The 5S System - What Is It and How Does It Apply to You?

The 5S system is a 5 word productivity system - you guessed it, all the words start with the letter "S". The words are Japanese words and I will post them in Japanese, because of course that will make me look much smarter, with the English translation. 

This system is typically used in the workplace, but is easily applicable to home and life organization and productivity. 

Take a look at these words and definitions and see if there are parts of this system that could work for you:


Seiri 整理
Sort

Remove unnecessary items
Remove obstacles
Waste removal
Prevent accumulation of unnecessary items


Seiton 整頓
Set (Straigten, Streamline)
Arrange all necessary items so they are easily selected for use
Make workflow easy
Make it easy to find and pick up necessary work items.
Prevent loss of work or waste of time.


Seiso 清掃
Shine (Scrub, Sanitize)

Keep workplace clean and pleasing to work in
Keep workplace safe and easy to work in
Prevent machinery deteriation


Seiketsu 清潔
Standardize

Maintain orderliness
Every process has a standard
Everything in its place


Shitsuke 躾
Sustain

To keep in working order
Do without being told
Training and Discipline
Everything about this list screams ridding of the unnecessary equals efficiency and order. This is so true in all areas of our lives.  

Now go "Seiton" something! 

Why You Won't Reach Your Goal, Even Though You Want To

Wow,  How negative can I be? 

 I've already decided you won't reach the goals you have set for yourself in 2016!!  

What the title should read, but it would have been entirely too long is:

Why You Won't Reach Your Goal, Even Though You Want To, But If You Do These Things You Can Reach Your Goal!

So what are the magic bullets for reaching your goals:

1.  You have to be a little uncomfortable 

Yep, most goals take you out of your comfort zone. 

You have to get up earlier, you have to exert more effort, you have to change old habits, you have to change your way of thinking.  All of those things take you out of the familiar.

2.  You have to really want to change, not because someone wants you to change.

Many of us will set goals because a friend, a spouse, a parent are encouraging us to be different in some way......make some sort of change.  Yes, the change probably would be good for you, but until you are ready and you own it, your exuberance and drive will fizzle very quickly. 

3.  You have to make and schedule time.

Most New Year's goals center around weight loss, getting more organized, gaining financial freedom, practicing more quiet time, etc.  All of those things take effort and time.  So, when have you scheduled time to do these things?  If you say you are going to get up 30 minutes earlier each day, is that when it is warm outside the covers or are you really committed to getting up?  If you say you are going to clean out your closet, when is that non-negotiable appointment on your calendar?

  

What is planned gets done! 

So, now, look at your goals, re-evaluate and work on being a little uncomfortable, being committed to change and scheduling time.  If you do those things, this time next year, you will be saying.....LOOK AT WHAT I DID!!!!  

HAPPY 2016!  

10 Common Reasons You Can't Get Organized

I hear it all the time...HELP!  I work and I work and I work and I just cannot get organized. 

I can give you 10 of the most common reasons why you can't get organized. 

1.  You are trying to organize like someone else thinks....not how you think.
2.  You are trying to organize too much at one time.
3.  You are not willing to let go.
4.  You are not staying focused for any length of time.
5.  You are not taking the next step....are you hanging up your robe, are you putting the trash in the trash can, the dirty dish in the dishwasher, are you taking the designated donate items to a donation location, etc.
6.  You do not have a home for everything
7.  You have not scheduled time to organize
8.  You have unreal expectations about how long it will take to undo what has taken years to do.
9.  You want to talk about getting organized more than you really want to exert the effort to change habits and ways of thinking.
10. You have life reasons such as sickness - physical or mental or you have way too many things on your life plate.  

All of the above are legitimate reasons but all can be overcome.  You just have to be honest enough, with yourself, to know the reasons why and see what you can do to combat those obstacles, because you truly can combat them.    I'll tell you a little secret........if you look at the top 9 reasons, just do the opposite of what the sentence says and you can overcome that obstacle.  
For example, #1 - You are trying to organize like someone else thinks....not how you think.
What you say to yourself is - how do I think and what will work for me?

#2 -  You are trying to organize too much at one time
What you say to yourself is - I am going to organize one shelf.....not the whole kitchen. 

See how that works.  The only one that will not work with is reason #10.  There are things in life that are really out of your control but even in those times, you do have more control than you think......sometimes you just have to do things you don't really feel like doing.  

Take a look at the list above, do any of them ring true to you?  
There are other reasons, too, what are some of yours?