Organized A to Z Blog

Putting Office Paper In Its Place, Part 1 – (The PLAN© Process: Prepare & launch into action)

May 24, 2010

Over the years, I have experienced productive and nonproductive work scenarios and know what it feels like to come into the office and heave a huge sigh because of all the paper piles surrounding me – and not necessarily mine!  With downsizing, planned attrition and entire departments closing, you must be more efficient now than ever before; not only to get the job done, but to get it done well and keep your sanity!

How many of you feel like your work day is spent running around like a chicken with no head? OR, work near someone who experiences this sort of work day?  This is something that we run into all the time – whether it’s due to too much multitasking, poor organizational habits or just plain “too much!”  What does it mean to be organized?  It’s not necessarily “neat and tidy,” but finding what you need when you need it AND getting done what you need to when you need to.  All around our offices we see the clutter of unmade decisions, where items have no “home”, and paper is a particular nemesis.  It can suck the life right out of you, but it IS what we deal with, so we need to learn to control it!  It is NOT going away – the Paperless Society does not exist.  In fact, we are creating more all the time, by printing everything we have emailed to us or email to others, for “proof,” documentation or whatever reason. 

Think a moment about the following questions.  These will give you a starting point in thinking what you want to initially spend some time on in finding the productivity you are looking for in your work life, and to do it with calm, clarity and purpose.

1. What’s working in your office right now?  What’s NOT working? 

• Post-its everywhere of “things to do” but no master list of priorities?
• An In-box so deep with papers that you can’t see over the top?
• Files so full that you can’t put another thing in them?
• “Living” at your desk, with too many coffee cups and too much food debris everywhere?
• Are you such a queen of multi-tasking that you just jump around all day and get nothing substantial done?
• Or, NOT…which of these things are just fine? 

2. Who are you, in the paper world – a “piler” or a “filer?”  That will make a difference as to how you approach your desk’s “abundance.”  Organizational habits vary, just as personalities do, so don’t go against the grain of your natural tendencies or you’ll be setting yourself up for failure.

3. Do you want to see everything you have to work with or work on (the “out of sight, out of mind” thought), OR do you want to hide it, knowing where it is when you are ready for it? 

I have an acronym to help you work through this lesson and that can be used in almost any organizing situation: P-L-A-N.  Planning is at the forefront of accomplishing anything in an orderly, successful manner.  Yes, we’re talking about good, old-fashioned time management! 

WHERE TO START?  “P” is for PREPARE!

Hopefully those questions gave you an idea of where your stumbling blocks may be with regard to finding that degree of organization which will help you get through your hectic days more successfully.  You know, you can’t hit a target you can’t see, or, to put it another way, you can’t get from Point A to a new Point B without a road map.  So, define what that target is, what your goal is or all your best intentions won’t get you there.  You need to focus on where you want to be and where you need to be.

So, project in mind?  Set a date, make an appointment with yourself to start working on what you identified as a problem area: is it your desktop? A particular drawer?  No where for incoming mail to be housed?  No system for getting papers off your desk and into file cabinets?  Prioritize based on what will make the biggest change for you the quickest – that way you’ll have the energy and confidence to continue down the path to complete organization of your office space.

Don’t be paralyzed by over-thinking the process or waiting to plan out the “perfect” solution – there is no such thing.  Aim for “good enough” because you will be tweaking your new systems as you see if they work for you or not.  Procrastinating, waiting to get it all planned perfectly, just let’s the mess continue on and on.  So forget that:  start small if you wish, but start!  Know that any amount of reorganization you make in this regard is going to change your workspace so much for the positive, that this will be fun! 

So, now, the time has arrived, and we are going to “L”, LAUNCH INTO ACTION!

Here, I’m going to give you some ideas of where to focus, how to focus on creating a more organized work space.

• Unlike dealing with our homes, we often don’t have a choice about what ends up on our desk or in our inboxes.  You do, however, still need a place, known to all who give you work or share projects with you, for that incoming paperwork.  Don’t just say, “Oh, just put it there.  I’ll get to it in a minute.”  Define this space so that if you aren’t at your desk, any one sharing these papers with you will know where they go.

• Define a system for prioritizing your paperwork, keeping in mind, of course, that you may not have much choice in the work flow here.  You still need a way to track all this, whether you use a stand-up, tiered divider system on your desk, slotted trays or temporary piles.  Speaking of piles, there are products for the “pilers” among us, or for those hot-button projects you’re working on, such as colored clips or stick-on labels.  These will help you keep in mind that you still need to sort a pile in order to have any success in working with it, even if you are just rearranging it into various action categories, such as “To Read,” “To File,” “To Do,” etc.

• There are so many organizing products out there now, in all types of materials, colors and styles!  Use these on your desk and in your desk.  Little dividers can make a huge difference in getting what you need when you need it.  But remember: you don’t need to buy lots of stuff; you can repurpose business card boxes, check boxes, even candy boxes to act as drawer dividers.  But…if you see a new organizing gadget on the market and it’s not too expensive, it might just be fun to play with it.  Remember, though: before you buy it, make sure you’ll really use it.  Otherwise, it just becomes another future garage sale item! 

• You do need a filing system, some sort of methodology for controlling all the paper.  Remember that it needs to be simple or you won’t use it, no matter how pretty, or color-coded or fancy it is.  It needs to be functional for you, because each of us operates under different parameters.  Again, remember that there is no such thing as perfection – aim for “good enough.”  Now, I’m not saying to be sloppy about what you do when I say this.  Just know that what “good enough” is changes throughout your life: you can be organized one moment, go through a period of disorganization, get back to speed, etc., all dependent upon the degree and intensity of life’s challenges and what strategies you have for regrouping and getting back “into the groove.”  I’m not just talking about your personal life’s changes; I’m talking also about downsizing, mergers, RIFs, etc. 

• How about doing some sorting and purging of those piles on your desk that you haven’t dug into for eons?  Initially do a Quick Sort: here, again, there are many acronyms for getting this job done: FAT – File/Act/Toss or RAT – Retain/Act/Toss.  It doesn’t matter – just get rolling.  If it’s been there for any length of time, untouched, you will probably be able to trash or set to file 2/3 of that stack.  Anything that looks important but doesn’t have a date on it?  Jot the date on the upper corner so if you do run into it again, you’ll know how long you’ve had it, and feel more comfortable getting rid of it.  With each document, ask pertinent questions, such as:

• Is this time sensitive?
• Are there legal or tax considerations regarding this?
• Is this something I need to refer to regularly?
• Does this pertain to a major project I’m working on?
• Is it available elsewhere or is this the only copy?
• And…would my life, my job change if I didn’t save this piece of paper?

• Concentrate on about 1″ of paper in an area that you really want cleaned up at a time, or set a timer for a specific period.  Then, focus, focus, focus.  Don’t pause to take any actions at this time: no phone calls, no emails, no reading, no leaving the area!  Easy to say in the home scenario, but the reality of this, in an office setting?  Probably nil, so, it might be worth it to do some of this before or after regularly scheduled hours.  This is your peace of mind and productivity we’re talking about! 

• Now…the storing of all this paper!  Keeping in mind that the purpose of a filing system is not storage, but retrieval, please be aware that only 20% of the papers you file will ever be accessed again!  Filing cabinets or drawers don’t have to be “black holes” where things go in, never to be found again!  Basics, such as “like with like” are paramount for making sense out of any system.  You want it to be easy and efficient, where everything is close at hand, so you can just swivel, roll or reach your way to it.  If you are not using what you currently have set up, there is something wrong with it and you need to revamp it!  Maybe you simply need to change tab positions; add some more files; delete some files; label files differently.  Whatever it is, you may need to try several variations to find the right one that works for you…and I’m referring to the plural “you”, since in an office situation you generally need a consensus of what that system will be. 

• You can save yourself a lot of printing and filing merely by being extra cautious about what you print.  Keep your copies for backup, but keep them on the computer or backup hard drive, if possible. 

• Spend the last 15 minutes of each day clearing your desk, checking your calendar for the next day to see that you are prepared and filing what needs to be filed.  You will start the next day on a super note when you arrive to that sort of desk, trust me!

Tune in next week for the remaining pieces of the puzzle!

Thanks to Organized A to Z partner Rhonda McNett for contributing this article. Rhonda is a Professional Organizer, member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and owner of Sensible Organizing Strategies.  Her company is committed to providing a supportive and rewarding organizing experience through client education, cooperative involvement and ongoing personal encouragement.  Please visit http://www.sosbyrhonda.com to learn more about how Rhonda can help you!

Filed under: Office,Organizing Tips,Paper Management