Getting organized - reduce stress!

Clearing away unwanted stuff, including too much paperwork, can help to clear your stress.       A few timesaving and management tips to assist you in your cleaning out and organizing process:       Start right away to create a new habit of being organized – it won’t happen on its own. √     Write a plan to include a list of what you will be organizing, i.e.: your desk, your cupboards, your closets, etc. √    Book specific time into your appointment calendar. Make your appointments with yourself a priority. √    To get on track, avoid promising yourself that you will do it all in one day. Most people will become overwhelmed and give up in the process. Instead spend a few minutes every day to sort, file and discard. Choose one location to clean and organize at a time, i.e.: closets, desk. TO HELP YOU GET YOUR WORKSPACE ORGANIZED      How many times have you looked for that same document or email, only to finally find it buried under several other pieces of paper, or lost in the maze of icons on your computer?  The stress of looking for it over and over can be eliminated by setting up and following a simple plan of organization. √    Keep printed documents in folders and binders for ease in finding. Create a filing system that works for you using hanging folders with plastic tabs (i.e., Pendaflex) for papers. Once you have created folders, they are available to immediately hold the paperwork you are working on as well as any related paperwork. 3 ring binders are also excellent for work in process and priority projects. In 3 ring binders you can have tabs to separate each project or idea. You can also use your 3 ring binder for only the most current and necessary information and file away all the other paperwork. √    In your computer, set up folders with the same topics and sections as your physical paper folders. Make one for each project, each client, and one for “work in progress”. Set up these same folders in your email dashboard, so everything is consistent and more easily located when you need it. √    When you must print a report or notes, set your print options to print the entire file location at the bottom of the page. This saves time hunting for the file on your computer and can prevent reprinting the same information over and again. √    Stop creating more paperwork. Scan necessary paperwork into your computer files and keep it there until you need a printed copy for immediate use. Only print reports when you need them in physical form. (The exception to this is legal documents where the original is essential. In those cases set up your filing system to keep them organized. ) √    When organizing and sorting through your papers and other items, ask yourself - when was the last time I used this or needed this? How important is it for me to keep? What is the worst that can happen if I get rid of it? If it is essential to keep, set up its perfect place to be and put it there now. √    Handle paper once – when you pick up a paper from your desk, or incoming mail – file it appropriately the first time. This way when you need it, it will be where you can find it without searching. √    Organize your emails.  If you don't need to read it now, move it from your inbox. Having less in your inbox to weed through will make it easier to know what you need to respond to and what can wait.       √    Create personal folders to organize your messages. These folders can be similar to the data folders you have crated as well as folders for your client’s, friends, family, hobbies, personal, work in progress and other specifics related to your career and personal life.  Keep these folders simple so you can efficiently use them and also find what you are looking for when you need it. √    Use your tools and action commands to instruct your incoming mail to automatically go to the folder of your choice. This way you can read them later when you have time. This would include hobby e-zines, sales fliers, product offers and some spam.  Your messages will still appear as unread, only they'll be in the folder you designated, so you can find the new ones when you click on that folder. √    In outlook and other email programs, when you leave your email folders list expanded, a number in parenthesis appears next to a folder indicating how many unread emails are in the folder.   When you respond to an email, move the original email and your sent message to the folder that you have created for those emails. If it something that required an additional response or effort, your work-in-progress folder might be appropriate.    CLICK FOR MORE TIPS....       "I threw out all the papers I had been keeping from websites I'd printed to read at some other time. I made a page on my desktop of "WebPages to Visit". On the page I put the name of the website, its URL, and a quick note of what the website has that I want to read. I got rid of hundreds of papers, and it feels great." ~Brad Smorther~       "I've always used the throw-everything-in-a-box-to-be sorted-later filing system for my receipts. so when it comes time to do my taxes, I spend hours sorting and trying to remember what some of the receipts were for. Now I'm spending a certain amount of time every day sorting last years receipts so I don't get burned out. At the same time, I made myself a spreadsheet to enter my new expenses and income every day so this year I can use this spreadsheet for my taxes. I set up a special filing box with folders for each category, and before the receipt goes in the file, it’s entered in the spreadsheet."  ~ Marcia Bearn ~       "I cleaned my closet. Anything that I haven't worn in a year was given to charity. I cleaned my desk of saved papers and anything that isn't tax or client related, I threw away. This feels like a breath of fresh air at my desk. I can find what I need now, because it’s not mixed with paperwork I no longer need." ~ Lisa Lorie ~ Read more about Stress Out books Buy a book - Benefit a Charity Read the book - find benefit for yourself Book Excerpt Stress Out™ Book: p. 199 Chapter Content Copyright  2009, Sumner M. Davenport Book Copyright, 2009, Self Investment Publishing Co.