Each year the US postal service delivers 200 billion pieces of mail. Another 2 trillion pieces of paper are generated in offices. If you're not managing paper productively, you're wasting valuable time. These tips will have you spending less time on paperwork and more time on the really important things.
Each year the US postal service delivers 200 billion pieces of mail. Another 2 trillion pieces of paper are generated in offices. There are about 300 million people in the county – that’s a lot of paper that each person has to deal with!
If you’re not managing paper effectively, it’s costing you time and money. Follow these Do’s and Don’ts to keep on top of the thousands and thousands of pieces of paper you must handle each year.
DON’T throw your mail, unexamined, onto the kitchen table, saying you’ll deal with it “later”.
DO take 60 seconds to toss the junk mail and separate out the important stuff.
DON’T stuff your file cabinets so full that you need a crow bar to remove a piece of paper.
DO leave 1”-2” of space in each drawer so that you can easily grab files and to drop papers into them.
DON’T use your in-box as a dumping ground.
DO create a system to handle the papers that you don’t have time to work on right now.
DON’T use paper-storage products that don’t work for you or that you don’t like. If you hate files, there are many alternatives.
DO get products that you love and that work well. Choose pretty binders, nice new folders, good-quality attractive filing cabinets. If you like it, you’ll use it!
DON’T put away a piece of paper before you’ve determined if there is an action you need to take regarding it.
DO set up a date-based system to ensure that you fully process a piece of paper before it’s put away and forgotten.
DON’T hold onto papers that you don’t need. 80% of filed papers are never referred to again!
DO learn which papers you can safely toss. For comprehensive guidelines on how long you need to save different types of paper – and 101 other filing tips – visit http://www.101filingtips.com/
DON’T keep making the same mistakes over and over again when it comes to managing papers. There is no need to keep paying late fees, miss events and sales, blow deadlines, and feel overwhelmed because you can’t keep up with your papers.
DO get help when you need it! Depending on your situation, you may need information on how to manage your papers, someone to work with you to create systems that you can easily follow, or someone to handle your paperwork for you.
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