I’VE WORKED IN several offices where people’s desks were stacked with papers—one pile after another. I’ve had coworkers claim that the stacks are their form of organization, and yet I’ve seen them sifting through the piles to find a document they were sure was there. In fact, they spend so much time going through stacks that I wonder why they don’t come up with a better way.
Stacking might work for some people, but for others, it’s just a disorganized mess that stresses us out and creates headaches and wasted time. What is stacking, at its most basic level? It’s the failure on our parts to do two things:
Today my desk is clean and clear, simple and Zen-like—there’s nothing on my desk but a phone, my iMac, and a small notebook—because I’ve learned to do these two basic things. Let’s take a look at each one in turn.
CREATING A SIMPLE FILING SYSTEM
The key to having a usable filing system is to keep it simple. If the system is complicated or hard to use, you’ll resist using it after a while. Here’s how to set up your system:
1. Reduce before organizing. The first rule to organizing is that you should eliminate the unnecessary before organizing at all. If you’ve got a filing drawer that’s overflowing, or stacks of paper that need filing, it’ll take forever to organize—and even then, it’ll be hard to find things. To simplify:
2. Simple filing. All you need is a simple, alphabetical filing system. Just use plain manila folders with labels (you can buy a label maker if you like), creating a file for each client, vendor, and/or project. I believe that most people only need one drawer for filing. There are some jobs that require much more than this, but for the average employee (or self-employed person), one drawer is all you need. And if you limit yourself to one drawer, you force yourself to toss out unnecessary files when the drawer gets full. Don’t overthink this. Just create a file, and file it alphabetically. Keep it simple.
3. File immediately. The key to keeping your filing system up to date is to file things right away. When you’re processing your in-box and you run across something that doesn’t require action but that you might need to file later, don’t put it in a pile to be filed later. Don’t put it in a folder labeled TO FILE or MISCELLANEOUS.
Just open your filing drawer (it should be close at hand), pull out the appropriate folder, put the document in it, and file it. That takes about five seconds, and then you’re done. If you don’t do it now, it will start to pile up, and stacking just doesn’t work.
Why stacking doesn’t work: It just piles up, and then the pile gets a little intimidating, and then before you know it you’ve got a huge pile that you never want to go through. Then you can’t find anything when you need it, and now you no longer have a filing system. I know some people think that their piles are organized into a kind of system, but piles are inefficient because you constantly have to re-factor what pile is for what and which documents are in each pile, and when you need a document, it takes too long to find it. Plus, it clutters up your desk, distracting you from your work.
4. Have materials on hand. Always have a big supply of manila folders and labels on hand. If you have a document that needs to be filed for future reference but no file exists for it yet, you will put the filing off until later if you don’t have the materials at hand. You don’t feel like getting up to get a manila folder or label every time you need to file something, so you’ll put it off. And that will create piles.
So instead, just have the materials in a drawer, for easy access. When you need to make a new file, just put a label on, stick the document in, and file it alphabetically.
5. Reduce your needs over time. Over the last year or so, I’ve consciously been reducing my filing needs so that I now barely use my filing drawer. Sure, at least once a week I’ll pull open the drawer to look at a file, but I file many fewer documents than I used to. I recommend that you do the same, slowly and consciously reducing your filing needs. Here are a few tips for doing that:
HOME PAPERWORK TIPS
The five steps above can apply to both an office workplace and your paperwork at home, but here are home-specific tips for organizing all the papers in your personal life:
1. Create one “mail center” in your home for dealing with your mail and incoming paperwork. This should include an in-box for all incoming papers, a wastebasket (the simplifier’s most important tool!), a small filing system ( just some manila folders in a drawer or file case is fine), and something to hold envelopes, stamps, your checkbook, pens, and other needed tools.
2. Home in-box. All incoming mail, school papers, and other paperwork goes straight into your in-box. Don’t toss them on a counter or the kitchen table or a desk. Put them in one place only: the in-box. It’s best if you remove the mail from the envelope right away, toss the envelopes and any junk flyers, and toss junk mail and catalogs right away—but even if you don’t, at least toss everything in the in-box.
3. Pay bills immediately. While you’re processing your mail and paperwork, you can put all bills in a folder to be paid at a certain date (you might have two dates a month when you pay bills, for example, or maybe you need one day each week). But another alternative is to just pay the bill on the spot, as soon as you’re done processing your in-box. Either write a check and put the bill and check in an envelope to be dropped in the mailbox tomorrow, or go to your computer and pay the bills online. Either way, the bill is taken care of and off your mind.
4. Enter stuff into your to-do lists or calendar. For papers that contain tasks or appointments or schedules, you’ll want to enter the tasks on your to-do list immediately, and enter any dates into your calendar immediately (I use Gcal). I even enter all my kids’ soccer games, school events, and other activities in Gcal, and then just file the school papers or schedules in a “school papers” folder so I can refer to it later if necessary.
5. File immediately. Once you’ve paid a bill or taken action on a piece of paper, you should file it immediately (unless you can toss it). Don’t let it sit on your counter, or pile up in a “to be filed” pile or folder, or go back into your in-box. File it right away. Set up a simple filing system with manila envelopes, labeled with the name of the billing company or utility, along with folders for other important documents in your life, and use a simple alphabetical filing system so you can find things immediately. Always have a stack of manila folders and labels on hand (some people even recommend a handy Brother label-maker) so you can create a new folder quickly if you need it. The trick to filing is to do it right away and not let it pile up.
That’s it. No papers should ever be anywhere except the in-box or in your filing system. It’s simple and efficient. The trick is to make this a habit, and stick to it like a routine. Have set times of the day or week when you process your in-box and pay your bills. Create a simple system like this, and you eliminate the clutter and the worry.