Best Results Organizing

Recently, an acquaintance explained the way the brain forms memories. She asked me to close my eyes and imagine the first time I ever rode a roller coaster. I laughed nervously and opened my eyes quickly. My friend knew that certain experiences become memories that are so powerful that they are indelibly inked into our subconscious. Sometimes these memories are pleasant; other times, terrifying. The common thread is that recalling memories make an experience so real that we feel that we’re right in that adventure, all over again.

Professional organizers are often maligned. People assume that, collectively, those of us who work daily at imposing order on chaos may not be spontaneous or adventurous. On my colleagues’ behalf, I assure you this is not the case. As for myself…I offer full disclosure.

It was a kiddie roller coaster, designed for children to comfortably ride…alone, without parental nurturing. I’d nagged, wheedled and cajoled Paper Mommy into letting me ride, but after no more than three seconds, and with my car just barely beginning to climb a 10 incline, my screams to be let off were blood-curdling. I don’t mean that they could be heard on nearby rides. I mean, they could be heard in distant states, possibly even in Ontario, Canada. The supervisor had to stop, manually reverse the ride and carry me off.

Paper Mommy‘s patience with my terror was sorely tested that day, as I also climbed to the top of one of those multi-story, partitioned multi-lane slides, where amusement park visitors slide down on burlap magic carpets. With a distant view of Paper Mommy at the bottom, I climbed the interminable staircase, took my place in line, and started my descent. For a moment. I froze in place on the first (and, in retrospect, hardly-steep) part of the slide, wedged my sneakers along the rails of the lane, turn white and assured the world that there was no chance I’d be going downward. (Eventually, some stranger’s good-hearted dad inched his way down and pulled me to safety.) I recall the terror to this day.

It’s not exactly whitewater rafting, but these memories are part of why Paper Doll (and colleagues) truly understand the overwhelm — indeed, the terror — our clients face when they think of, and wade into, the clutter of papers they sometimes feel will consume them. Whatever it is, we’ve been there, too. And we can help.

In the past, I’ve referenced my signature article, If You’re Drowning In Paper, Build Yourself a RAFT, which original appeared at OnlineOrganizing.com in 2002, and has been published in various forms since. Today, I’d like to expand on those concepts so that anyone experiencing that frozen-in-terror feeling at the sight or thought of their paper piles can gain confidence.

Close your eyes. Imagine your desk covered in papers. Is there more on your chair when you come back from the copier or the laundry room? Does every piece of paper represent something else to read? Write? Pay? Call about? When you think of your papers, do you feel like you’re struggling to keep afloat?

If you’re drowning, the solution is to build a RAFT — an acronym for the four simple steps applicable to your ocean of papers—Refer, Act, File or Toss.

If you’re like most people, you’re probably thinking that if you’ve never found the time to tackle all of your loose papers before, you certainly won’t have time to learn a new system for dealing with it. However, when you’re drowning, instead of flailing around, your survival depends on getting a sense of your surroundings and differentiating the deep water from the shallow and the sharks from the beach balls.

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

Start by setting aside time to build your RAFT — it doesn’t have to be a three-hour tour. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed by tackling your papers, take it in small bites, perhaps 45-minutes at a time.

However long you plan to work, create an interruption-free zone. Turn off the ringer on your phone and let calls go to voicemail, turn off any auditory alerts for new email, and close your door. If music steadies your nerves, try a mid-tempo CD, preferably instrumental, so you won’t be distracted or tempted to drop your papers and raise your jazz hands. (Sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat!)

MAINTAIN YOUR COMPASS

To steer yourself towards organization, gather your supplies. For best results, you’ll want to collect:

• A calendar (paper or digital) to schedule essential tasks
• A tickler file to slot papers for dates papers will be acted upon
• A legal pad or notebook for keeping track of thoughts
• A box of one-third-cut manila file folders
• A Sharpie or label maker

WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKET

If the rising tide of papers has been developing for a while, one session will likely not be enough. To prevent you from losing steam on your most important or urgent activities, relocate your active documents (that you’ll need today or tomorrow) to a safe place, out of arms’ reach for toddlers (or paws’ reach for furry friends).

If you’re often thwarted by memory problems or distractions, put a sticky note on the room’s light switch or the computer monitor, reminding you of where you put these documents. This will prevent blind panic if you are interrupted mid-RAFT.

CALM THE ROUGH SEAS

Now, collect all other loose papers, un-filed file folders, floozies, business cards and notes from around your office or workspace. Don’t forget items taped to the phone and the monitor, unopened mail, financial statements, personal papers, receipts, computer manuals, and other “homeless” papers.

Pile the collection in a basket or photocopy paper box lid. If the pile is to high to see over, just “bail” the extra items “overboard” next to your desk to deal with when you reach the end of your first pile. If all the papers would equal more than a full-sized laundry basket, don’t be overwhelmed. Focus on the papers on your desk today. Tomorrow, you can handle the piles on top of the printer and filing cabinet. Then, the floor by the window…and so on. The clutter tide doesn’t rise overnight; don’t expect to reach calmer waters in one session.

BUILD THE RAFT

To get started, stick your oars in the water (and your hands into the paper stack) and:

1) Pick up whatever piece of paper is on the top of your pile-examine one piece at a time. Don’t hold one piece of paper and read another.

2) Identify what it is. It may be obvious why you have it — there may be many more like it, and you know how organizing means grouping “like with like”. For other pieces of paper, you may have to squint to make out handwriting, or you may not know why the piece of paper is in your possession. If you encounter a puzzle, something that takes more than a full minute to comprehend, set it aside in a mystery pile.

3) Ask yourself “What’s the very next step I need to take” with this item?
Once you have your answer, the decision of whether you will refer, act, file or toss it will be simple. The actual action will be taken later. Right now, you’re just sorting.

Most action-oriented papers tend to bring up all sorts of possibilities. They don’t trigger the idea of one task, but many; some represent whole projects. The idea of accomplishing everything associated with a particular piece of paper can be overwhelming. Don’t give in to the temptation to say “I can’t think about this right now…I’ll just put it down until I’ve gone through everything else.”

STOP! Remember, one of the first rules of organizing is “Don’t put things down. Put them away!” Away requires knowing where an item’s home is, and you can’t determine the home until you know what you need to do with it.

Dealing with only the next action or step reduces stress considerably. For example, a client memo requesting a detailed report can instill the same panic you had when you got assigned a term paper in ninth grade. It’s easy to be overwhelmed. Defining only the next step limits your concerns to what you can handle right now. The report represents an entire project—a series of tasks—but you need only determine the very next step to spur progress.

Refer

Now that you know the next task, who must complete it? Is it dependent upon someone else, such as research by your intern or a contract drawn up by your attorney?

Is it (or can it be) the responsibility of a support staffer, colleague, spouse or kids? With limited time and resources, you can only do so much by yourself. Delegating to staff or family teaches them that you trust them; what does refusing to delegate say about your faith in them?

If the next action need not be performed by you, bail it out of the RAFT! Affix a Post-it regarding to whom the item goes and set it by the door. If the work you’re delegating is time sensitive, make a note in your calendar to discuss it with them at some point between now and the deadline. Making sure you follow up helps ensure it won’t drown in their sea of papers. At the end of your RAFTing session, send these referred items out like messages in a bottle—or through those Dharma Initiative pneumatic tubes.

Act

If the next action is something only you can do, act on it. Certainly, we can’t delegate everything. So, if it will only take a minute to get it off your desk, sign your child’s permission slip and pin it to her book-bag. Sign off on your sales rep’s expense report, and then it becomes an item to refer to your business manager.

But acting doesn’t mean stopping the RAFT. Remember that planning is the most powerful action you can take. Having a clear sense of what you have to do before you do it eliminates redundancy, feeling ill-prepared and missing deadlines.

First, identify which action the item represents (e.g., call a client back, write a Thank You note, research wedding caterers, etc.) and place similar items in separate piles for each category (to call, to write, to read, to research, to deliver, etc.)

Next, determine when you can accomplish the similar tasks. Block off space in your calendar for time-specific work. Obviously, this will be dictated by a variety of factors, including differing time zones, other people’s schedules, your energy level patterns, etc. For time-flexible tasks, note them on your To-Do list so you have a master plan of what tasks remains. When you’re done RAFTing, you can methodically deal with each category of items, now neatly sorted, awaiting your attention.

In the likely event that all of your items to act upon will need more effort that you can attend to in one sitting, keep these papers (representing the tasks to be performed) in your tickler file, arranged by date, so you can attack each item/category with gusto on the scheduled date.

File

If a paper doesn’t require your attention but must be saved for tax, legal or reference purposes, file it, as we’ve discussed previously:

Family Filing—As easy as (eating) pie
Financial Filing—Scrapbooking snapshots of your money’s life
Mom, why is there a receipt stuffed in the turkey?
I Fought the Law…and the Paperwork Won!
Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” Doctor: “Then don’t do that!”
Paper Dolls Live In Paper Households
I Hope Nobody Ever Writes a Nasty Tell-All Called “Paper Doll Dearest”!

Of course, filing doesn’t necessarily mean folders and filing cabinets. You can also “file” new insurance cards in your wallet, computer manuals in labeled magazine sorters and financial records in reverse-chronological order in three-ring binders. Save copies of print ads or publicity in a company scrapbook to display in your reception area. Scan artwork to archive it digitally.

The key to filing is working backward. Ask “Where would I look for this item if I needed it?” and place it there.

Toss

It’s common to keep papers “just in case”. The question that begs to be asked is “Just in case of WHAT?” If you no longer need items for reference or ongoing projects, toss them overboard (into the shredder, trash or recycling bin). Consult your attorney, CPA or professional organizer regarding records retention schedules, and if you still fear discarding an item, try to imagine a situation when it would be needed. Chances are, the information you are saving “just in case” can be easily retrieved via the internet or by making a quick call to the school, a friend, a vendor, client or other reference source.

Dealing with your papers doesn’t have to be like whitewater rafting, and needn’t make your stomach dip like a roller-coaster ride. Give yourself time, patience and the right supplies, and eliminating your paper can be smooth sailing.

(Oh. And sorry, Mom!)