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Managing, Organizing and Reducing Paper
Whatever happened to the PAPERLESS society? The truth is, we now have more paper than ever before! Here are a few ideas to help you manage, organize and reduce the paper in your life.
START WITH THE 4 D'S
There are only 4 things to do with a piece of paper:
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DO it
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DELEGATE it
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DELAY it
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DUMP it
Generally, more than 60% of the papers coming into our homes or offices can be dumped immediately.
HAVE A PLACE FOR IT
Do you have an effective filing system? Is that system easily assessable? Where do you keep your "to do" papers? Having a home for your incoming papers will avoid paper mountains.
By the way, your kitchen table or desk top is not a good home.
AVOID PAPER SHUFFLING
For most people, the idea of handling a piece of paper only ONCE is impossible. After all, there's no reason to drop everything you're doing every time a piece of paper crosses your desk. However, it is very important to minimize the time spent PICKING UP the same piece of paper over and over again, without acting on it or storing it. If you find that you've already picked up a paper three or more times, and have still not done anything with it, you're just doing a lot of paper shuffling.
CREATE AN EFFECTIVE FILING SYSTEM
If you file something, you should be able to locate it in TEN SECONDS or less in the future. Take the time to think about your filing system. Come up with categories that make SENSE for your needs.
MIGHT BE FUN TO READ
You are certain to come across papers that are not VITAL to read, but might be fun or interesting. This is fine, but remember, you only have so much time in any given day. Keep these papers in a TO READ file, in your filing cabinet or file holder. If you find that this folder is constantly getting out of hand, don't allow yourself to have any more than ten things to read at any given time in it. Discard paper, before you put any more back in.
READ IT ON THE INTERNET
Find yourself constantly collecting newspapers or magazines? CANCEL your paper subscriptions, and simply read ONLINE instead. Most major newspapers or magazines have web sites for you to reference for free.
COPY CHAOS
Before you duplicate any piece of paper, first determine if it is truly NECESSARY to do so. Today, it is so easy to make copies on a copy machine that sometimes people tend to make more than they need, just IN CASE. In 99 out of 100 cases, the extra copies are never used.
NO NOTES ON NAPKINS
Notes written on scraps of paper (this includes Post-it Notes) are easily LOST, plus they just add to the paper clutter. Keep your lists, reminders and ideas in one organized location, such as a 3-ring BINDER or file holder.
UNNECESSARY PRINTING
Along with the computer age, the paperless society was supposed to be close behind. However, just the opposite happened. We ended up with more paper! People all over the world are printing out the files that were only supposed to take up VIRTUAL space. While it is important to print some computer files, e-mails, etc., in most cases, an electronic copy is sufficient, and reduces paper clutter.
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