Organize Those Papers ... Now ... Or Get Rid Of 'Em!
by Jama St. John

Do you have piles of papers stacked on the floor? Have you forgotten you have an actual desk underneath the sea of white?

The best way to achieve organization is to start small. Don't try to tackle it all in one day. Schedule time each day to take bites out of the piles of paper (here's a hint about time boxing).

Plan ahead. Think about your filing system and come up with an easy system. It's too easy to over-complicate it and, therefore, make you less likely to keep up the filing. I've found that the more files I make, the less likely I am to file. Use the KISS method - Keep It Simple Stupid.

Another option is to even go paperless...

Something that I have recently started using to get rid of those pesky papers is using the "Note" feature in MS Outlook. How many times have you written something on a piece of paper only to never find it again? You either filed it so you'd know where it was when you wanted it or maybe it got tossed in the circular bin?

By using the Note feature, you can categorize and organize your "pieces of paper" right on the computer. It looks like a little sticky note. You can pick the color of your note (red, blue, green, yellow, white...) and you can file it in a category (either pre-set categories or you can create your own). Instead of writing my "to do" list on paper, I've created a note for it. I also have notes for books I want to read, websites I want to look at, ezine ideas, long term goals...you get the idea.

I am also using Note to organize some ezines. Have you read an ezine and thought "Oh, that's good. I need to print it so I can refer to it later" and then -- you guessed it -- never find it again? If there's an article that I want to hang on to, I copy and paste it into a Note and put it under the appropriate category.

As an example, some of my Note categories are:

- Ezine Ideas

- Organizing Tips

- Social Media Tips

- Writing Tips

- Goals/Objectives (This includes separate notes for "books to read," "business objectives" and "personal goals".)

- Tolerances/To Dos (This is my list of everything I could think of that is annoying me, which also doubles as a to do list. I add to it and delete as I need to.)

- Status (I recently started reading an ebook on the computer and put a note here so when I'm ready to go back to it, I can see what page I'm on.)

I have also heard great reviews about using MS One Note. This has much greater capability than the Note in Outlook and is something I plan on incorporating into my system. MS One Note is like having a binder on your computer, only better. I'll keep you updated when I switch over to that system!

In the meantime, if you have any questions about any of the above, please feel free to call me.

Virtual Assistant and Online Business Manager Jama St. John of Gulf Coast Office Support publishes a biweekly e-newsletter with tips for office efficiency. To receive your subscription, go to www.gulfcoastos.com. Jama St. John may be contacted at http://www.gulfcoastos.com or jama@gulfcoastos.com