Paper management Archives

Your Desk Assignment

January 14, 2013 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources

Since January was GO Month, I’m continuing to bring you Get Organized tips. Today, here’s your Desk assignment if you choose to tackle it! Because, you know…it might be a mess regularly, or you may need to start getting tax papers together.

You know your why, I’ll show you how.

Spend the thirty minutes to hour of your day at work keeping your desk organized for a more productive week, month & year!

Really! If you spend 30-60 min’s today and clean up your desk, it will make you feel so much better, more productive, more effective and less stressed when you sit down (or stand) to get back to work.

Here’s a quick breakdown with a few tips to keep in mind as you are tackling this little (or maybe not so little?) task:

If you already have a good filing system in place, sort & file or toss/shred the rest. IF NOT…
Decide if you are A filer or A piler (more here ). If you are a ‘filer’ proceed to the next step using a vertical file sorter. If you are a ‘piler’ then proceed but modify this system using a horizontal filing baskets, bins or small drawers.
Create a ‘Tickler or Action file system’ for the items that need to remain nearby. There are several types like 43 Folders or a more action-based system. Sort items & file or toss/shred the rest. Action files may include: To Do, Pay, Contact, Research or Decisions, Complete, Pending, Read, Delegate, Upcoming events, File, Current projects (by name) and more.
Clear supplies off surfaces. Put them in drawers or bins/boxes/baskets and label as needed. Keep only what you use regularly on the desk. One pen/pencil and one notepad and the electronic paraphernalia.
Utilize vertical space. Hang a cork, whiteboard, calendar, or action file sorter (not where things should live permanently!). Consider anything else that you can remove from your desk to better use vertical space.
Remove anything unrelated to work or home office (toys, mail that hasn’t been sorted, tools, knickknacks, etc.)
Optimize your workspace ergonomics. Check the height of your chair, monitor, and desk. Add good lighting and consider using or adjusting arm rests, using a riser for your monitor, a wedge for your wrists etc.
Include something beautiful (not a bunch of things!). One or two beautiful objects like a plant, a crystal, a photo, candle etc. that give you a place for you to rest your eyes. Cast your gaze on these when you are taking recommended 3-min breaks from your monitor.

IF this doesn’t seem like a task you can tackle in 30-60 min’s and you can’t do it all at once then tackle the tasks above that seem easy and check them off the list. When it comes to the BIG piles, can you do a quick sort and keep only the things you really need on/near your desk in a desktop sorter of some type? The rest can go into a box for you to label “SORT” and work on a little at at time (30 min’s a day) for the rest of the week or until it’s done.

Coming to work tomorrow will be that much more joyful with a neat an tidy desk!

Brought to you by National Clean off your desk day! Who thinks of these things? Hallmark? Is there a card for it?

Now, I’m off to take my own medicine! Happy Clean Desk Day!

Finding Electronic Files

November 9, 2012 by Heather Filed Under: Digital Organizing, Organize, Paper management, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 1 Comment

In my previous life as a Designer and Project manager, I witnessed a lot of different filing systems both electronic and paper. Some of these were quite effective but many were very cumbersome and way too complicated. Below, my take away is a system that I created based upon the best of everything I learned. I use this system across the board for all my files (on my computer, on paper and in the cloud- design-business-personal).

Having one simplified filing system that applies to all categories makes it simple to locate what you need wherever you need it.

Inside Level 1:: Broad Hierarchy based categories

You can see I have less than 12 folders that are logically divided by category. These live in my main documents folder (which is where everything goes).

Inside Level-2:: Sub Categories-Business folder (similar sub folders for other categories)

…again not many folders and I’m keeping categories broad but specific to help me quickly locate files.

Inside Level 3::Detailed Categories (Year- ‘Clients’ folder)

This is where all client folders are kept by year. I happen to keep my client folders alphabetically by last name but a numbering or other type of system would work equally well.

Inside Level 4:: Sub-folders or loose files

These are the specific files I need to keep for each category, they could be monthly accounting based or whatever I may need for working files.

I use a very similar Hierarchy system for my email files.

In this case I keep emails (when needed) in Outlook folders. Level 1-Broad, Level 2-Sub Categories, Level 3-Detailed categories

I hope this filing system overview gives you a few ideas of how you can simplify or re-arrange your computer filing systems.

What kind of computer filing systems do you? Are they simple or more complex than this? I’d love to hear about them.

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Creative transformation in action

May 14, 2012 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management 2 Comments

When I arrived this room and walk in closet were crowded with many years worth of papers (personal, financial, you name it) mixed in with the genealogy papers. Together we set to the task of sorting through these papers and deciding what to keep, what to toss and what category the keepers fell into. We began working together in one room tackling the transformation of the guestroom into something more comfortable for guests and also creating a functional work space where this client could work on the computer and her family genealogy projects. The practice of Patience teaches us creative transformation in action. It requires a slow and steady approach but by sticking with it we are rewarded in the end! [Read more…]