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Blog Topic:
Work-Life
Balance —Creating Boundaries
For You To Follow
Blog
Topic:
Work-Life
Balance —Creating Boundaries For Others
To Follow
Blog
Topic:
How
To Get A Handle On Time —Don’t Let
Time Ruin Your Work-Life Balance
If
you are drowning in piles of paper or overwhelmed with
clutter, like it or not, it’s time for you to get organized.
People spend an average of 22 minutes a day looking for
things around or on their desks. Now is the time to schedule
those lost minutes into productive activities to get rid
of the miles of piles.
A
Word About Prevention
Paper is a fact of life and always will be, arriving every
day in one form or another. A major key to avoiding the
avalanche in the first place is your ability to answer
the question, “Where does it all come from?” Subscriptions,
catalogs, ads/coupons, memos, faxes, letters, reports
and bills are just a few of the obvious forms. Once you
know where the bulk of unnecessary paper is coming from
you can take preventive measures to reduce the flow; for
example, cancel subscriptions, request that your name
be removed from mailing lists, and have people send you
e-mails instead of memos. (For more ideas, see my earlier
article, “Are You Ready for Change?”)
First
Step on the Road to Paper Control
chedule a block of time when you can work without interruption.
Be sure to have large trash containers close by. Get yourself
mentally ready to attack. Ready — set — go!
Scoop
everything together in a central location. Ask yourself…”Do
I really need this?”
-
No…Then
toss it (That’s what the trash containers are for.)
or recycle
-
No…Cancel the subscription.
-
No...If
you ever do need it, you can find it elsewhere.
-
No…It’s old or out of date.
-
Not all of it…You can cut out the article and throw away the
magazine.
-
No…You can delegate or pass on the information.
-
Maybe…Toss
into a big box to sort through later. If later never
comes, then guess what?…toss it in the trash or recycle.
-
Yes…Okay,
when? Only immediate action paper goes back on your
desk.
Building
an Effective Paperwork System
Begin
to categorize and prioritize what is left after de-cluttering.
Ask yourself.. “What do I do with it? What categories
and systems do I need in place to keep ME in control?”
Be sure to take into consideration everything you typically
DO with paper — behaviors and habits as well as
scraps, notes, reports and files. Above all, refrain from
using your desk as a “convenient” filing system.
Active
papers are those that are used most often — daily
or several times a week. These belong in active files
that are readily accessible — within or next to
your desk. Active files become parts of your paperwork
system. To expedite filing and retrieval, it is important
to have your filing system set up so that the labels match
your “what-do-I-do-with-it” categories, e.g.,
Clients, Marketing, Reference, Projects, Accounting. (Tune
in next month for some very specific filing tips.) Remember
to keep the paper flowing to its final destination.
Inactive
papers are those used infrequently. If at all possible,
keep them out of your office. Otherwise relegate them
to a file cabinet or bookcase in the least accessible
location — top shelves or back of file drawers. If archival,
get them off site.
Capture
Incoming Paper in One Location
Design a place for incoming materials and mark clearly.
Schedule a time to attack the “inbox” each day. Decide
whether to do it, file it, delegate it, delay it, or read
it. Organizational guru Stephanie Winston claims that
the key to paper management is processing — channeling
each piece from your inbox to its appropriate destination.
Last
but not least, remember that you can enter those papers
into computer files. Depending on your level of comfort,
turn paper into bits and bytes, but remember to set up
your hard drive with the same systems that you use for
paper management. (Coming up in August: “Order Out of
Computer Chaos.”)
I
like what Stephanie Culp says in her book,
You Can Find More Time for Yourself Every Day. “Whether
it’s the piles of paper in your office or the clutter
in your home, getting organized is a major time-saver.
Eliminate what you don’t need, organize the things that
you must keep, and put some simple systems into place
to keep things from getting out of control in the future.”
Sally
Allen, Professional Organizer
A Place for Everything, LLC www.aplaceforeverythingllc.com
"Organizing for Stress Free Living" at 303-526-5357
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Get
Organized!