A LEAN-inspired 5S approach can help chiefs and officers organize their thoughts before overload takes hold
Cognitive overload can overwhelm even the toughest fire service leaders. We only have so much bandwidth before we reach our limit, at which point feeling overburdened begins to impact our decision-making. Symptoms of this include: being slow to react to change, being indecisive, inability to see all sides of an issue, willingness to take shortcuts, susceptibility to heuristics/cognitive biases, or snapping and overreacting.
We all have our breaking points, and when you have too much on your plate when running a department, that breaking point can adversely affect your crews, the department, and by extension, the community.
One way to help organize and prioritize our cognitive load is a type of mental triage, which traditionally is used as a way to organize a physical space, known as the 5S model under the LEAN process improvement methodology. Except in this application, instead of cleaning and organizing an office, we are going to clean and organize our thoughts. We keep our equipment and gear ready to go; we need to keep our minds ready to go as well.
5S Improvement
You know that feeling you get after spring cleaning? Stuff gets thrown out that’s no longer used, the area is clean and smells fresh, and the clutter is tidied up and organized. Afterwards, you feel “lighter.” You feel accomplished, and stress gets reduced as the frustration of clutter and mess melts away. This is the feeling we want to replicate with our minds.
LEAN methodology, championed by Toyota, teaches a structured framework for cleaning a space called 5S. You first Sort all the items in the space and get rid of unnecessary clutter. Next, Set them in order in an arrangement with clearly identified labels. Next, Shine and clean the area not only for cleanliness or hygiene but to see if something is malfunctioning, like an oil leak. Then, Standardize with a checklist to ensure the previous three steps are done with regularity. Finally, Sustain with audits.
As an example, this model can be utilized to organize EMS supply closets or apparatus compartments. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that you’re executing a similar process in these spaces already. The 5S model clearly designates the steps, order, and instructions to ensure the space is clean and orderly, and most importantly, that it stays that way. Using a novel approach, we can also use this model to organize tasks and responsibilities so they don’t overwhelm us.
Step 1: Sort
The first step is Sort, which, instead of separating the junk, we are going to mentally triage and “brain dump” to sort out what’s important and what’s holding you back. Write down everything that’s on your mind: to-do lists, projects, email/texts that need replying, worries, and resentments. Next, sort them into 3 categories: control (things you can impact right now), delegate/postpone (things you can hand off or that can be addressed later), and Waste (things you can’t control, irrelevant, past regrets, distractions – get rid of these immediately).
Step 2: Set in Order
The second step is Set in order, where now that we know what’s necessary and what isn’t, we can organize the important items so they don’t consume active bandwidth when they aren’t actively needed. This organization requires guardrails. The guardrails prevent the order of things from crossing over. If you’re at work, home stressors should be “shelved” until you get home and can actually give them the attention they need. Every priority has a time block.
For instance, if you’re at home trying to sleep and you’re ruminating about work, tell yourself, “Every tool has its place, and its place is tomorrow at 0900. I am putting it away for now.”
The Alcoholics Anonymous Serenity Prayer lives by a similar mantra, which can be a helpful lens for comparison that teaches a similar delineation: what I can change, what I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference (Alcoholics Anonymous, 2022). This Serenity Prayer serves as a reminder that not every thought deserves immediate access to your mental workspace. This type of mental shift and guardrail takes practice, but can greatly reduce the worry we feel regarding things we can’t actively control in that moment.
Step 3: Shine
The third step is Shine, where we clean to show malfunctions like a chainsaw leaking oil (you can’t tell it’s leaking if everything around it is dirty). Mentally, Shine is the step where we have regular reflections to help identify stressors before they cause burnout and breakdowns. This reflection is a non-negotiable daily routine, such as deep breathing exercise, journaling, yoga, meditation, working out with music … something where you can practice mindfulness to be present and anchor yourself.
Just like when we physically shine, we want to inspect the space and ask: “Where am I feeling friction today?” “Why am I irritated?” By cleaning your mind daily and practicing mindfulness, you allow yourself to see and catch anxieties and resentments before they manifest into more serious ailments like mental breakdowns, depression, or chronic fatigue (Calm, 2026).
Step 4: Standardize
The fourth step is Standardize, or an automation of frequent or trivial decisions. This prevents decision-fatigue so that focus and effort can be allocated to more pressing issues accordingly. Essentially, you want to create SOPs for yourself, where positive behaviors get hardwired into repetitive habits.
Standardize your morning routine, workout schedule, meal prep, or commute. By standardizing the more mundane decisions in our lives where our baseline decisions can run on autopilot, you preserve your cognitive bandwidth and creative energy for dynamic and unpredictable situations (like the box, cut job, or high-level meeting).
Step 5: Sustain
The last step is Sustain, which in this case is synonymous with discipline. Discipline is a commitment to yourself to follow the first four steps. Just like when we sustain the cleaning of a physical space, this involves audits. A self-audit, or regular check-in with yourself, is needed to determine if 1) you adhered to the process and 2) if any negative mental inputs crept in (doom-scrolling, toxic gossip at the firehouse kitchen table, not protecting sleep/recovery time). For example, ask yourself once a week, “Did my mental framework hold up, or did the clutter creep back in?”
Final Thoughts
When we think of mental health, the advice “think positive” only goes so far. Approach cognitive overload the same way you would approach a cluttered EMS closet. By applying a systems-based approach to organizing our thoughts and actions, we can “declutter” our minds for sharper reactions in operations or in management. Management goes both ways; not only do we manage others, but we also need to manage ourselves.
