How to Conquer Your Paper Piles
Arrange one large sorting area., Put all the paper in one place., Take one paper after the other, breathe deeply and remind yourself to relax if you get tense or anxious., If it can be trashed, create a trash pile or bin and add other papers to it...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Arrange one large sorting area.
It could be your desk, though you might have to remove everything from its surface.
It could also be your bed or dinner table, or even the kitchen counters if they are clean. -
Step 2: Put all the paper in one place.
If you are sure the piles are already sorted, you can keep them separate.
Otherwise don't bother and put them all in one big pile. , Decide if it requires action, has to be filed or can be thrown away. ,,, In that case, choose a category for the paper, write it on a post-it and put both on your sorting surface. , When you have sorted everything, have a look at the piles that are too big to go into one folder.
Can you break them up into sub-categories? , Think about retrieval.
What will you be looking for and where? Is it all in a sensible place? Don't skimp on folders and indices.
Buy new ones if necessary.
It's too frustrating to look for the "car"-files in all folders because you can't remember where you added it to. , Write indices. ,, -
Step 3: Take one paper after the other
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Step 4: breathe deeply and remind yourself to relax if you get tense or anxious.
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Step 5: If it can be trashed
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Step 6: create a trash pile or bin and add other papers to it as they come along.
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Step 7: If it requires action
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Step 8: put it in an action pile and stick a post-it on it with the required action or any prerequisite steps.
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Step 9: If it should be filed
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Step 10: file it
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Step 11: unless there's no folder that has this category in it yet.
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Step 12: Add papers to the existing piles.
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Step 13: Check if your filing system is still up-to-date.
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Step 14: Create Folders for the categories that are still missing from your system.
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Step 15: breathe
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Step 16: celebrate!
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Step 17: Create a system to tackle new incoming paper.
Detailed Guide
It could be your desk, though you might have to remove everything from its surface.
It could also be your bed or dinner table, or even the kitchen counters if they are clean.
If you are sure the piles are already sorted, you can keep them separate.
Otherwise don't bother and put them all in one big pile. , Decide if it requires action, has to be filed or can be thrown away. ,,, In that case, choose a category for the paper, write it on a post-it and put both on your sorting surface. , When you have sorted everything, have a look at the piles that are too big to go into one folder.
Can you break them up into sub-categories? , Think about retrieval.
What will you be looking for and where? Is it all in a sensible place? Don't skimp on folders and indices.
Buy new ones if necessary.
It's too frustrating to look for the "car"-files in all folders because you can't remember where you added it to. , Write indices. ,,
About the Author
Sarah Myers
With a background in lifestyle and practical guides, Sarah Myers brings 11 years of hands-on experience to every article. Sarah believes in making complex topics accessible to everyone.
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