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In the last Quick and Dirty Organising post we looked at how to get some fast relief from your email-induced stress. This time around, we’re tackling piles of paper.

As I said before, if getting organised is one of your resolutions, you need to be smart in your approach. If you bite off more than you can chew and/or dig in without a rational plan, you may well end up feeling worse than when you started.

So, to review – here’s the process we’re going to apply to our high-stress, low-on-time organising projects this year:

The Quick and Dirty Organising Process:

1. Get real
2. Get some breathing space
3. Get past the guilt
4. Get new systems
5. Get a new mindset
6. Get support

Quick and Dirty Paper Organising

More often than you might think, I come across an office that has paper piled up on every flat surface, including the floor. After reassuring the client that it’s not the end of the world, we do a few really tough things in that first session.

I have to say, “Trust me…” a lot. But then…the sense of relief and optimism we both feel at the end is pure magic. Ready to give it a whirl yourself?

Step 1: Get Real

I know you’d really like to go through every piece of that paper and get all those tasks done, apply all those great ideas, take advantage of all those discount offers, visit every travel destination, read each article, write every thank-you note…and on and on and on and on…

But the thing is, that would take for-e-ver, especially if you don’t know how to process that stuff properly.

Plus, a lot of it is old news or stuff you wish you had done. What good is spending time on that? Looking at it all now is more likely to make you kick yourself than propel you forward.

Look around you. There is probably one pile that represents your ‘hot’ papers, in other words, the ones that matter most – and soon. Those are the only ones to pay attention to right now. Put those on your chair.

Step 2: Get some breathing space

As for the rest of those piles? Get them out of your way. Grab some shopping bags or file boxes, and load them up with all those piles, starting with what’s on top of your desk and continuing out from there.

Label the bags or boxes as best you can (if at all), and move them as far from your workspace as you can. Another room is ideal. Then turn your back on it all and return to your desk. This is the dirty part, but trust me…

Get past the guilt

I KNOW there may be things in there you need. Fine. You can go after them later, when your office is functioning again. You’ll be much faster and better at getting through that backlog effectively once you have learned to work systematically.

If you tell yourself you have to start getting organised by sorting through the backlog, you will never get there. Focus on managing today’s papers – and tomorrow’s.

Get new systems

1. Create a single collection point for all incoming paper. Most people use a letter tray, but just an area of your desktop will do. Move your hot papers from the chair to this collection point.

2. Set up some lists and learn to pitch/recycle the paper, keeping only the idea, or task, website address, restaurant name, travel destination, or other bit of valuable information that is represented by each item. Write these things down on your lists, and look through them when you do your planning.

You can set up your lists in a small ring binder with tabs or use an electronic system like Evernote or Mind Manager. You can also use the Notes function of your handheld device and/or the Notes function of your electronic organising program (Outlook, Lotus Notes, Entourage, etc.)

3. Create some action folders that stand upright on or near your desk. These folders will help you clear your In-Tray quickly each time you sort through it. Common examples:

• Discuss (with boss/team/spouse at regular meetings)
• Bills to Pay or Receipts/Expense Claims
• Database/Address Book Updates (Put business cards in here)
• Reading (Great for regular newsletters, etc.)
• Watching/Waiting (For things you’ve delegated or pending events)
• Idea Capture (A personal favourite – for great ideas you want to process into your idea/project lists later, say once a month)
• Review on Weekend (This is for stuff you don’t need to think about until you’re planning for next week.)
• Current Projects (one file for each of your main projects)

4. Now sort through your in-tray items one by one, and process them onto your lists and into your action or project files. Do this at least once a week.

5. If you come across items you need to keep for longer term reference, you’ll need a hanging file box/drawer or some ring binders…but that’s a project (and article) for another day! For now, put them in a letter tray marked ‘filing.’

5. Establish a regular time each day or week to deal with what’s in your action folders. Tie this to a reliable routine you already have, or set a reminder on your desktop calendar or phone until this becomes a habit.

6. Make a personal commitment to clearing your work surface each day before you walk away from it. At worst, put what you’re working on in your in-tray. At best, put it where it belongs.

Get a new mindset

Dealing with piles of paper does set off a lot of emotional triggers for people, but remember this: If you believe it’s impossible to get organised, you’re right. If you believe you can get – and stay – sorted, you’re also right.

And do you know what? If you work at that backlog over the next few weeks, bag by bag in little bursts, you’ll get through it faster than you think – once you have the right systems in place. In the meantime, it won’t be in your way.

Get support

It’s no fun to do big paper organising project alone, so I’d recommend doing whatever you can to recruit some help:

• Do you have an assistant, partner, helper, colleague or child who could help with your sorting – or filing?
• Is there someone who can help you get through some of the administrative work in your paper action files on a regular basis?
• Could your friends, family members or coach help you stay positive and keep moving forward?
• Can someone cover for you at work or at home for a few hours here and there so you can get this project done?

Good luck – and send me your before/after pictures so I can celebrate with you!!

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You may already know that I use and recommend an electronic system for a master to-do list. It’s important to have a structured place to capture anything and everything you think you should or could do.

On any given day, however, the master to-do list is too much. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and/or distracted. That’s why I use a distinctly low-tech approach to stay focused on my top priorities each day. That’s it in the photo. Yep – it’s a yellow sticky note on my computer (horrors!). The thing is, this is not like all those random sticky notes I see in so many offices. This one has a bit of architecture to help me be productive all day long.

At the top it says ‘Today.’ Right under that I’ve listed, numbered in priority order, my 3 targets for the day. I’ve chosen these because of their deadlines and the amount of time I have today to work on them. I will do everything within my power to work on these from top to bottom, one at a time. Even for me, this is not easy – but without this plan, I would be all over the place and finish up the day feeling like I had spun my wheels but gotten nowhere.

Under the Target 3 is a list of a couple of other things I’d like to get done as/when I get through the priorities.

Will I do more than 3 things today? Of course. Is it possible that I won’t get everything on my little sticky note done? Sure. But I know it will feel great to cross off even one or two of those high priority tasks, and this is motivating.

To help myself along, I treat myself along the way to a quick coffee break, a 5-minute Facebook indulgence, a stretch, or a phone call that needs to be made – only when I have finished one high priority task. Writing this post right now is actually a little reward for finishing the first (and yuckiest) thing on my list. That task actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – which is often the case once you just make up your mind to get started!

Would something like this work for you? Give it a try today!

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If getting organised is one of your resolutions, don’t get started without a reliable process. Without making a systematic change, you may well end up going in circles – or even backwards. Then you’ll feel rotten, and we don’t want that.

I know you don’t have a lot of time, so here’s a quick and dirty (but solid) process to help you tackle the clutter in your life, whether it’s electronic, physical or mental.

The Quick and Dirty Organising Process:

1. Get real
2. Get some breathing space
3. Get past the guilt
4. Get new systems
5. Get a new mindset
6. Get support

This month we’ll look at how to apply the Quick and Dirty Organising Process to email. In future articles, we’ll look at paper, time, goals and clutter at home. If you would like to see examples for something else, just let me know.

Quick and Dirty Email Organising

If I only have an hour to help someone with email overload, this is what we do. I usually have to get a little bossy. It’s not pretty, but it works every time. Ready for me to slap you around a bit?

Step 1: Get Real

Admit that you’re not going to go through all those emails in your Inbox anytime soon. This is boring, time-consuming and probably unnecessary in most cases. So let’s get that email clutter out of your way.

Next, recognise that most of the time you spend filing emails is wasted time. How many do you really reach for again? When you do look for one, how successful is your search? Exactly. Let’s stop all that silly micro-filing.

Step 2: Get some breathing space

Move all your emails from the Inbox to a folder called Inbox 2009. Going forward, unsubscribe or set Junk Mail rules for stuff you don’t want to see again.

Take all your email folders and put them into a folder called Folders 2009. You’re going to set up something new – keep reading.

Get past the guilt

Call this a fresh start, and ignore that Inbox 2009 folder.

If this is hard for you, block 30 minutes each week to systematically process all those old emails according to your new systems. If you miss doing this some weeks – don’t fret. Hopefully you’ll discover that the world doesn’t turn on your old emails. Look forward – not back.

Get new systems

1. Create some email action folders that will help you clear your Inbox quickly each day. The idea is to batch emails according to your next action. Examples:

• Reply Today (This tends to roll to the next day, and that’s OK.)
• Review on Weekend (This is for stuff you don’t need to think about until you’re planning for next week.)
• Discuss (with boss/team/spouse at regular meetings)
• Admin (All those fiddly tasks you hate to do. Blast through them once weekly – with good coffee or wine at hand!)
• Personal (Put photos in here too – to organise later.)
• Reading (Great for regular newsletters, etc.)
• Watching/Waiting (For things you’ve delegated)
• Idea Capture (A personal favourite – for great ideas you want to process into your idea/project lists later, say once a month)
• Done (For emails you’ve dealt with, don’t need to micro-file, but want to keep. They don’t live in the Inbox anymore. Going forward, most of your old emails can be deleted or stored here and retrieved using your search function.)
• Current Projects (This will probably have subfolders – but keep it simple.)

2. Wherever possible, set rules to get emails into these folders for you automatically.

3. If you find yourself reaching for some of your old folders, look for how to incorporate these into your new action-focused system.

4. Establish a regular time each day or week to deal with what’s in your action folders. Tie this to a reliable routine you already have, or set a reminder on your desktop calendar or phone until this becomes a habit.

5. If you do a lot of emailing on your handheld, make sure you have folder sync set up so you can clear your Inbox properly anytime, anywhere. This is a great way to use the time while you’re commuting, waiting for a meeting to start or sitting in the car waiting to pick up the kids.

6. Set a target for keeping your inbox count low, and don’t call it a day before getting down to this number. This is a bit like creating a ‘clean desk’ policy for yourself. Examples:

• Inbox Zero (nice, but not essential)
• No more than what I can see without scrolling
• A round number, e.g. 10 or 30
• Your age

Get a new mindset

Treat clearing your Inbox like a game. Set a timer and see how long it takes you to hit your Inbox count target. I guarantee it takes less time that you think it does. This is always a hugely empowering realisation for our clients who are overwhelmed by email. Go ahead – time it, and watch yourself get faster.

Ignore that voice in your head that says clearing the Inbox is not really working. Without processing your Inbox systematically, you are regularly robbing yourself of time to focus on the real priorities. Not convinced? Read this article.

Get support

A lot of your email woes are related to the habits that have evolved between you and the people you live/work with. You can make everyone’s life easier by establishing some shared best practices about how and when you use email. Suggest you have a coffee or a call together to brainstorm ways to be smarter about email together.

This does not have to take a long time or be very formal. Just make the appointment and start the conversation.

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