5S Office Management

When was the last time you saw your desktop? If your answer is, "Hmm...I don't really remember," do you realize how much time and energy you are wasting just looking for stuff? I am guessing that you already know you are wasting time. Or maybe you are so embarrassed by your messy office that you don't even let clients see it. You end up meeting with clients in a conference room. You did like to get your office cleaned up, but you have no idea where to start.

Let me suggest a concept called: 5S. 5S is an organizational tool born out of the Toyota production system called Lean.

The basic idea behind 5S office management is that a messy office is full of waste. Not only the waste you can see, i.e. the mess; but the time wasted in looking for the right file, your phone, eye glasses. You get the idea. (Caveat: Lean tools like 5S are designed to work together to create a synergistic whole. Ideally, they should not be implemented individually, but rather as a part of an entire Lean organization. That being said, 5S is something you can implement today, with the understanding that your goal is to create a more effective and efficient office as a whole.)