Lisa Phillips: Director and Corporate Organizer, ASO Training
A few years ago with the popularity of home computers, there was talk that we would go to a “paperless society”. While the paper factory shrieked with horror, the truth is that we have created more paper than ever before. Look around! You have paper everywhere….from newspapers, to the ever-ending stacks of mail, and to the thousands of sheets we print from the computer. E-books are the craze, but who wants to sit at their computer to read 100 pages? Doesn’t it make sense to print it out to read later? The invention of ‘Post-it Notes’ now has us sticking paper everywhere from the car dashboard, on a co-worker’s desk, and tucked inside our planners.
When employees were asked what would they like to see changed in their office environment, the ‘paper overwhelm’ was number one on the list. Let’s look at ways to dig ourselves out from under the mounds while staying on top of the stack before we lose all oxygen!
- Have one central location where all the paper enters your office and home.
- Decide immediately what action needs to be taken…discard, delegate, take immediate action, file for reference, or file for follow-up. Then do it!
- Set up a filing system that makes sense to you. Don’t over-analyze the categories. Make sure that others can figure out how you think in order to find something. You may want to use different colors of labels and files for ease in finding documents.
- When deciding what to keep, ask yourself these 5 questions:
- What is the worst thing that could happen if I threw this away?
- Could I get another copy if I ever need it again?
- Can someone else handle this task, thus relieving you of the paper?
- Will you really read or act on this?
- Is this information current or out of date?
These same principles can be related to your email box as well. Discard means “delete’, delegate means ‘forward’, take immediate action means ‘reply’, file for reference means ‘move to a folder’ you have created, and file for follow-up means ‘leave it on your screen’. If you have any “white screen” in your inbox, then I would say you are handling your email pretty well! Three simple things to remember:
- Decide what action needs to take place
- Direct the paper to the appropriate place
- Maintain the habit every day
Now breathe….purging paper has never been easier!
