Fortunately, no matter how high your piles are or how many you have, you can control the clutter and reclaim your desktop (and even your floor). Use the following six tips to de-clutter once and for all.
1. Create a "Home" for Your Active Paperwork
Many people rely on an "inbox" for active paperwork, and that's one of the biggest mistakes when it comes to de-cluttering. An inbox inherently lends itself to inaction. Think about your own inbox for a moment. Do you often have paper sitting in your inbox for a long time? Do papers "slip between the cracks" because they get buried in your inbox? Is your inbox regularly overflowing with papers that spread all over the desk? Most people answer "yes" to at least one of those questions.
A better solution is to have a work processing system in your desk file drawer. This tickler file system consists of 31 hanging files, one for each day of the month. Behind those are 12 additional hanging files, one for each month. As each piece of active paper comes into your office, make a decision as to what date you are committed to taking action on that paper, and file it in the appropriate date's file. If it's something you need to schedule further in the year, put it in the appropriate month's file. Each evening, simply pull out the dated file for the following date, and prioritize all the tasks that the papers represent. This one strategy keeps your desktop free of active paperwork clutter and enables you to process work in a timely manner.
2. Prepare Your File Drawers
Before you start filing the rest of your papers, you need an efficient filing system in place. To begin, make sure you have access to four file drawers within your cockpit. That means you should be able to reach each of the four file drawers while sitting behind your desk. One file drawer will be the tickler file system you just created. The remaining three are what's necessary to properly fit all the documents the average person needs to keep for work.
For a filing system that is easy to maintain, you need to keep it extremely simple. Therefore, create five broad categories that encompass all the kinds of papers you need to keep for your job. Why five? Research shows that the human mind can keep straight up to five distinctions without having to stop and think about it. Any more than five distinctions is too much effort, and that's when people set the paper aside rather than file it away. An example of five broad categories may be:
- Administrative
- Sales and Marketing
- Financials
- Production
- Research and Development
Do not sub-divide your categories or make mini-categories within each, as that just complicates the filing system. You want to be able to find any document by merely remembering the mantra "One of Five — Alphabetized," meaning the paper you need is in one of five categories and in alphabetical order. Keeping your filing system this simple also allows your co-workers to find documents they need when you are away from the office.
3. Create Individual Files
Now that you have your file drawer space ready with your five categories, it's time to create the individual files. You may prefer to delay the actual file naming process until you have gone through the paper sorting process. If so, for now, simply get your drawers ready to receive all those papers.
Within each of your five broad categories you will have individual file folders. So, for example, if Sales and Marketing is one of your broad categories, your files within that category may consist of "advertising," "media kits," "publicity," etc.
When choosing the headings for your files, always choose a noun, and choose a broad heading. Realize that it's better to have fewer files with broader headings, each with 50 pages, rather than many specific files, each with five pages. However, if a file becomes too large and cumbersome, you can subdivide it. Just remember that the greater number of files you have, the more difficult it becomes to locate and retrieve papers when you need them. If there are a number of possibilities of where a paper could have been filed, you'll learn to not trust your filing system. As a result, you'll start to pile instead of file.
Give each individual file folder its own hanging file. Label the hanging file and the file folder the exact same label, word for word. Then, when you pull a file out, you merely pull out the file folder. You leave the hanging file in the drawer to save its place. When you are finished with the file, read the label on the file folder and find the same label in the drawer on a hanging file. Again, keep everything alphabetized for ease.
4. Insist on Proper File Placement
When labeling their files, many people make the mistake of labeling one file on the left side, one label in the center, and one on the right side throughout the file drawer. Sure, this looks nice the first day you set it up, but as soon as you add a new file, you mess up your system. Soon you're not sure where to expect the next label, so you have to slow down and study your file labels every time you need to file a paper away. This makes filing complicated. As a result, you'll have the tendency to set the paper aside rather than file it.
A better approach is to use straight row filing, where each tab is directly behind the tab in front of it. Keep the tabs in alphabetical order. That way you know where each tab is and in what order they come. You'll be amazed at how much easier filing instantly becomes.
5. Speed Sort through the De-cluttering Process
With your tickler file prepared, your filing system created, and your individual file folders ready, it's time to tackle the mounds of paper in your office. As you handle each piece of paper, ask yourself the following questions:
- Can I discard this yet? (Under what circumstances will you for sure use this piece of paper again? If you ever did need it again, is there another source you could get it from?)
- Can I delegate this?
- Can I handle this in 60 seconds or less? (If it's something you can do right now in 60 seconds or less and get it out of your life, then do so.)
- What date am I committed to take action on this? (Put it in that day's tickler file.)
- What heading do I want this filed under in my files?
6. Insist on maintaining a proper fit inside your file drawers
You know you have a proper fit if you can open a drawer, open the file, insert the paper, and close the drawer using only one hand. If you need two hands to file the paper then you have exceeded a proper fit. When there is an improper fit, the filing process becomes a bother, and you tend to procrastinate filing your papers. Therefore, when your filing cabinets get too stuffed, go through the speed sorting questions again. Eliminate what you can. Move the rest to long-term storage.
When you know how to file effectively and you can keep a clutter-free desk, you'll experience less stress and greater concentration, which ultimately leads to increased productivity. So no matter how bad the paper clutter is in your office, get started on these six tips today. A little de-cluttering effort today will yield greater productivity and profits for you for years to come.
About the Author
Christi Youd is a speaker, trainer, and organizer who helps others increase productivity with her company, Organize Enterprise, LLC. She is also the author of Organize Your Office for Success and Organize Your Home in 10 Minutes a Day. A free download of her 25 Quick Tips to Finally Get Control of Your Messy Environment is available at www.OrganizeEnterprise.com/25quicktips. To contact her about keynotes or training, visit her website, or call 801-756-3382.
