I’ve never taken a cooking lesson, but I’ve heard similar advice from a floral design teacher, a Japanese tea ceremony narrator, and a printer who started his career in a Navy print shop.
Chefs learn to operate with everything in its proper place do they can work most efficiently.
(Go ahead and read. I have to clean my desk now. Then I have to tweak the nature of one of my characters.)

For A More Ordered Life, Organize Like A Chef : The Salt : NPR

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/08/11/338850091/for-a-more-ordered-life-organize-like-a-chef?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140811

So many ideas are hidden in this NPR story about parenting practices around the world. Try one as a prompt and see where it takes you.

Global Parenting Habits That Haven’t Caught On In The U.S. : Parallels : NPR

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/08/12/339825261/global-parenting-habits-that-havent-caught-on-in-the-u-s?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140812