How sweet it is to have a plan to control clutter, to have confidence that a goal is reachable. In the January Perspectives! I shared my quest to conquer the mountains of paper that have stealthily invaded my space—what organization expert Barbara Hemphill calls "The Paper Tiger." (Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home, Barbara Hemphill, Kiplinger Books, Washington, D.C. See www.productivityconsultants.com.) I promised to report on my progress in taming this roaring tiger. My goal was to learn how to consistently follow a plan that will help me be more efficient in dealing with the incredible amount of information that appears daily. What do I keep? What do I throw away? Where do I put what I want to keep-and more importantly, where do I put it so I can find it again? When to ThrowYou know the adage that says it takes 21 days to create a habit? Practice has definitely established a new habit for me: It now feels comfortable to pick up a piece of paper and decide-on the spot-whether to throw it or keep it. And I'm thrilled to report that I'm throwing a lot more away the first time, rather than picking it up, putting it down, picking it up, putting it down. Who needs that kind of up and down exercise! The Art of WastebasketryHemphill has developed what she calls the Art of Wastebasketry. This is a simple process in which you ask yourself these questions when you need to decide which papers to throw:
Although I don't take the time to apply this six-step guide to every piece of paper, I'm definitely filling up my wastebaskets more often, rather than handling the same paper more than once and eventually throwing it away. The key to letting go is Number 6. After all, how often—when we need it—do we really find that article, note, or document we saved? Hanging on to all that paper "just in case" is sure to create a roaring paper tiger. What Should You Keep?Of all the many tips and helpful suggestions I've learned from this quest to get organized, I want to share a helpful tool. Hemphill introduced me to Retention Guidelines, a list of established guidelines to use when deciding what to keep. While we seldom need guidance in deciding whether to keep unsolicited advertisements, we may question the need to keep documents and reports that make their way to our in-baskets, both hardcopy and computer. I'm thankful to now have retention guidelines for both home and office. After all, we have style guidelines and certainly a variety of other types of guidelines, so it makes perfect sense to establish guidelines to determine when to keep and when to throw. I put examples of these guidelines on separate PDF documents to share with you:
Where to FileWhat type of filing system do you use? Perhaps I led a sheltered life, but I thought all file labels had to use words to identify contents. Much to my surprise, a system using numbers on file labels offers great flexibility and saves on having to continuously change labels. Technology and software programs have revolutionized setting up filing systems. Here is what I did: I set aside a day (or two) and spent time reorganizing and going through my old files. It takes time to determine categories, subject areas, etc., but it is time well spent. I decided to use the Paper Tiger software because of its convenience. I'm sure there are other software options. Of course you can reorganize without technology's help, but I was ready to try something new. It takes a while to get used to a numbering system, but now when I need to archive contents or change the contents of a file, I simply re-assign that number, or add the new contents to the description in my file index. I also like the neat look of my hanging folders. With numbers, nothing is out of place. The initial time to re-organize my files has been well worth the effort. If I cannot remember where I filed something, I quickly do a search on my index list, and in a matter of seconds the lost is found. Now that's efficiency! I'm also learning to set aside time to empty my file basket before it builds up and starts roaring. My Paper Tiger has settled down to a quiet purr. Staying OrganizedHave I reached my goal? Am I ready to declare myself organized—cured of the clutter syndrome? Yes and No. I've learned that getting organized is one process, but staying organized is an ongoing endeavor. It's a lifelong activity just as eating healthy and exercising must be ongoing to reap the benefits. Consistency is the watchword. The additional benefit is that I'm also doing a better job organizing electronic files and weeding out the computer clutter. (Do I hear moans and groans?) I'd love to hear from you about your organization techniques or problems. Have any good tips to share? (rebook@midiowa.net) Before I file this article, I'll close with a reminder of a few key points I started with in the January article.
Good luck! |