Applying 5s Principles to Personal Life (Part 2)

Click Here for Part 1 of Applying 5s Principles to Personal Life

The 5s Methodology was developed in Japan to improve efficiency of workflow in the work place. It is a process that consists of 5 parts seiri (整理), seiton (整頓), seisō (清掃), seiketsu (清潔), and shitsuke (躾).

Part 1 speaks of the first step in the 5s Methodology which is "Sorting" or Seiri (整理). This is the process of assessing the things that you have and assessing if it is something that is to be kept, discarded, or kept temporarily to decide later.

The advantages of sorting is that you de-clutter your space of things that are taking up space or serve as distractions to your goals. As we pointed out, these can be in your work, home, or "internal" as in bad habits or negative thoughts.

Now, that you have yourself a list of the things that are worth keeping and are beneficial to you, it's time to Straighten them or put them in order.

I think that this is one of the most important and (for me) the most challenging steps in the process.

Everything that you decide to keep needs to be given a space where it resides. In the workplace, these spaces are usually labeled in order to quickly identify when something is out of place, to help you work more quickly and efficiently, and to aid in cleaning up quickly. This step is how we begin to organize our space. Items that are used more often are kept in more-convenient spaces. Less-frequently used items should be kept in more out-of-the-way areas, and seldom-used objects kept in those hard-to-reach areas that are out of the way.

Though it may seem tedious, labeling each location is a game-changer. You will find your space much more organized which will allow your productivity to flourish. This is just as important at home as it is at work - perhaps even more so, since spending less time doing household tasks at home means more quality time with your family.

Other tips for Straightening up include color-coding, getting shelving, bins, trays, etc. Boxes should be transparent in order to keep things readily-visible, or else they should be clearly and neatly labeled on the outside in a consistent and uniform manner.

Much of it doesn't need a lot of explanation. You're probably already doing most things in this manner. Think things through as you create your space. Potholders, ladles, pots and pans, make the most sense being near the stove/oven. Christmas decorations can go up in the attic. Just extend this thinking to every thing that you own and plan to keep.

Now to internalize it....

Those things that are important to you, that you want to keep. That doesn't just apply to your things. It also applies to your activities, your thoughts, your emotions, etc. In part one, you took a personal inventory and decided what is important and what isn't. Here is where we make space for those things that are important. For some of these things, the space that is needed will be in the form of time, for others it will be head space (which also requires time), or it could be physical space. For the activities that you wish to keep or have more of, whether it is quality time with your loved one/ family, meditation, prayer, reading a book, entertainment, exercise, or whatever it may be, schedule time and place for them. Incorporate these activities into your plans. For many of these, you will need to set apart a physical space form as well. If you are wanting to spend more time working on a hobby, doing crafts, restoring a car, or watching TV, create a place for that to be done.

While you are creating space in time (scheduling), and in physical space remember that it is important to create space in your mind for them as well. This can take the form of visualization, meditation, conversation, journalling, vision boards, a combination of these, or whatever other methods that will help you to incorporate and organize these activities into your life.

Also keep in mind that these steps do not need to be performed in a linear (1, 2, 3...) manner and that this is a process of continual improvement. Remember, all you need is a few baby-steps at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself, and keep in mind that you may have to go backwards before going forward. In other words when you're getting things organized, you often have to toss everything into a big heap in the middle of your living space before you declutter everything.

While you're working on these things, feel free to go back and rehash step one as needed.

If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to leave a comment.