Don’t put things you want to make a point of acting on in your file drawer.  They will be out of sight out of mind. Instead, they need to be out where they are more compelling.

Don’t waste valuable file space on old tax supporting material and statements.  These can be stored in boxes more remotely.

Don’t stuff something into your file drawer unless you are clear on WHY you are keeping it.  If you can’t provide a reason, you probably don’t need it at all.

There’s essentially 3 types of things that you need to find in a file:
1. information
2. records
3. statements
Information is to refer to for FUTURE events.  Records are refer to for PAST events.  Statements are to refer to the PRESENT tax year.

I find it easier to find files when they are kept in just a few simple categories.  I keep information, records, and statements in manila folders, within wider category files.  Some typical categories are utilities, household, insurance, transportation, medical, finances (or credit and banking), investments, and taxes.

Don’t get hung up on files just being for “important” stuff.  If it’s something you want to find reliably it’s worth filing.  For example if you have printed out a joke that made you laugh and you wanted to share it with your sister, create a “smile fille.”  The next time she calls or visits, you will know exactly where to find it.

Of course you could keep digital files, that you want to find reliably, in a file folder on your computer.  It’s the same principle.  The nice thing about digital files, however, is that you can share them immediately through email.

It’s a great time of year to go through your file cabinet and sort out the material that could go to archives, items you may want to make a point of acting on, and junk that you know you’re never going to need.  You’ll free up room in your file cabinet for new incoming files.  Finally, by clearing out the deadwood, you make it easier to FIND the important and more current files.

Remember, if it’s not findable, it should not be file-able.

It’s only natural to want to make a fresh start in the upcoming New Year.  Now is the perfect time to clear out your stuff from 2008 and create space for the new possibilities of 2009.  This installment of Organizing Works is dedicated to getting rid of those old papers in your home or office.  Sure, it may seem like an overwhelming task, but it’s surprisingly manageable if you know what to do and what NOT to do.  Here are three tips for starters:

1. Sort fast!

To get through your initial purge of accumulated paper, forget your current filing system, limit yourself to four basic categories, set a timer, and work FAST. Your odds of getting through a backlog of paper increase exponentially if you remove the decision barriers and sort fast.  Set yourself up with a comfortable work surface and mark four boxes with the labels Running, Sitting, Sleeping, and Dead. Running Files are all the active projects on your to do list that you want OUT where they can be seen and Dead Files are pretty self explanatory.  The most significant distinction here is between Sitting Files and Sleeping Files.  Sitting files are what’s current in 2008 (and soon in 2009) and a few older records that you may still need quick access to.  The box you collect of Sitting Files then becomes a To-File box when you’re done. Sleeping Files are basically archives, files that you may never need again, but you need to hang on to JUST IN CASE.  The reason this is such an important distinction is that given the choice between “keep” and “toss” one is more inclined to keep for fear of deciding too quickly and making a mistake, but with the Sleeping File category it is OK to keep something just-in-case so long as it is stored more remotely.  It then becomes much easier to toss that box after realizing you haven’t needed any of its contents in seven years, or whatever time span you are comfortable with.  This practice allows you to free up a significant amount of more immediate file space and office space AND it allows you to make your decisions FAST. Just be sure to clearly label your boxes in case a sleeping file does need to be woken up!

2. Ask why, not where.

The answer to “where should this file go?” can be answered with another question: “WHY are you keeping it?”

There are essentially three reasons why to keep a file:

1. Information
2. Statements
3. Records.

These Sitting Files, or current and accessible files, should all fit comfortably in 2 file drawers or less in a typical household.  Before you stuff your next paper into your file cabinet, ask if it represents information you may need in the FUTURE, or a statement for your PRESENT tax year, or a record from your PAST.  If it’s none of the above you may not need it at all. It helps to ask yourself out loud. e.g. “Why am I filing this thick investment prospectus?” “Because I might want to read it when I have some free ti-Aw, who am I kidding?” Just because someone gives you something, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.  Stopping excess files at the gate will keep your files manageable.  The other practice that will help is graduating your supporting tax material from Sitting Files to Sleeping Files after you settle your taxes, so you can free up space in your file cabinet for next year’s statements.  This process of circulation not only addresses WHY you keep a file, but HOW LONG. Need some specifics on how to turn this theory into practice? Check out my May 2007 Newsletter Focus on Filing 2: User Friendly Filing.

3. EZ pass for the Dead Files.

OK, I won’t be surprised if you don’t think you need instruction on how to toss garbage, but guess what.  These days, proper disposal requires some real know-how!  An essential step in effective paper management is to make the disposal process so easy, it feels like you’re cheating.  If your little trashcan is filled to overflowing and you’re not clear about what to shred and what to recycle, where is your paper going to go? Where else but your desk and floor.  Free up that traffic on your productivity highways and give the garbage an EZ Pass.  Start with a large recycling bin for recyclable paper and get clear on what information you need to shred.  If you shred a lot or have a backlog, that little home office shredder just won’t cut it.  These days professional shredding services are more affordable than ever.  The one I highly recommend is Shred Station Express.  You can check them out at http://www.shredstation.com/ Call (203)256-8022, mention code NAPOCT02 and you save 10%.

FOCUS ON FILING, PART 2:  USER-FRIENDLY FILING

The AVERAGE executive wastes one hour a day looking for lost or misplaced items.  That’s six weeks a year!      -The Wall Street Journal

Last month I discussed the File Cycle, the lifecycle of a file in four stages of activity: Running, Sitting, Sleeping, and Dead.  Understanding a file’s lifecycle is important to staying organized because it helps you think about your files in terms of CIRCULATION, not accumulation. Sleeping and Dead files are easy to live with because they are out of your way.  Running files are easy to track because they are out where you can see them, but what about the Sitting Files?  This is where User-Friendly Filing comes in.

It is very easy to make a file go away in a filing cabinet, but it is another matter entirely to retrieve it, instantly, when you need it.  User Friendly Filing begins with the need to RETRIEVE.

My recommendation for User Friendly Filing is a system of organizing by CATEGORY instead by alphabet.  This system is based on the SuccessFile Filing System described in the book “File Anything In Your Home…And Find It Again!”  See Product of the Month.

I have found the two most important criteria for an effective filing system to be:

1. Ease of Retrieval

2. Ease of Maintenance

This system meets both criteria and I will explain how.

Filing Tips

1. Use the right files.  

One box of Box Bottom (or Extra Capacity) Hanging Files- These files are designed to hold general categories and to STAY in the file cabinet.  They work better than standard hanging folders because they take up less space and allow the folders to sit level across the bottom so the labels read more clearly across the top.

One box of 100 Tri-Cut Manila Folders- These folders are designed to hold more specific subjects and to go in and out of the box-bottom hanging files.  The reason for the tri-cut will be explained in more detail later. 

2. File by category.  A category system is easier to use than an alphabetical system for two reasons:

a. First, storage and retrieval are based on logical associations rather than just letters.  For example, where would you file “401K policy”?     P for policy? F for four? R for retirement?

b. Second, categories can be PRIORITIZED with flexible placement.  For example, if you are regularly adding receipts to your “Tax Receipts” folder then you must always reach to the back of the drawer if it is filed alphabetically.  If you file by category, you don’t have that unnecessary restriction.

3. Three reasons to file.  There are essentially only three things you need to file:

a. Information- reference, resources, policies, and possibilities that you will refer to in the FUTURE

b. Statements- paid bills, and ongoing statements that you are receiving in the PRESENT.

c. Records- certificates, licenses, and documents you need to refer back to, from the PAST.

With the Success File Filing System you can easily keep track of all three kinds of files.  How? That’s were the simple tri-cut manila folders come in.  Within ALL categories, use the LEFT tab for INFORMATION, the CENTER tab for STATEMENTS, and the RIGHT tab for RECORDS. 

4. The heart of filing.  Perhaps you are thinking “Isn’t that a little fussy and unimportant?”  Actually, using these tri-cut folders with specific purposes is at the heart of what makes this whole system work so well.  It forces you to think about

1. WHY you are keeping a file AND

2. HOW LONG you are keeping a file for

I’ve talked about the WHY so now I will address the HOW LONG.  I think the idea behind dividing file purposes is the same behind dividing the file’s life stage, I talked about with the Life Cycle of a File.  The idea is to isolate the ones to watch from the ones to forget about (at least for now).  In this case, the one’s to watch are the CENTER tabbed files, and that’s just once a year.   Fairly painless.  After April 15 is a good time to pull all the paid bills and statements that were important LAST year  and open up space for the incoming paid bills and statements THIS year. This provide the CIRCULATION that is crucial to stay organized. The pulled files become SLEEPING files, which you can wake up if necessary, but in the meantime they are not clogging up your important file space.  

As for the LEFT tabbed files, you only have to worry about emptying them when updated information comes in.  For example, when you get a new insurance policy in the mail, file it, and toss the old one.  RIGHT tabbed files you can pretty much forget about because their contents are the least likely to need updating.

5. Sample categories.  Categories should be general enough to hold related files.  For example, use a “Transportation” category instead of  “Car” so that you can include not just Auto Insurance and Car Repair files, but also Train schedules and Frequent Flier Miles. Avoid “MISCELLANEOUS” because one is not likely to think of looking for something there.

Here are some major categories to start with:

• TRANSPORTATION
• BANKING
• CREDIT
• [YOUR ADDRESS]
• HOUSEHOLD*

*”Household” is my best effort to avoid a “Miscellaneous” category.  In my files it includes Online Information, Takeout Menus, Life Insurance Statements, Wedding Records, Mom and Dad records.

You may want to keep a category for your kid’s files or perhaps an entire category for each child.

• INVESTMENTS
• INCOME TAXES

In an office, other categories may include:

• CLIENTS
• OPERATIONS
• ADMINISTRATION
• BUSINESS SERVICES
• PERSONEL

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH:  File Anything In Your Home…And Find It Again!  by Organizers Mary Anne Lessley and Katherine D. Anderson, copyright  1996.  To see the complete descripton this book can be ordered from KAMAL Publications, 170 30th Street, Suite 320, Boulder, CO, 80301 for $22.95 + $4.95 S & H. As the name suggests, this system is designed for the home, but I have also found it useful for business files.  The necessity for a structured filing system is more likely to be recognized in an office than in a home, but it is necessary wherever you value your time.  If you’d like to find out more about this user friendly filing system, I highly recommend this book.

Unless your files are all the same type (e.g. client files), alphabetizing your files can give a false sense of security.  Filing by category not only makes for easier retrieval and maintenance, it provides a flexibility and a logical process of elimination.  For example, if you have misfiled a medical file, you only have to limit your search to the medical category.  Having a plan for retrieval and circulation takes the guesswork out of WHERE to file.  You will know exactly where a file needs to go BEFORE opening the drawer.  The goal is to make filing so easy that you don’t keep a “TO FILE” pile, you JUST FILE!