I work a full time job, raise children and manage the household, as my husband works out of state. I pay the bills. I shovel the snow. I run my children to their activities. You don’t want to know the last time I scrubbed my toilets. My kitchen sinks never longs for a dirty dish. The list goes on and on. I’m not complaining really. Just setting the tone for this post.
In order for me to find time to devote to formulating a business model and developing services, I have to let some things GO. Some call it managed chaos. In the midst of it all, there are times when I just close my eye and breathe deeply. “Thank you Lord. I am grateful. Please allow me to be silent, so I can listen to my inner wisdom.”
From household chores to family finances to business processes there are opportunities to be more efficient and to improve work flow.
6S – A Case for Non-OCD Organization
Leading up to 2011 I shared Organize Your B*a*g tips on Facebook. The idea behind posting this tips was to introduce you to 6S, a workplace method of organization and visual control.
Definition of each S:
- Sort – Distinguish between what is needed and not needed and to remove the latter.
- Stabilize – Enforce a place for everything and everything in its place.
- Shine – Clean up the workplace and look for ways to keep it clean.
- Standardize – Maintain and monitor adherence to the first three Ss.
- Sustain – Follow the rules to keep the workplace 6S-right—”maintain the gain.”.
- Safety – Eliminate hazards
Many women entrepreneurs work from home, hence causing a blurred line between business and home territories. As I’ve share before I do much of my writing from my kitchen island while glancing over at dirty dishes. Some nights this a distraction, but for the most part I am pretty laid back about it. With this said, it is important for women to determine their tolerance level for setting such things aside. But let’s not fool ourselves, putting certain things aside for too long will cause more stress in the long run.
Finding time for household duties, a day job and building a business can be overwhelming. Spreading yourself too thin and not devoting enough time to anything causes absolute chaos, which may defeat the whole reason you started your business; more time with the kids, improved lifestyle, freedom to volunteer.
Have you ever…
spent an extraordinary amount of time looking through a pile of outdated/unnecessary papers (computer files) for an important document? Sort – Distinguish between what is needed and not needed and to remove the latter.
been asked to fetch a tool for your significant other and they had no idea where they placed it last or not had a place to bookmark a reference website article? Stabilize – Enforce a place for everything and everything in its place.
looked at your toilets and been disgusted? Shine – Clean up the workplace and look for ways to keep it clean.
organized a space/draw/cabinet/computer folder only for it to be a mess again in a day/week/month? Standardize – Maintain and monitor adherence to the first three Ss. Sustain – Follow the rules to keep the workplace 6S-right—”maintain the gain.”
tripped over stuff on your stairs? Safety – Eliminate hazards
Tips and Tools
You don’t have to go OCD on organization to increase your efficiency and improve your work flow. Small changes = Big Benefits. Let’s face it your time is valuable. We need to start placing a monetary figure on our time. A 6S culture is the foundation of success. It about eliminating waste and establishing discipline. You set the standards that work for you.
I am working on a guide, with some worksheets and charts, to get you started on the 6S journey. It is part of my Manufacturing Joy with Re-Purposed Tools Ebook series. It is available for free for all my newsletter subscribers.
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