In part 1 we started to address those ominous paper towers in your office. Now we are going to the front line – prepare yourself!
TIP#2 Separate ACTION paper from REFERENCE paper. This is the first and maybe the most important habit to cultivate in order to take control of paper. Even if you are still piling paper from floor to ceiling, make sure that the REFERENCE paper gets the opposite corner of the office from the ACTION paper.
Here are examples of ACTION paper:
- invoicing that needs to go out this week
- the marked draft you have to finish by Friday
- any memos that need immediate response
Here are examples of REFERENCE paper
- supporting documents on a matter that you may need access to but not this week, or maybe even this month
- research on a particular matter that you need to read but maybe not this week or this month
You get the idea, right? I bet you can think of several other categories for ACTION or REFERENCE. Stay tuned for part 3 and I’ll tell you what to do with the ACTION paper.
In addition to being AABANY’s Administrative Assistant, Margaret Langston is a Professional Organizer. Her business, BEAUTIFUL CORNER, offers full organization services for the home or small business. BEAUTIFUL CORNER’s goal is help simplify the lives of its clients so that they may achieve optimum organization and full productivity at home and at work. BEAUTIFUL CORNER offers onsite and virtual service. For more information go to www.beautifulcorner.com.
