Sorting pivot table column headings

Hey fellow Excellians!

Been having some major frustrations trying to keep my pivot table column headings in the right order. Column headings are weekbands:

0–2 Weeks 2–4 Weeks

4–9 Weeks 9–13 Weeks 13–21 Weeks 21–26 Weeks 26–36 Weeks 36–52 Weeks 52–62 Weeks 62–78 Weeks 78+ Weeks Total 2 Weeks 9 Weeks 13 Weeks 52 Weeks

So far I’ve tried:

1. Using custom sort lists

2. Sort by > Column in the Data Model

3. Protecting the worksheet

Regardless, any time I apply a filter from a slicer (which will sometimes remove columns from the pivot as there is no data), all of the column headings get jumbled.

Not sure if there is something simple I’m missing. I also want to “lock” the columns/rows in place even when no data is returned from slices applied so that the table structure remains the same, but thought that fixing the sort issue would come first. Maybe I’m wrong?

Thanks!