Where’s My Desk Wednesday/Arrangement and Categories

Before we get into the different filing categories, let’s go over the task of arranging your office furniture so it makes filing much easier.

It’s best to have a small filing cabinet that you store everyday files in, within arms reach from your desk. If you are constantly having to get up to file your papers, 9 times out of 10 you will stack it on your desk to “file later”.

If you have a large number of papers that you file on a daily basis, put your filing cabinets on the same side of the room as your desk. If all you had to do to file something was to swing your chair around and roll on over to the cabinet, those papers have a much better chance of making it to their designated places. And in the end…your desktop has a much better chance of staying clear.

Now about categories. It is so important that you name your categories the right way. If you have too many or ones that later don’t make sense, then filing will become difficult and a pain. Then what happens? Those papers don’t get filed!

Here are some tips from Julie Morgenstern on naming files:

Keep titles simple and categories broad. The fewer place to look for things the better.

Title files based on retrieval, not storage. Select files based on where you would look for something if you needed it again.

Use titles to group similar files. A sales section can have separate files such as domestic, international.

Use titles that incite you to action. Instead of “invoices to write” use “create invoice”.

Use titles that soeak to your soul. Some examples,instead of “financial planning” make it “wealth” or instead of “articles of interest” make it “fascinating people”.

Next she says that when you are all done to reevaluate your files. Make sure they make sense to you. Make sure the files are not to thick, which means your title is too broad and make sure you don;t have too many categories. If you have an enormous pile of files, chances are you’ve got too many.

Most of all, keep your system as simple as possible.

I hope these tips will help you to clear off your desk and give those papers a home. Julie’s book has an extensive chapter on filing for those of you that feel like you need some major details.