinners like Thanksgiving or anniversaries, even our  less luxuriant weekday, one-pot, or sheet-pan meals will benefit from a thoughtful pre-planning session.

But besides its ability to help up navigate a cook-top, mise en place helps us navigate the rest of our lives. When we hit the trail for a long-run mise en place tells us to not forget the right amount of water or nutrition. When it’s finally time to get down to writing, mise en place reminds us that we like this part of the house as opposed to that part of a coffee shop. When its time for date night mise en place argues that we should do whatever we can to leave a good impression.

In effect, mise en place is a way of doing life. It’s taking time to see what’s coming down the pike and being adequately prepared when it finally lands. It’s surveying our current resources to make sure we can allocate them for what lies ahead. When we preform our mise for gardening, or our weekly gatherings, or next creative project we give ourselves a better chance at not only enjoying the process, but making soething truly special.