Building a Filing System, Part 1
The easiest way that I've found to build a filing system is with this simple method:
Clear some floor space, preferably a whole rooms worth. Set the stack(s) of paper in the middle of the floor. Find a comfy cushion. Examine each piece of paper and ask yourself the following questions:
How likely am I to use this information?
When will I use it?
Can I access this information elsewhere?
What is the worst that could happen if I recycled and/or shredded this?
If after this battery of questions you can still justify keeping the piece of paper, decide which general category of your life that it fits into: Fitness, Insurance, Pets, Personal Correspondence, etc. Make a pile for each category, placing marked post-its in front of each pile so you don't forget which is which.
Take a break every half hour. Stretch, get a glass of water, go to the washroom... then jump right back in again. I suggest finishing this part of the project on the same day, or you will end up using much more time and energy having to reacquaint yourself with your piles!
Once you've finally gotten through the original stack, it's time to make your file folders...
Clear some floor space, preferably a whole rooms worth. Set the stack(s) of paper in the middle of the floor. Find a comfy cushion. Examine each piece of paper and ask yourself the following questions:
How likely am I to use this information?
When will I use it?
Can I access this information elsewhere?
What is the worst that could happen if I recycled and/or shredded this?
If after this battery of questions you can still justify keeping the piece of paper, decide which general category of your life that it fits into: Fitness, Insurance, Pets, Personal Correspondence, etc. Make a pile for each category, placing marked post-its in front of each pile so you don't forget which is which.
Take a break every half hour. Stretch, get a glass of water, go to the washroom... then jump right back in again. I suggest finishing this part of the project on the same day, or you will end up using much more time and energy having to reacquaint yourself with your piles!
Once you've finally gotten through the original stack, it's time to make your file folders...
