You are not alone! Paper is a challenge and your tranquility it can damage. But if you learn how it can be managed, your serenity can be salvaged. Watch this video to manage your paper stack and gain a blissful vantage.
(Click here to watch on YouTube if you can’t see the embedded player. Or watch the video at http://bit.ly/tcdpapers.)
Transcript:
Hi. I’m Lorie Marrero, creator of the Clutter Diet book and on-line program, and today we’re going to talk about how to manage paperwork. You know, most people don’t realize that there are five different types of paper, and people might even argue with me that there are more. I’m sure it feels that way when your mailbox is full of stuff. But let’s look at what those five types are, and you can kind of score yourself on how you’re doing managing those different kinds.
So first, I want to talk about the reference paper you get, the kind of paper that all you need to do is keep for referring to later if you need it. The first type is called “quick reference.” So this is the kind you need to have at your fingertips that you want to have where you can grab it whenever you want it and get this information, so this is like cheat sheets. Okay? So this would be like our color pallet for our business, and the different fonts that we use, kind of a style guide. These are the different channels, this is some stuff about our phone system and a little HTML cheat sheet I have here, and a little word memory jogger. Things that you just kind of, yeah, you need every once in a while, and you just want to grab those quickly.
The next type of paper is called just plain “reference,” where you want it to be handy. Handy reference would be a filing cabinet. So you’ve got your just standard ordinary files and you don’t need to take action on those papers, so you just put them away for later.
The third type of paper is called “archive,” which is paper you want to have at arms length. It is reference paper, but you really don’t need it nearby you, so you’re putting it away in a file box, and maybe that goes in your attic or your basement or some kind of off-site storage place, depending on your situation.
Then we have a couple of different types left to talk about that are action related. These are papers that you need to do something with. First we have “quick action.” Those are bills, they are calls, things that you need to discuss with your manager, or your spouse, certainly there are other categories of items, maybe if your children are in school, these are quick items for school papers for the kids, those things that you’re handling pretty fast and getting out of your hair.
And then you’ve got your “projects.” Now, I just made another video about all the different ways to manage a project, but one of the most popular ways is to get files and a desktop sorter so that you have a place to gather larger amounts of information to use collectively on something that has a beginning and an end to it that is a real project. So, you’ve got the desktop sorter and other ways to manage those that you can see in that other video.
Those are the five main types of paper. And then you, in addition, may have some reading material or other things too. But as far as what decisions need to be made when you’re sorting through that pile, those are the ones.
So how are you doing on these types of paper? Let us know in the Comments what your questions are and we’d be happy to help you out. And if you’d like even more help with that, we help people every day in our Member Message Board area at https://www.clutterdiet.com. You can come check us out and we are there seven days a week answering all of our Members’ questions.
We’ll see you next time, and may you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough.
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