Tools for Thought

Paperwork should not be used as a reminder of what to do with it. Once the project and next actions associated with a document have been identified and placed on their corresponding lists, the best practice is to keep the document out of sight until it’s actually needed. Like books in a library, documents should be retrieved on an as-needed basis, and filed away when not in use. Reserve the surface of your desk for your one current task, and immediately file away unrelated materials.

When determining what to do next, refer to your calendar and next actions list, not your paperwork. Paperwork associated with an action or project should be filed away in a labelled project support file.

For example, if the project is purchasing a new car, any printed specifications, quotes and other materials can be collected in a file labelled “Car Research,” then stored in your A-to-Z general reference filing system. The paperwork never gets a chance to mix with other paperwork on your desk, since it and the paperwork for all of your other projects reside in your file cabinet. When you need ask the sales representative a question, you can pull out the project support folder and have your information at hand when you need to refer to it, then put it away at the end of the conversation. The reference material is never in your way, physically or mentally, when you need focus on other tasks.

By keeping project and action support material in labelled folders, and keeping discretionary reading (wiki printouts, interesting web articles, etc.) in a separate Read/Review folder, your brain will trust that if you need paperwork that’s related to an active project, all you have to do is think of the name of the project, and you’ll know where to find it. Discretionary reading does not need to be methodically indexed. Let its current relevance and your interest be your guide.

Active Folders

Some files need to be retrieved throughout the day, making repeat reaches to the file cabinet inconvenient. For those few files, keep them in a tray on your desk underneath your intray. Be sure to retire them to the file cabinet when they no longer need to be close at hand. Your desk should be a workspace, not a storage bin. Your Read/Review folder should also have a tray of its own.

Labelling Tips

Use typeset labels. Using a typeset labeler to label your files instead of doing so by hand is somewhat slower on the front end, but greatly streamlines the retrieval process — especially when you see a cabinet of entirely typeset-labelled files. Since each file is created once but retrieved many times, making it as easy as possible to scan and locate the file is worth the additional setup time. Keep the labeller as a permanent fixture on your desk, close at hand, to keep setup time to a minimum. Be sure to have a least one replacement cartridge on deck at all times, otherwise you may wind up a day’s worth of unlabelled files. If labelling is not fast and convenient, you probably won’t do it.

To make folders reusable, apply clear tape to the tabs. As mentioned in Pattern #6: General Reference Files, we want to the tab on the folder itself, not a plastic tab that attaches to a folder hanger. If you put clear tape on the folder tab, any typeset labels you stick on will come off without much effort, allowing you to reuse them. If you’re setting up a new filing system, you may want to spend the extra time putting clear tape on all of your folders. This will save many trips to the office supply store, not to mention money.

For frequently used project folders, add a duplicate label at the bottom edge. For the tray that holds your frequently retrieved folders, insert the folders with their spines facing you, so that you’re not looking at the tops of an unidentifiable bundle of papers. If the files are given a label toward their spine, you won’t waste time shuffling through papers to find the right set.