Missouri ladies, welcome to our fellowship of former procrastinators! It was a lot of fun to be with you!
If you choose to tackle a big goal, break it down into smaller steps and tackle the first one. God bless you as you cooperate with His change in you and focus on your first step!
Reporting back to you ladies on my file system – I decided to tweak the tickler file based on my needs now in life. (Please see Becoming Paper Proficient February 27, 2017. Also, for an explanation of how to set up and use a tickler file, see www.homestoragesolutions.com.) For my variation, I have seven folders, Sunday through Saturday. Behind that, I have six folders: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August, September-October, November-December. I’m calling it my “hot file” because the contents get prompt attention.
I’ll have to use my set up for a while to see if it serves me well the way I’ve done it. Stay tuned.
Here’s the bottom line: Moving paper proficiently must become part of my daily routine. I must make decisions daily about each incoming piece and each new one I generate. No delay on dealing with it. I must put each in the file or other place where it will receive immediate action. I want to tend to each while it is a simple job and before it morphs into a pile of papers that become “squatters” taking up space and making demands in our home.
For those of you who, like me, generate paper on your own, moving to more digital procedures can be very helpful. You might check out Evernote or one of the other systems available online. I have recently entered over fifty papers of notes into the computer and have more to go. Maybe I can move from envelopes to Evernote.
Sometimes – I try to make this the exception now – a pile is needed. I heard a professional organizer (read also cleaner-outer) say that when it is absolutely necessary to have a pile – or even when you are going through piles to deal with them – make just one. She pointed out that one large pile to go through is less daunting than many scattered piles and it collects all the loose papers in one place.
Experimenting is fine, but I must settle on a system that works for me and use it routinely. Right away, I need to store papers that must be kept long term in their appropriate place. Everything else, I must move through the system for appropriate action and out of the house.
Our clear kitchen counter and my clean desk top inspire me to keep moving paper proficiently as part of my daily routine.
What inspires you to keep papers moving out? What system have you set up?
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