My favorite scripture is Roman’s 8:28. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
1. Today’s Mail is Tomorrow’s Pile Ignore your backlog of papers! Set up a new system for managing your paper starting with today’s piles. Eventually you can merge the old with the new – or toss it altogether!
2. Clutter is Postponed Decisions® There are only three decisions you can make regarding any piece of paper. Think FAT: File, Act or Toss™!
3. The Art of Wastebasketry® What’s the worst thing that can happen if you didn’t have this piece of paper? If you can live with your answer, then toss – or better yet, recycle it!
4. Start over! If you have a filing system that isn’t working, just start over again.
5. Forget your alphabet! To make filing significantly less labor-intensive (who enjoys making file labels?) convert to a numerical system, taking advantage of your computer’s search engine. You can use Excel or a filing program, such as The Paper Tiger.
© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com
