Your desktop and kitchen table/counter are the hardest places to keep clear. To-do reminders, event announcements, bills to pay, letters that need follow-up, kid’s sport schedules – none can be pitched. So how do you keep the important papers handy and still have access to surfaces you need everyday? I have found three tricks that enable me to keep the piles organized.
- Name the action that each piece of paper reminds you to take. (If no action is required, go to #3) Write the action boldly at the top or on a sticky note to attach.
- Does that paper remind you of an errand to take care of? Is there any hurry? What day of the week are you most free to run errands?
- If you need to call someone, is there a deadline? When is the best time to reach him/her? Is there another action you must take before you can call – name that action as #1.
- Do you need to pay a bill? What is the due date? Do you need to transfer monies?
- Is this a coupon that you want to take advantage of? What is the expiration date? Which location will you be near in the next week or so?
- Package and do the same actions together. Gather similar actions together – phone calls, errands, to write, to pay, etc. Make a folder labeled with that action category. Use a vertical file holder or a Pile Smart tray to keep these folders where you can check frequently. This is a mini-tickler file*. It is easy to order the activities in each category by deadline. Find the first action due, turn it face down, then the next, and so on. When you turn the pile over, you have each action in order of time sensitivity. To save time and concentration lost by switching from one activity to another, try to empty each folder at one sitting. Make all phone calls, pay all bills, map out an errand route to save gas, write thank you letters… all at the same time.
- Make a “Ready Reference” notebook. Papers that do not require action are reference only. Files that you look at on a regular basis are called “Ready Reference” because you need them ready at your fingertips. Fill a 1 1/2″ notebook with plastic sleeves to file these: frequent contact list, school calendars, list of service providers, sport team schedules, emergency contact info, and medical providers. Use dividers to make finding each category a cinch. If you do not need to see a paper within two months, consider filing it with your permanent reference files in a more remote location.
NOTE to self: If the action required will take you less than 2 minutes, do it now! This will save you time, grief, and that paper is gone!
On the same sticky note, write down when and how you can best perform that action. This way you don’t have to rethink
later, saves brain cells. For example:
Making small decisions about papers as you receive them can tame the piles with very little effort on your part. Once you get in the habit of supervising yourself, it can be rather fun. Just try not to let people hear you talking to yourself, saying, “You know it will take you less than 2 minutes, so do it now!”
*Find a Tickler File Kit here.
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