Organize + Energize: The Office Product You Need to Stop Using Now

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Tuesday, May 03, 2016

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalPDX Organizing Expert

I’ve worked in many different types of disorganized offices. There are many common themes that I find, but today I’m going to discuss one.  People have stacks of papers in horizontal filing trays.  Do you utilize these trays in your office?  I know what you are going to say! I hear it all the time. You’ll say you know exactly what’s in those piles and you know where everything is.  I’m here to tell you that you are wrong. 

What’s in that tray?

I find cash, uncashed checks, gift cards, and missed business opportunities. There are also important papers that my clients had been searching for or they forgot they had and papers that should have been thrown out years ago. These trays are stacked with piles of postponed decisions and they are a distraction and hamper productivity.  The paper gets stacked here because there isn’t a system to process it when it arrives in the office. 

The process

So, how do you tackle this pile? Take the pile out of the tray and then remove the tray and don’t put it back unless you have a really great use for it. You’ll find that you are shredding or throwing out most of it. So if you are throwing it out now, did you really need it back when you put it in the pile? When you are going through the piles, do not try to create your systems. If you do this, you’ll get distracted, lose focus and you’ll set yourself back. You want to be as efficient as possible during this process. As you go through, just decide what you are keeping and tossing. When you are done categorizing, now you can set up your filing systems based on what you have in front of you.  Stop and take the time to think about how you want to function going forward. Put the work in to develop these new systems. Don’t just go back to your old ways.

Choose a better product.

There are so many great office organizing products out there. Choose the one that is going to best fit what you need to hold and is going to be the most efficient and productive product for you. Don't choose a product that is going to be a drop spot for papers that you have no idea what to do with. It will become a breeding ground for paper and will create more work for you months down the road when you need to dig through it. 

If you develop working, efficient organized systems, these paper piles will never form again. Once your system is developed, the paper will enter your office, and you’ll tackle it right away, file it, attach to a to-do list, shred it, toss it, or attach to your calendar to tackle at the appropriate time.  

Going forward, you’ll find what you are looking for when you need it, saving you time, money, energy, and you’ll keep your sanity intact.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, is an organizing & efficiency expert. 

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