The third full week in April is National Organize Your Files Week. In conjunction with Earth Day (April 22), this is a great time for you to tame your paper tiger by recycling outdated papers in your piles and in your files and create a filing system that works.
The average worker wastes up to three hours per week searching for lost information (150 hours/year = almost a month). At an average rate of $25/hour (including salary + benefits), that equates to nearly $4,000 per year per employee. Multiply $4,000 by the number of employees, and the cost in lost productivity for a company is staggering. If you are self-employed, you can calculate the annual cost in lost productivity by determining your own hourly value and multiplying that by 150 hours.
In addition, 80% of what we file away is never referenced again. If you calculate the cost of square footage to store the filing cabinets, plus the cost of the filing materials, plus the labor costs to create each file…the cost is even more staggering!
What does disorganization cost you or your company? To calculate the cost, click here.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Everything is going digital! I really don’t need a filing system anymore.” If that statement is true for you, you may not need a filing system. However, my experience tells me otherwise.
When something is really important, many people print it out. Given that paper is not going away anytime soon, we may as well learn how to manage it.
Over the last decade I’ve asked hundreds of people what causes them to create piles. I’ve discovered that there are two primary reasons why papers pile up:
The #1 reason is a fear of never finding something once it’s filed away. Procrastination is caused by not knowing where to put it or what to call it. Your piles represent postponed decisions.Since 2003 I have taught a proven step-by-step process that helps individuals get and stay organized. It’s easy to implement and easy to maintain. You can learn more about this process by registering for my popular webinar, Buried in Paper. It’s free and is full of great ideas you can begin implementing today.
A system that doesn’t break down over time!
As organized as I am, I always used to struggle with filing things away because I labeled my files with creative names. When it came time to find the document I needed, I could not remember what I called it (reason #1 above).
In 1996, I was introduced to The Paper Tiger by Barbara Hemphill, who was my mentor in the field of organizing and productivity. You may recognize her name from the many books she’s written on the subject. I had such high respect for Barbara and I knew that any methodology she was behind was good, so I decided to try it. At first, I did not like it because it was so different than the filing system I’d learned growing up. But what I’d been taught was not working for me…so I pushed through my discomfort and tried Barbara’s methodology.
It took me about a month to get used to this new way of filing and to adjust my way of thinking about how things were filed and stored, which required a complete paradigm shift.
Paradigm Shift: an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way. – Webster’s Dictionary
I was originally taught to file related papers together in a file cabinet. In my home files, I had created categories for medical, legal, financial, and household files. Within those categories, I stored the files alphabetically. Herein lies the problem.
What do you do when papers could be filed in more than one category or by several different names? Here’s a challenge I encountered:
Are you beginning to get the picture?
Although I was taught to file related things together, with The Paper Tiger I am no longer limited by that, since categories are not necessary. I simply file or store something in the next available file, enter the file name into The Paper Tiger database, and add any keywords that I might think of later when looking for the papers in that file. The files themselves are labeled with numbers and are kept in numerical order.
Since implementing The Paper Tiger in 1996, I’ve been able to find anything I file or store in 5 seconds or less, and so can anyone else who has access to my database and files. My husband and I no longer have to agree on what to call a file, because we can both easily find it with a quick keyword search. (For example, the keywords can include auto insurance and car insurance.)
Although The Paper Tiger was initially created to help people with filing and retrieving documents, I’ve discovered many other creative ways to use The Paper Tiger to find other tangible things stored in boxes, bins, drawers, shelves, or any other container you can put a number on.
Most filing or storage systems break down over time, but the finding system I’ve been using has stood the test of time for me and countless others throughout North America… including Jack Canfield and many other happy clients.
Rather than trying to explain it further, I invite you to register for my free webinar, Find Anything in 5 Seconds or Less, where I demonstrate how the system works. You’ll also learn the many ways I’ve been using it to find other tangible things I store.
Let me help you clear the clutter from your schedule, space and mind!
Just as I did for Jack Canfield, I can teach you how to:
- Stay focused on what’s most important, at home and at work.
- Find anything you file or store within 5 seconds.
- Eliminate thoughts, activities, and things in your environment that do not enhance your work or personal life.
- Remember important follow-up at the right time.
- Enjoy a life of purpose, passion, and fun!
I work virtually, so geographic location is not important. If you’d like to explore the possibility of getting some help putting a system in place so you can be more productive, let’s schedule a no-cost discovery call today.
Additional Resources:
- Free webinar: Find Anything in 5 Seconds or Less
- Free webinar: Buried in Paper
- Great FINDING tool: The Paper Tiger
- Remember important email needing follow-up: FollowUpThen
