Finally, a post about something I REALLY know the nitty-gritty of: the much talked about - at least in manufacturing circles - Five S Methodology... with a Musical Wind twist.There's a lot of material available on the web on the principles and background that conform The Toyota Way, and while the practices mainly focus in the manufacture of goods of all kinds, I know of some people that have made the leap into establishing the 5s principle to lead a better & enhanced life. So with this in mind let us jump right into the program: Seiri, Seiton, Seisu, Seiketsu and last but not least, Shitsuke - these are the five phases of the 5s methodology.
1. Seiri
Sort but also taken as Straighten. Basically this requires one self to stop and take a look at everything that composes our daily life, no one is looking at that but ourselves so feel free to really lay everything out: work, family, loved ones, fears, hungers, memories, needs, wants, habits. Classify the all, essential and non essential, keep the ones you REALLY need to move along, store those who are suceptible of being stored and DISCARD those that are just a lump of ballast weight in your life.
2. Seiton
Arrange, set things in order. Everything in you must have a place clearly set for it. While the concept sounds a bit osbcure it really comes to life after the previous step (Seiri) has been taken care of; once you classify it is easier to tidy up your life. Each one of us as a particular order on which to set things like or goals, family, work and relationships for example so there is no blanket rule as to how to arrange for it all.
3. Seisu
Clean up... sweep. As we go along with our days, weeks and/or months, some of the things we so neatly classified and arranged before, will unsettle a little bit. There is no need to wait until things get out of hand to do some housecleaning and review our items to make sure we keep them in an orderly fashion. It is a thing of self discipline which could start with a daily recap of the day's events after we retire to sleep. We must Seisu in a proactive manner... don't wait to react, jump on the opportunity to improve as soon as it presents itself!
4. Seiketsu
The word Standardize feels too cold to describe this phase of the methodology. How about the thought of establishing a personal sense of organizing everything?. There are some thing that merit the establishment of a routine: excercise, recreation, studying, self improvement. This does not mean everything you do follows a protocol, not at all!, it mainly implies that in your daily routine, for example: you never take your work problems home, nor you hold a grudge in bed until the next day, nor you miss saying "I love you" to those who matter to you.
5. Shitsuke
Sustainability. The warp up of the 5s methodology requires that for it to be successful we maintain it by making it a habit and permanent practice to follow all these phases through. We finish one cycle and we start yet another one. One of the best attributes this can have is that nothing is set in stone, it is a LIVE program, it grows with us and as we improve so does its focus.
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Our lives are affected by a myriad of variables, some we are prepared to expect, others we just have to face as they eventuate. On top of that, in our passage we gather an enormous amount of things, and the sad reality of it is that most is just clutter that impedes out moving on forward. Clutter is waste. And waste we must do without, life's too precious to dispense effort on dragging that clutter iron ball attached to our ankles.
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