SORTING THE PAPER TRAIL IN YOUR HOME OFFICE

ORGANISING YOUR HOME OFFICE

Isn't it amazing how you accumulate masses of paper? It clutters your desk and surrounds making it difficult to find the information you’re looking for, wasting time and causing frustrations.

What is in that pile of paper?

• Often it contains important information that you need to use immediately.
• Sometimes the information maybe important at a later date, however you do need to know where it is.
• Then there are those messages that are so cryptic that you’ve forgotten what they were about.

So let us start getting organised TODAY!!

1. Make a place for everything
2. Keep your desk clear except for items you use every day such as pens, stapler, paper clips etc. and the files you will be using that day.
3. Just before you finish for the day return everything to its place, clear your desk ready for a fresh start in the morning.
4. The only piece of paper to be seen should be your work schedule for the next day, to give you a jump start for the day.

Now returning to those pesky pieces of paper all over your desk; there seems to be two simple methods of filing:-

a) The filing cabinet

b)The shoe box

THE FILING CABINET

A simple well organised filing cabinet that has a series of well labelled files each of which has a series of subfolders. These may be colour coded or more simply just topic coded.

THE SHOE BOX

Update this principle and have a lidded and labelled box for each area of interest. Then within that box a series of folders, again colour coded or just labelled so you know what is in each folder.

Choose whichever system you are most comfortable with and get started sorting papers today.

So that you know what folders you will need, sort the papers into their primary source of interest. The floor is a good place to begin your filing system. Once you have your piles of primary files, go back through each pile, one at a time and sort the information into sub areas to see just what folders you are going to need. Label your files and sub folders, place the papers in those files. It may also be a good idea to have a “miscellaneous file” for all those pieces of paper you are unsure about, at least then you will know where to look when something prompts your memory. “Oh! That’s what that means”.

Repeat this process until you no longer have papers anywhere but in the filing cabinet or in their own boxes. You have completed the job, well done.

Now resist the temptation to use stick-it notes, instead, use notepad on your computer or write the details on a dated piece of paper, deal with it, as in prioritise the action needed and then file the information.

You will have so much more time to be able to enjoy some extra activity because you are not worrying about where you put something, and wasting time trying to find it.