10 Easy Maintenance Tips vs Piling on the Chaos

Whether you are in your own business or an employee (or neither) -- if you have a family and a home you are in the business of having a life. I'm betting that none of you went into business to become hot at shuffling papers and reams of e-mail.

Eighty percent of the clutter at work and at home is a result of disorganization, not lack of space! So if it's going to keep coming in and piling up, you've got to have an exit strategy. Regular maintenance is the best way to keep your office tuned up, same as your vehicle.

The key 'success' habit is deciding immediately where each piece of paper or e-mail goes and what's the next action required from you. Setting anything aside in the 'decide later pile' just makes it worse. Every piece of clutter at work and at home is an unmade decision.

Use my Daily, Monthly and Yearly Maintenance tips to keep ahead of all that information --whether it's paper or computer. I guarantee you can manage your information more easily and successfully at work and at home when you do.

DAILY

Unlike some wines, no piece of information improves with age. Set a certain time each day to sort, toss and refile both paper and e-mail. I do mine after lunch while I get through my post meal 'slump'. Daily maintenance, like brushing your teeth, keeps you from collecting build-up in your systems.

Sort all your incoming materials daily; stand over the recycle bins and get rid of all the junk first. Sort into Action categories that make sense to you: to pay, to file, to review, etc. The daily sort is crucial just to keep your filing separate from Action items, and keep the discards moving.

At home, your 'To File' first sort can be separated into personal and business filing (try a combination sorter:vertical for action/ horizontal for filing). At work, separate client or product materials from company administrative files in your first sort. More filing category help under Monthly tips.

Set up magazine files for Reference items (catalogs, magazines). At home, make separate sort places to put receipts that refer to warranties, personal property records, or that you need to reconcile with monthly credit card and bank statements.

Use a compartment, or envelope in your briefcase or purse where you can easily stuff any receipts (especially if you travel). Then, use it. In the office, have a drop box or action file for the day-to- day expensed receipts from your briefcase or pockets.

MONTHLY

Calendar definite times to do Maintenance and stick to them. At home, try doing your paper filing only when you pay bills. As long as you schedule your maintenance every two weeks, you'll never miss a payment and you'll be up on your filing, too. In between bill paying time, simply do your daily sort: tossing, and putting bills, receipts, project materials in your Action area to be filed or paid when the time comes.

At work, try scheduling non-payday Fridays or before/after two different monthly meetings to keep it regular. Here are two suggestions on basic 'To File' systems you can use with your 'file piles' when you do your every day sort. No matter how you schedule it, you can cut your filing time in half by presorting your file piles into separate file trays in the following categories.

Pre-Sorted File Categories:

You can separate current business filing into three domains:

People; clients, staff, teams
Things; projects, programs, products
Administration; the business of doing business (financials, physical office).

You can separate current personal filing into three domains:

Personal/Family
Household
Finances/Insurance

If you don't have a 'business of having a life'filing system, check out the cost-effective Home and Small Business File Kits that I use in my own business, which makes it easy for me to guarantee your satisfaction. (www.organize.com)

YEARLY

Universal Archiving Rule: If they aren't this year's files and you don't use them regularly -- get them out of your office!

I recommend that every private individual and small business do an Office Blitz in April after you've filed taxes. Pull all the old financial, insurance and tax-related files out, and put them in an archive box. Put in a back-up disk of your accounting program and data for that tax year. Pick up a retention schedule from your CPA or the Internal Revenue Service.

I store my archives on shelves in the garage. Just remember to label the paper archive or waterproof plastic file boxes on the front, so you can keep a matching archive list in your file drawer with an index of box contents. Then, if you need something you can retrieve it easily.

For larger companies I recommend an Office Blitz at least twice a year. Plan a Friday afternoon where everyone participates in cleaning out their offices and cubicles. (Order extra dumpsters.) If the finance year runs July to June do your archiving blitz in end July for the prior year.

Archive administrative files, and completed project or program files. Toss records for which you have already been reimbursed, or which you no longer maintain as part of your job. Archive the rest to off-site storage after making an index.

Separate essential records into current or archive storage:

File in current year filing system (by category)
File into archival filing system (by past year)
OR Scan into electronic document storage (both)

Now, that you know how to manage your information more successfully at work and at home Peace of mind is just an Office Blitz plus Daily, Weekly and Monthly Maintenance away!

For more free time-saving tips, see http://www.organize.com

10 Easy Maintenance Tips vs Piling on the Chaos
By Eve Abbott, Excerpted from her new book,
How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain TM

Copyright, Eve Abbott All Rights Reserved.

Eve Abbott's newest book is available online at http://www.organize.com. Remember to sign up for more of the Organizer Extraordinaire's time-saving tips. Enjoy free brain quizzes to help you work at your personal best!

---

Basic Organizing Principles

So you've decided to get organized, but you just don't... Read More

Does Your Storage Make Sense?

What do your storage spaces look like? Do you know... Read More

Until We Go Paperless

From time to time I hear this question from an... Read More

The Most Frequently Asked Questions about Organizing Your Kids Rooms

1. In terms of organization, what is the first thing... Read More

Success at Work : Techniques : A Cluttered Desk

I followed my boss to a co-worker's cubicle where my... Read More

Clutter Campaign - Select Your Tools

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know... Read More

Do You Have Scatter-Brain-Itis?

In your quest to get 'up and running' so to... Read More

Organizing Tips to Help You Conquer the Laundry Monster

Laundry. You sort, you wash, you fold, you blink ?... Read More

Clutter Campaign - Commit Your Time

Decide When And Where To StartDecide when and where to... Read More

Is Your To Do List The Problem?

You start each week with great intentions. You are determined... Read More

Organizing for Today, Tomorrow and the Next Day

Getting organized is hard. If it weren't, we wouldn't put... Read More

Letting Go of Clutter In Your Office

Some people would say I'm the last person in the... Read More

Organized Living in a Disorganized World

We are bombarded with so many factors that perpetuate disorganization.... Read More

Relieve Vacation Stress By Planning Ahead

Cindy looks at the calendar and sighs. Ah, the end... Read More

Simple Ideas to Conquer Paper Clutter

Are stacks of papers, mail, newspapers, and growing "to do"... Read More

How Clutter Affects Your Love Life

Clutter in any area of your home is a sign... Read More

Clutter Clearing Tips that Work

Coping with clutter is rarely easy. There's more involved than... Read More

What Clutter Clearing Can Do For You

You can get a pretty good idea of the benefits... Read More

Organized Living-Secrets About Your Lifes Hidden Power Revealed

An organized living lifestyle can cause you to weed out... Read More

Family Management Tip #2: Choosing the Right Organizer for Your Family

What method do you currently use to organize your family?... Read More

Sticking to Your New Years Resolutions: Ten Tips for a More Organized Life

1. A calendar is an essential organizing tool ? start... Read More

10 Tips for a More Organized Morning

1. Teach your children to use an alarm clock or... Read More

Spring Makeovers: Organizing Tips for the Home and a Virtual Makeover for You

Winter is starting to retreat, and hints of Spring are... Read More

Get Organized: 10 Universal Laws

The Law of the 1st StepA good first step in... Read More

Escaping The Clutter Trap? - 5 Steps For Increasing Productivity And Decreasing Stress

? Do you feel overwhelmed by all the "stuff" in... Read More

Secrets to Eliminating Emotional Clutter

Are you plagued by clutter in your personal or professional... Read More

Five Simple Tips to Get Organized Today!

Take time to declutter this summer...Writing can certainly consume the... Read More

Common Clutter Culprits- How to Bust Through Clutter

Paper1. You may already be in the habit of filing... Read More

Get Organized -- Every Home Needs An Office

EVERY HOME NEEDS AN OFFICEYes, it is true that every... Read More

Taking Care of You: De-Clutter

De-Cluttering our lives can be an extremely liberating exercise. There... Read More

10 Organizing Tips for Road Warrior Parents

Parenting is always a challenge, but particularly so if your... Read More

Organize (and Decorate) Your Home on a Budget with Baskets

What's an item that can help you organize every room... Read More

Spring Cleaning

Spring is such a refreshing time- we are filled with... Read More