Filed under: Paper Management
We’re just 2 weeks into January, so it’s not too late to implement a new system to organize paperwork, bills, invitations, appointments, and other important items. I suggest creating your own tickler system, and we have several products that might help you.
A Tickler System helps you manage your “active papers”. Anything that comes in from school, work or the mail that needs action should be filed in your Tickler System. Each day, you can pull the items from your daily folder and instantly know what needs to get done today! It’s a great way to stay on top of your “To Do” list.
Our recommendation:
Try our Get Things Done Tickler File solution. Documents, notes, and reminders of all sorts can be directly filed in this file set of 43 folders to automatically trigger action and/or review when needed, without loading up daily planners or getting lost in miscellaneous storage. If you want to be reminded to handle something in the future, but don’t want or need to think about it until then, it can be “tickled” to show up exactly on the day or month you’d like to see it again.
Not sure how this might fit into your life? Here are a few ideas:
- Regular reports and activities, from payroll taxes and performance reviews to computer back ups.
- Reminder of bill paying on a specific day to maximize your cash flow.
- Review of “Maybe” actions in catalogs, direct mail or deferred items
- Follow-ups including delegated actions
- Tickets of all kinds
- Travel directions needed for a specific appointment.
- Warranty expirations, and “Last date to…”
- Car care, kids events
- Birthday and anniversary cards to mail
January 13, 2010
Crucial project…
Focus on the estate…estate planning
Regardless of the unexpected, unpleasant episode that sets ones life in a tail spin, the effect upon the family is always the same. It is devastation and chaos. Therefore it is necessary to always be PREPARED for the unexpected. ESTATE PLANNING is not for just the wealthy, nor is it to be addressed after death.
Rather it is a life changing subject to be discussed with all family members while you are alive and well.
After having lost my father 4 years ago, my family and I have been involved in a web of endless, inconclusive legal matters concerning our father’s estate. After nine months of attempting to uncover the truths about the will, and speaking with five different lawyers we have unanimously agreed to retain a lawyer to represent my mom.
Essentially this event has paralleled a divorce, without the most important member present to represent himself.
What we have come to understand is that estate law is, as most law in our country, not only a foreign language to most but also not emphasized enough to families as a part of planning matters.
There are many featured articles in newspapers and magazines concerning the lawsuits that prevail from misunderstood wills and endless, costly disputes over generations of wealth. With a multitude of complex tax ramifications and forthcoming revisions it is crucial to protect whatever assets the family has worked hard to achieve. It is a pity to have monies be swept into the government channels.
Therefore, do not believe that estate planning is only for those with wealth. Act now , preparation for your protection is about the here and now, NOT the thereafter.
Contributed by Lisa Jacobs:
Lisa Jacobs is passionate about home organizing, fashion, and interior design make overs. IMAGINE IT DONE is the result of that passion. Lisa brings her deep aesthetic sensibilities and good taste to every consulting challenge. Her vast creative and management experience in the US and Europe allows IMAGINE IT DONE to deliver a full spectrum of services. She began her career in New York City working for the chief creative director, Nick Lamicella, of the ad agency Norman Craig&Kummel Inc. Her strengths and reputation eventually brought her to Paris, where she served as assistant to the creative director of Havas World Communications, again overseeing print production and managing talent for Garnier, Chanel and Bourjois. A master of organization and time management, Lisa has redecorated homes from Manhattan to the Hamptons. Lisa is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Visit her site at www.imagineitdone.net.
September 21, 2009
With numerous hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires threatening our homes and businesses throughout the country, it is appropriate that NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) has signed on as a national coalition member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Month. One never knows when a disaster may strike, so it is important to be prepared.
According to Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign website, the following systems should be in place to help protect you in an emergency:
• Emergency Evacuation Plan
• Emergency Supply Kit
See Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign website for additional information for making your plan and creating/getting a supply kit. In addition, a home inventory and a portable fire-safe box containing vital documents is essential.
Home Inventory
Conduct a home inventory to have a record of the items you own for insurance purposes. Document throughout your home items of value:
• make a list
• take pictures and/or video
• record serial numbers, manufacturer’s names, and model numbers
Portable Fire-Safe Box
Collect vital documents and make copies
- Vital documents may include, but are not limited to:
- Birth certificates
- Passports
- Driver’s license
- Wills
- Medical history
- Deed of trust
- Automobile titles, other titles showing ownership
- Home inventory
- Bank accounts credit card numbers
- Marriage license
- Social Security card
- Home and Auto insurance information
- Store the originals in a safety deposit box at your bank
- Store the copies in a portable fireproof box
- Store the box in an area that is easily accessible in case of emergency
If disaster strikes, at least you will be prepared with important and necessary information at your fingertips so you may focus your attention on keeping your family safe. A professional organizer can help you create your home inventory and gather vital documents for safe storage.
Kelly Butcher, a professional organizer and owner of Simplification Services since 2007, has a passion for helping others organize their homes and offices. Her goal is to simplify her client’s lives by creating customized, manageable systems to fit their particular needs. She teaches them the skill of organizing throughout the process and loves to hear about the projects they complete on their own. Kelly is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, the Austin Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers, and is currently serving her second term as Secretary for NAPO-Austin. Visit her site at www.SimplificationServices.com.
September 17, 2009
Today’s featured product is our Auto Document Organizer. We all know we need to keep insurance and registration records in our vehicle, and too often we stash them in the glove compartment or a console, and then can’t find them when we need them! I love this organizer because it keeps everything together in one secure place, and you can easily find what you need when you need it!
Organized A to Z is celebrating our birthday in July, but we’re giving you the presents! Each day, we are offering our favorite products at 25% off. The discount is good today only, so get it now!
July 24, 2009
Whether managing household paper, bills, or business documents, the GTD Tickler File System will keep you on track. I chose to feature this system as a birthday special because I love the simple concept and its usefulness in many applications. You can store whole documents and always keep them easily accessible. When you need to organize by date and remember to tasks and papers, this is the system to use!
Organized A to Z is celebrating our birthday in July, but we’re giving you the presents! Each day, we are offering our favorite products at 25% off. The discount is good today only, so get it now!
July 19, 2009
Today’s featured “birthday” special is Neat Scan to Office!
Organized A to Z is celebrating our birthday in July, but we’re giving you the presents! Each day, we are offering our favorite products at 25% off. The discount is good today only, so get it now!
July 11, 2009
Today’s featured “birthday” special is Hecht of an Organized – All in One Bag!
Organized A to Z is celebrating our birthday in July, but we’re giving you the presents! Each day, we are offering our favorite products at 25% off. The discount is good today only, so get it now!
July 7, 2009
Today’s featured “birthday” special is School Years Memento Keeper!
Organized A to Z is celebrating our birthday in July, but we’re giving you the presents! Each day, we are offering our favorite products at 25% off. The discount is good today only, so get it now!
July 5, 2009
Don't Agonize, Organize! $15.95
Thanks to Diane Hatcher, CPO® for contributing this excerpt from her book, Don’t Agonize, Organize Your Office Now!
The advent of computers promised to lead us toward a paperless society. Instead, our paper production has increased. We print out e-mails, make multiple copies on the copy machine, and send and receive faxes with the touch of a button. There is a solution, however. Keeping your paper under control with these 6 simple steps can make life more manageable:
1. DON’T ALLOW PAPERS TO BUILD UP: Handle your paper on a daily basis. Open mail daily. Don’t let it grow into a pile for days or weeks, otherwise it gets totally out of control and the difficulty for dealing with it actually increases.
2. MAKE A DECISION ON EACH PAPER THE FIRST TIME YOU TOUCH IT. This doesn’t mean that every time you get a sheet of paper that you have to work on it immediately. It simply means that, rather than putting it down somewhere ‘temporarily’–like on the dining room table or a desk (read as “pile”)–you have a plan for it. If it can be completed in 60 seconds or less do it now. Otherwise, place it in an action tray to be worked on at a more appropriate time. Separate items that need to be read or filed later. The other choices are to refer it to someone else or toss it into the garbage can.
3. IMPLEMENT THE PROCESS. Continuing the thought from step 2, it is important not to spend your day shuffling papers—for instance moving a sheet of paper from your in-box, to your desk, to your table, into your action tray and back to your desk. Instead, each time you pick up a sheet of paper, make a small dot in the upper right hand corner. Notice anything? You may be procrastinating. Three or more dots are indicative that it is past time to take action on that paper. Refer back to step 2.
4. BE RUTHLESS: 80% of what is filed is never accessed again and 80% or more of the paper you receive on a daily basis can be immediately discarded. Keep a garbage can or recycle bin within reach when opening mail. Toss unwanted papers immediately. Go through your “in-box” each day if others bring you papers. Toss anything that doesn’t concern you. Remove yourself from distribution lists and magazine subscriptions you don’t need. Purge your files once or twice a year at the minimum. Outdated papers and duplicates obtainable elsewhere should go.
5. THINK BEFORE YOU PRINT. Do you really need to print every single e-mail you get? Many e-mails, once read, can immediately be deleted. If you have to keep an e-mail, learn how to make folders for storage on the computer and back them up on a disk. If you must print an e-mail, or a web page, decide if you really need to print the entire thing. You can highlight a portion of an e-mail or a web site with your mouse, click on FILE, PRINT, then choose PRINT SELECTION. This prints only the portion you need.
6. FOLLOW RETENTION GUIDELINES. Your company or personal CPA may have retention guidelines setting out how long a particular paper or file must be kept. You can obtain guidelines yourself on the web. Getting familiar with these guidelines also helps manage the amount of papers necessary to be kept. At the very least, remove closed or inactive files from your active work area and get them to storage. Always indicate a “destroy” date on the box or page to ease the future purging process. An additional benefit of this process is that it serves to provide more space for the coming year’s papers. Space can be “reused” rather than adding new filing cabinets.
Author Diane Hatcher, CPO®, has been organizing offices and homes since 1998. She specializes in law offices, chronic disorganization and virtual organizing. Contact her at www.timesaversusa.com or 954-252-7511.
May 25, 2009
Today’s post comes from Marlo Nikkila, the Organizing Coach. Organized A to Z carries her “Organize Out of the Box” product that provides a new, refreshing approach to getting organized.
Is the paper in your life driving you crazy?
Does it take more than 3 minutes to find what you are looking for?
Are piles of paper out of control?
Do you feel overwhelmed by your paper?
Do you want to make peace with your paper once and for all?
Paper is one of the biggest issues for people. There is too much of it and it is easy to get behind, often causing people to feel like they are literally drowning.
Following the P.E.A.C.E plan you will be able to reclaim your sanity for current and future paper in your life.
How does that sound?
P=Permission to let go.
Get this…80% of the paper you keep you will never refer to again! So, you now have permission to let go!
How does that feel? A little scary?
That’s okay, because I am going to ask you to begin with the easy stuff.
Begin with the backlog of old bills, receipts, warranties, recipes, articles, and bank statements. Make sure you have your recycle bin and shredder handy. (wink)
As a quick tip, if you are overwhelmed with all the paper around your desk, turn a pile upside down and start at the bottom. More than likely these papers can be tossed.
E=Evaluate the papers you have.
Sometimes it is out of habit that we continue to file papers we no longer need. Just because there is a file for it, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
The key to evaluating paper is asking the right questions. With better questions come easier decisions and ultimately less paper!
- Can this paper be found somewhere else?
- Is this a duplicate?
- Have I needed this information before?
- Why am I keeping this in the first place?
- Am I required to keep this? If so, how long?
- What next action is needed?
A=Act on it.
Your piles of paper probably exist because something needs to be done with individual pieces–sign, read, pay, call, research, follow-up, errand, etc. Am I right?
The best solution is if it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it. If it is going to require more time and energy, go ahead and jot down the info onto your calendar or to-do list and recycle the piece of paper. The paper no longer needs to serve as your reminder. (more permission to let go!)
If you find that the paper really is needed, then I suggest a tickler system or an action book.
C=Contain & Categorize your papers.
The best way to find it in less than 3 minutes is to create a specific home for your papers in places (and names) that make sense to you.
Do you have a mail center to capture your incoming mail? Is your filing cabinet in the area that you pay bills and process your paper? Are you naming the files appropriately?
The best question to ask yourself when filing or creating a home for your paper is this: Where will I find it? Do you see how this is more powerful than the more common “Where should I put it?”
If you would look for your car info under “Prius” instead of “Automobile” then by all means label it that way.
It will also help if you think in terms of categories for your paper. Examples would be, financial, health, hobbies, owner-manuals, utilities, etc.
E=Electronic solutions.
There are several ways you can take advantage of technology to reduce the amount of paper in your life.
- Receive electronic bank statements and utility bills.
- Use auto pay for utilities and other bills.
- Opt out of mailing lists—virtual and paper.
- Keep all you password and log-in information with SplashShopper ID on your PDA or desktop computer.
- Store important documents on a secured online server.
- Resist the temptation to print e-mails.
- Send real greeting cards from your computer with www.simplifymycards.com.
My hope is for you to experience the freedom that comes with making P.E.A.C.E. with your paper, once and for all.
Marlo Nikkila, “The Organizing Coach,” has created FUN organizing solutions through coaching, home-study guides, and a resourceful website for overwhelmed individuals who want clarity and peace in their life while living in harmony with our planet.
If it’s time for you to move forward and accomplish more than you are on your own, visit www.the-organizing-coach.com for an abundance of articles and resources, along with powerful workshops and coaching to help you become more organized.
May 21, 2009
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