PILES, FILES, LISTS—OH NO!

PILES, FILES, LISTS—OH NO!
By: Janet L. Hall

Everyday our desks, floors, and credenza get bombarded
with papers: memos, notes, phone messages, reports, mail,
and of course all the "stuff" we have to print out from our
computers!

I'd like to talk to you about how you can handle and organize
all the paper that comes into your office space.

I've developed the 5 W's of Organizing, a Teaser, and a
"Tickle?" that I'd like to share with you. This system has
been proven to be an effective way to tackle ANYTHING in
your life that you need to sort through, decide if it should be
kept, and where to keep or store. It’s also a system of
keeping up with your tasks, especially ones with deadlines.

How the System Works:
To help you get started; I want you to take out your calendar,
or whatever you use to keep track of appointments or
meetings. Make a "TEASER" date with yourself, for an hour
or all day to sort through your clutter. Write it in and don’t let
ANYTHING or ANYBODY make you change that
appointment. If you had a toothache you would make sure
you made it to your dentist appointment, wouldn’t you? Well,
isn’t your office a pain in your….. okay, back to the system.

Let me explain the TEASER first. TEASER is my acronym
for toss, end, act, store, enter, and refer, recycle, read, and
repair. You begin the sorting process by making MORE
piles out of what you already have. Eek! I can hear you all
now, "Is she crazy?" "I already have too many piles!" Not to
worry; we will have them all put away in no time, the "Tickle"
will explain how. I suggest you find a flat surface to sort on, I
like to use the floor, and make a sign representing each
action in TEASER (some of you might need boxes, that’s
okay).

TEASER Actions:
Toss it
You can't answer the 5 W's, it's outdated, or broken.
End it
You don't want it, you want to cancel it, or you no longer
read.
Act on it
Needs an action: such as your signature, phone call, or
immediate attention.
Store it
You have answered the 5 W's and decided you need to
keep. This will have three piles: Current, Reference, and
Historical.
Enter it
Information you need to enter into your planner or computer.
You know, the stuff you find written on napkins, scraps of
paper, and the backs of envelopes!
Refer/Recycle/Read it/Repair
It belongs to someone else or you think they need it, or it
belongs someplace else.
You can use it again, SOON, or put into a recycling bin.
Something you want/need to read.
Something that is broken, you want to use it but needs
repaired.

Helping You Decide What to Do:
The 5 W's of Organizing is a set of 10 questions, using
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY, that you ask
yourself for every piece of paper or item that you come
across while sorting through all your "stuff." Answering these
questions will help you determine what TEASER to use.

As you pick up each piece of paper or item you are sorting,
ask yourself the following questions, and PLEASE, be
honest with yourself:

WHO does this belong to?
WHO needs this?

WHAT use is this?
WHAT do I need it for?

WHEN will I need this?
WHEN will I use it?

WHERE will I find this?
WHERE does it belong?

WHY do I have this?
WHY do I want this?

The TICKLER FILING SYSTEM (sorry, I don't know who
developed this) is a dated filing system. The system consists
of 43 folders: one for each month labeled January –
December, and one for each day of the month, labeled 1 -
31. This is where you will put the "action" piles from the
TEASER the last five minutes of your appointment with
yourself. Don’t worry if the piles are too big to fit into your
tickler file. We’ll deal with that in a minute. Take each pile
and decide on a date and time you will work on that action.
Place the pile in the tickler and write the corresponding date
and a time in your calendar with a little t in a circle. Keep
this and the following appointments! If other items come into
your office that will need the same action, such as enter
business cards into your database; put those cards with the
bundle you already have in your tickler.

If the pile is too large, place in a box or container, make a
note of where you are storing it and slip that note/location
into your tickler.

You can make a tickler file or buy one already made at most
office supply stores (see
http://www.overhall.com ickler_file.htm ). As you can see,
this is an action-dated system. The purpose of the system is
to "tickle" you, and it's a place to store the information or
work you have or need for a particular day and/or month.
This is your one and only SAFE Place; where you would file
such things as your dated follow up calls, airline tickets,
vacation plans, meeting information, and bills. Its uses are
endless!

Using the 5 W's of Organizing, a Teaser, and a "Tickle" daily
will help you keep your desks, floors, and credenza free of
paper clutter, and will give you more time to do the things
that you want to do!

Smiles, not Piles,
Janet L. Hall

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 by OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or
distribute so long as this copyright notice and full information about
contacting the author is attached.