Paper, paper, paper. People are drowning in paper. From coupons, newsletters and sticky notes to receipts, client records and pads of paper with copious notes. And the problem is not easing up. In fact, did you know the average executive spends 6 weeks a year looking for paperwork? The average woman spends 76 hours throughout her lifetime searching for items in her purse. Society did not adequately prepare people to keep up with the ever increasing demand of managing paperwork. So the ability to stay on top of it goes to those rare few who have sought out the skills on how to manage paperwork efficiently and those that are just naturally gifted at being organized. The rest are just barely keeping their heads above water and are left exhausted at the end of the day without feeling as though they didn’t get a whole lot accomplished.
What is the solution? A new time management system ? Pretty colored coded folders? The government to step in and tell everyone it’s ok to throw all their paperwork away? Well, the first two would help and the last well, that’s just a pipe dream but the real answer starts inside. Inside your brain that is. That’s right. Your belief system is one of the biggest culprits to disorganization. What your thoughts are telling you is what is leading to your procrastination, rebellious tendencies, perfectionism, depression, fear, etc. which leads to the paper monster you encounter every day. This article is not going in depth on the psychology of clutter behavior, but awareness that disorganization is mostly an internal issue creates the starting point for you to get control of your paper woes.
But since I can’t lay you down on the couch, to tap into your psyche, how about I give you some simple solutions to show your paperwork whose boss.
Here’s some things to know when it comes to paperwork:
1) First and foremost, your paperwork falls into two categories: Action and reference. Ex: You have a bill to pay, that requires action. Once it’s paid, it gets filed as a reference.
2)Get an open file box to hold all of your actionable items, separated into categories within hanging file folders. Ex: Bills due, To read, events to attend. And don’t forget to back it up on some sort of to do list whether it be your Blackberry, Outlook or just writing it down, otherwise it will become another dumping ground for paperwork. Remember, your action system is only meant to house papers temporarily.
3) In both your reference and action files use hanging file folders to house the main category for example Insurance and use manila folders within the hanging file folder to sub – divide the categories, ex: Auto, Life, Home, Health. The four main categories that will generally cover all the paperwork are: Financial, Personal, Lifestyle, Taxes and Insurance. I recommend getting a pre-designed paper organizing system like FileSolutions. You can get it at the Container Store. It will take you a little time to set it up but the time it will save you in looking for papers and put them away will be worth it.
4) If you ever feel yourself getting stressed while sitting at your desk, remember this mantra; Stressed? Stop and sort and get to sorting. Having a clear space will do wonders for your focus and productivity.
The key to staying on top of your paperwork is systems. Take some time to invest in setting up a paper management system that works for you. Once you feel more in control, become more efficient, reduced your stress and gain confidence that you can find things when you need to, you will be happy you spent the time to do it.