TOYS

Paper, Paper Everywhere

Congratulations! You’ve worked on February’s tips and found a safe, convenient, and logical home for your mail. Remember it’s okay if your mail container, your “personal mailbox”, is a shoebox lid or spare container. We aren’t going for style yet. That can come later if you like.  Right now we’re strengthening new habits and building a strong foundation based on your life / work style.

Don’t fret if you haven’t implemented February’s tips, you can still go back and read it anytime in my archive.

Remember: Recycle

Before we discuss how to take action on your mail, let’s take a moment to review what should be recycled and what should be shredded. The basic rule is that if it contains personal information—even a home address — you may want to shred it. Otherwise, it can be recycled. Of course, shredded paper can be recycled as well.

To cut down on the amount of paper you’re receiving, particularly repetitive mail that you do not want, consider stopping mail solicitations by going to the websites listed in the February feature on my website. 

Before you actually dig into your mail, think about the room where you will actually work on your mail.  The most efficient / organized place to sort through your mail is in the same place you will recycle it, pay it, make a phone call or use the computer regarding it.  The room where you deal with your mail is similar to your kitchen.  Food is typically ‘dealt with / used’ in one main room – your kitchen.  Your kitchen is the room where food is stored, prepared, eaten, thrown away, etc.  If at all possible, your mail should be dealt with in one room too.   So think about it for a moment, is there a room in your home or an area in your office that you can carve out as your ‘mail room’? Ideally this would be in your office and more specifically at your desk.  Efficiency and organization would also invite you to have your envelopes / stamps, phone and computer in this same work space.

Now you’re in your room and ready to deal with your mail.  Let’s get to work!

Action!

With your mail container at the ready, select one piece of mail at a time and take these steps:

• Open it and make a decision

1. Discard it; shred and / or recycle
2. Keep it;

• When your decision is to keep it, then your next step is to decide the action you are going to take:

1. If you need to pay it, label your folder or tray “PAY”.
2. If you need to make a phone call regarding it, label your folder/ tray  “PHONE CALLS”.
3. If you need to use the computer regarding it, label your folder/ tray "COMPUTER". This folder / tray contains any action items that requires you to use your computer; emails, online banking, adding a website to favorites or bookmarks. 
4. If you discover an action you need to make that is unique to you, by all means, label  your folder / tray with that action name. This is how you personalize your system and internalize it so that  it makes sense to you.

It's important for me to point out that I intentionally did not suggest that you have a 
"TO DO" folder or tray. A folder labeled "TO DO" is too vague and can mean too many things.  When you label your folders / trays with separate specific real action names, you departmentalize what needs to be done. So when you address the tasks in one folder, you stay on the one action associated with that folder.  You will either pay bills, make phone calls or complete computer related tasks.  You will no longer vacillate from one different task to another; pay a bill, make a phone call, send an email, then go back to make another phone call, back to paying a bill.  When you vacillate, you expensively waste your valuable time and energy.  When your action stays the same, you address and complete more items in a shorter amount of time.  As a result, you save your time and energy.  Long story short, I strongly suggest you organize and categorize your old "TO DO" into each individual action it takes you to complete it. 

Good news!  While you were telling yourself why you needed to keep the mail, you were also mentally telling yourself the action name you should name your folder/ tray.  

Notice that the lesson above, was focused on simply opening and sorting the mail.  Initially, this can be time consuming, however the pay off from building your opening and sorting habit, is that each time it will run more smoothly, efficiently and quickly! 

I know for many of you, looking at your mail makes you want to turn around and walk - run! away from it.  STOP!  I understand that your life may not give you the entire block of time it will take to deal with all your mail.  However, don't let that be an excuse for not dealing with it. It will not go away because you ignore it. In fact, ignored mail gets worse - guaranteed!  So instead, I often suggest to my clients that they deal with their mail in small successful snippets of real time.  Even though you may not have the estimated 45 minutes needed to open the mail and take action, I’m betting you probably have 5-15 minutes to start the process.  After those 5-15 minutes are over, you can stop. But not without intentionally scheduling follow-up appointments  (yes I said appointments)  with yourself in your planner for you to continue opening your mail and completing the tasks associated with it.   

Keep in mind, the most important thing is for you to intentionally make appointments with yourself to do it.  The actual physical writing or typing your appointment onto your calendar reflects your seriousness and commitment to your mail and supports the rewarding habit that you are trying to build. While no one says, "Yippee, I get to file", everyone says “Yippee, I can find what I need!”  In other words, the process is not a celebration, but your results certainly are!   

Take it from someone who has been out in the field and experienced this more than once.  Be honest with yourself.  If you are not committed to the typical 30 days estimated to build and form a new habit, please do not spend your physical and mental energy simply opening and sorting your mail.  These two steps alone, will not get the work done. 

Tickle me

A Ticker File system is an abbreviated form of your permanent filing system.  It may rest on your desk top or in your file drawer. The Tickler File system I sell consists of 17 hanging files and 31 file folders.

The 17 hanging files are labeled for the 12 months of the year (plus an extra one* for holding additional items during the current month) and four that are labeled personally according to your needs. In an office setting, for example, you might have a folder named Staff Meeting to hold questions or ideas you have in between meetings. Or you might have a folder named Joe; a colleague who you're teaming with on a big  project.  By putting items in Joe’s folder, you don’t waste your mental energy trying to remember to talk with Joe about something nor will you waste physical energy by leaving your office and walking to Joe's office every time you think of something. At home, a folder might be for take-out menus, coupons, gift ideas, or weekend and vacation plans. Again, these four folders are for you to personalize.

The 31 file folders are labeled 1-31, one for each day of the month. The current month is in the front with the following months immediately behind. Currently, March would be in front, with months that have passed; January and February behind December.  Remember the *extra folder mentioned above?  This folder is used for the dates 16-31, simply because it's too tight to fit 31 file folders into 1 hanging folder. Once you're set up, you are ready to get a handle on all those piles of files, floating scraps of paper and post-it notes that always get misplaced or worse - lost forever.   If you're tired of paying costly late fees and wasting your valuable time and energy searching for papers you may never find, purchasing a Tickler File may just be your lifesaver.  Remember to order by March 14th to have it on hand for our Paper, Paper Everywhere Teleclass Thursday March 19th.

When you register for the March 19th Teleclass "Paper, Paper Everywhere", you'll learn how to set up and use the system so you can successfully pay bills on time, organize gift certificates so you can find them before they expire, hold invitations and workshop registration forms until deciding to RSVP, safely store event  tickets and much more.  We'll even explore solutions for your specific personal and professional routine so that you are getting organized from the very beginning.

But will I use it?

Over the years, I have introduced the Tickler File to many of my clients. And I'll be honest with you, in the beginning, some are skeptical.  However, I ask them, just as I'll ask you,  stay with me as we pick up and gather all the scattered post-it notes, backs of 'written all over' envelopes and miscellaneous scraps of note paper.  Working together, we'll sort through the paper trail of information, weaving personal and professional lifestyles into the demanding calendars filled with appointment cards, permission slips, registration forms and pending projects.  I believe statistics are right when they say it takes 30 days to build a strong foundation to support a new habit.   I have witnessed respected Tickler Filer systems turn frazzled moms and frantic professionals into anxious-free and confident persons.  Still not convinced?  If at the end of 30-days, you are not more organized than before the system, I will buy your Tickler File back.

If you're ready to stop paying late fees, arrive on time to meetings and appointments prepared - maybe even arrive early! and find gift certificates before they expire, then register now for Paper, Paper Everywhere.

One more thought on the benefits of the system  -  as most of you know,  I am a BIG believer in planners. I believe everyone should use a planner, no exceptions. However, I see so many planners with pieces of paper falling out or stuffed so thick they are cumbersome. To me, this is planner abuse!  So where should I put all those important papers you ask?  A tickler file is much safer than an overstuffed planner and you don’t have to worry about losing it or flipping through the stack every time you need it.

Speaking of planners, one of my favorite topics, register now for the March 12th Teleclass  Where Oh Where Can My Planner Be? You'll learn how to buy the planner that fits your lifestyle and how to use the planner you already own! 

Until then, celebrate the first day of spring on March 20th. We’ll talk about spring organizing in the April issue.