Organizing Tips

Tips to Staying Organized

1. Decide immediately, commit yourself to making decisions now about what to
   do with each piece of paper.
   
2. Open and sort mail as soon as you get it. Sort the mail into categories: TO DO,
   TO READ, and TO FILE
   
3. Be realistic about the amount of information you can read.
   
4. Don't let your "IN" box become your storage box: Think of it as a "MOVE IT"
   box.
   
5. Purge your papers regularly. Make an appointment with yourself to do this.
   
6. Spend 15 minutes, twice a day, clearing out your "IN" box.
   
7. Schedule uninterrupted time.
   
8. Throw out or recycle, as much as possible.
   
9. Place like things together.
   
10. Keep close to you only the things you use frequently.
    
11. Refile and replace things quickly.
    
12. Create broad categories in your filing system.
    
13. Don't have more office supplies than you can store.
    
14. Keep meeting records organized chronologically in a binder.
    
15. Use only one calendar.
    
16. Procrastinating? Try to do the worst first. Or tackle it in small segments. Or
    delegate it.
    
17. Be selective about the papers you keep.
    
18. Use your desk as a work area, not a storage area.
    
19. Ask yourself, "Do I really need it?"
    
20. Clear off the top of your desk at the end of the day. It completes the day's
    work, makes a clean space for you to see the next morning and stops paper
    build-up.