Is your email inbox jammed with unread emails, overdue actions, unanswered or missing communications?  Your email folders burdensome, cluttered complicated and confusing?

This clutter robs you of productivity, decreases business agility, and manifests as stress and overwhelm, as well as many hours outside of work scrambling to clean up or stay ahead.

By following a profound yet simple Japanese philosophy known as 5S, you’ll become better organized and as a result will increase your productivity.

5S is a philosophy based on five Japanese words that begin with the letter  ‘s’ which have been translated to English words that retain their original intent.

1.       Sort (Seri) – When in doubt move it out. Go through everything in the inbox and only keep what’s necessary and relevant to work….store or discard the rest.
2.      Set (Seiton) – Assign a location for every remaining communication; action related, project related, delegated, reference, etc. Keep communications you access frequently in a manner where you don’t expend unnecessary time retrieving them.
3.      Shine (Seiso) – Delve a bit deeper into your email processing habits and your workflow management.  Up the ante so to speak in regards to the email you save, naming conventions, labels, and folder hierarchies.
4.      Standardize (Seiketsu) – Apply a consistent approach and methodology to email management, both for the email you send and the email you receive. Set aside time in your day or week to keep the inbox and related folders clean and clutter free. Clear the clutter of incoming email and begin the next workday organized.
5.      Sustain (Shitsuke) – Integrate control’s to make sure you don’t slowly fall back into old habits of communications accruing and unattended to in the inbox.

This methodology has been proven in all areas of the manufacturing industry, health industry, government and business office in application to physical clutter, but is equally effective with digital clutter and the email inbox.  Looking for a place to get started?  Check out this acclaimed course: 5S Your Email & Get Out From Under Your Inbox.

Kind Regards,

Tracy Parks, Certified Productive Environment Specialist and CEO of Simplicated