Self Help

One of the most effective ways of increasing your productivity and organizational skills when it pertains to time management is to take on the burden of filing your entire build up of paperwork, documents, receipts, bills; basically anything and everything that can be filed in your office. As discussed in the first part of this articles series on filing, we discussed the importance of filing and why it is essential to get started now. We also talked about the consequences of not having your life organized and how the lack of filing can lead to poor time management. Today we are going to run through the basic tools of filing and the items that you will need.

But first, consider everything you know about filing. It is quite normal to shudder at the mere thought of filing your life. But you are different. You are a high-achiever who wants to master his or her time management skills, right? And because of this, you are smart enough to see the connection between filing and the positive impact it will make on your career, your future, and your sense of control. Everything that you have that can be filed is potential future value. And if it is not, then it should end up discarded. This is called “purging” your files.

Are you ready to strengthen your time management by filing your life? To get you started we are doing to discuss a few very basic tools that you will need.

1. The first item you will need is a chair, particularly one that swivels. As you are taking care of your desk files it will be much easier to file while sitting. Remember, the first time you choose to get your life files in order it may take a while, so it is best to be comfortable so that you can finish the job!
2. The second basic filing item you will need is a desk or a flat table surface in which you can spread out your paperwork sections, staple items, mark folders, etc. This is your working area so the bigger the desk or table area, the better.
3. The next item you will need are file folder labels, preferably color coded. You will need these labels in order to easily categorize the many different folders that you will have.
4. And that leads us to file folders. This is an obvious essential tool for filing. Folders come in the standard manila color or you can spend a little more money on folders that come in various other colors. Many people consider having different color folders easier when they want to retrieve something.
5. Last but not least, you will need filing cabinets that contain plenty of ample space. A perfect example of how your office can be set up with large filing cabinets is to look at any doctor’s office, dentist area, or any other business location that handles large amounts of paperwork.