How many times in a week do you say to yourself -- or to someone else -- “I really need to organize these files?” If your answer is “Never!” you can skip listening to the rest of this podcast, but if you’re like thousands of people around the world, the need to organize paper or electronic files someplace in your personal or professional life never seems to go away. Listen as I share 5 steps to organizing paper success. Podcast Duration: 04:13 (MM:SS)
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Podcast Transcript
Hello, I'm Barbara Hemphill. My passion is helping you accomplish your work and enjoy your life, and I'm so glad you've joined me again today!How many times in a week do you say to yourself -- or to someone else -- "I really need to organize these files?" If your answer is "Never!" you can skip listening to the rest of this podcast, but if you're like thousands of people around the world, the need to organize paper or electronic files someplace in your personal or professional life never seems to go away.
The first step to success is recognizing that organizing files is a part of everyone's life -- like organizing your closet or the garage. You either have to do it yourself, hire (or bribe!) someone else to do it, or live with the cluttered consequences.
I've spent thousands of hours in the past 30+ years helping clients organize paper and electronic files so today I want to share how you can apply the Productive Environment Process that I have mentioned in previous podcasts to your filing systems:
1. State Your Vision. Define what "organized" means to you. What is the level of organization you need in your filing system to be able to accomplish your work and enjoy your life? My personal criteria for paper files is that I want my desk to be totally clear of papers when I leave work at the end of the week. My personal criteria for electronic files is being able to find the file I need in a few minutes.
2. Identify Your Obstacles. What specifically prevents you from reaching your desired state of file organization? Lack of space? Lack of time? Lack of a filing system?
3. Commit Your Resources. For example, how much time are you willing to invest per week to solve the problem? How much space do you have to store files? Who could help you? What filing systems do you already have in place that work? Once you have addressed the above issues, then it's time to move to Step 4 in the Productive Environment Process:
4. Design your plan. If it takes longer than 30 minutes to clear up the papers on your desk, your filing system needs work. The best place to start is OVER! Ignore the old papers and create a new filing system for the current papers. If you have difficulty finding electronic files, identify the SPECIFIC source of the problem. For example, are you using your "In Box" for a filing cabinet -- and then can't find what you need? Are you taking advantage of the "search" capabilities of your computer?
If you don't know what they are, ask someone younger that you are, and they probably will! If you know what to do, and you just haven't done it, now's the time to design and implement a plan for the newest papers. Then you can incorporate the old papers as you use them. If you're totally overwhelmed, now's the time to get help. Simply fill out the Productive Environment Scorecard for Individuals on www.BarbaraHemphill.com for a free 30-minute phone consultation to get you on the right track.
2. Maintain your success. Let's face it -- life is messy, and sometimes our filing systems reflect that reality. Building in a system to maintain your success is crucial.
What challenges or successes have you had in creating a filing system that works for you? Post your comments or questions in the comments area of this episode at barbarahemphill.com. If you like this podcast and think a friend or colleague can benefit from it please share it with them using the Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn buttons on the podcast page on my website." Until next week, I'm Barbara Hemphill. Thanks for listening!
