5S is a Japanese method used for organizing things. The 5Ss are seiri, seiton, seisō, seiketsu and shitsuke. These have been translated into:
Sort
Start looking at documents on your hard drive and cloud storage and remove anything you no longer need.
- Start with the oldest files. Do you still need that file from 2014 that you no longer use? No? Delete it.
- Do you have five versions of a file? Is the last one the final version? If so, delete the other four.
- Unsure as to whether you will need something or not? Back it up then delete.
Set in Order
To set in order means to put all necessary items in the optimal place. Use your folders to help keep files organized so you can find them when you need them. Give the folders easy-to-identify names so you know exactly what is in each folder.
Quick Tips:
- Keep names short.
- Avoid using characters that conflict with cloud storage: " * : < > ? / \ |
- If you need to put a date within the filename, always use the same format (e.g. yyyymmdd).
- Use sequential numbering (01, 02, etc instead of 1, 2, etc.).
- If you store your documents in OneDrive or SharePoint, there's no need for multiple files with different version numbers - both these tools offer version control!
- Create folders using names that make sense to you but avoid over-organizing. Think about a door - how many doors do you want to open to get to the place you want to be? The same thing is true of folders.
- Organize files to match the way you work. If you are used to having physical documents, think about how you would arrange them in a file cabinet. Your computer storage can work the same way! Examples:
- Business managers: Create folders with years (2021-2022) then within that folder, create folders with department names or account numbers in which to file invoices and such.
- Faculty and instructors: Create with years (2021-2022), then one for each class, and one folder for each student, filing important class documents within that folder.
- Researchers: Create files or folders with researcher initials and a date format.
- Anyone: Make it simple with these folders: Working or Drafts (files you are working on), Review (documents you need to review), Final (the final version), and Archive (files that don't fit in the other two folders).
Shine
Sweep, clean, and inspect your file storage regularly. Set aside a regular time (weekly, biweekly, or monthly) to look through storage for items that can be deleted or filed appropriately. Once you make the initial run-through, it should be quick and easy to “shine” regularly.
Standardize
Establish procedures and schedules to ensure the repetition of the first three “S's. Standardize the way you store files. Use OneDrive to store your working documents “not ready to share” and use SharePoint to store documents that should be shared with other team members.
Sustain
Ensure the 5S approach is followed. Sustaining change is often the hardest part. After you decide on a schedule, mark the time on your Outlook calendar. Don’t know how to do that? Contact the Service Desk at 901.448.2222.