How to Organize With an In and Out Box

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Your desk is a mess and more or less nothing less than chaotic. You know that all your paperwork is there somewhere, but you cannot find anything in the disarray. It’s time to straighten things up. It may look like an impossible task, but you will find it is inexpensive, easy and effective to organize with an In and Out Box.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Two boxes
trays or baskets

Step1

Organize yourself mentally before you dive into the mess on your desk. You should have some idea what kinds of documents and things are hidden there, so think about how you can categorize them for best effect.

Step2

Go through every piece of paper, every envelope, every magazine, every sticky note on your desk. Sort them into piles based on the categories you chose. If you find something that does not readily fit into your scheme, set it aside and go back to it when you have finished. You may need to create additional categories.

Step3

File old business. If you have handled it and sent it on, consider it old business. Determine if you need to preserve the piece as a record; if so, file it so you can find it again. If you don’t need it as part of your paper trail, label it trash and discard it. Throw away old catalogs, advertisements, bake sale flyers. Transfer important contact information to your address book and get rid of sticky notes, “While You Were Out” forms and random scraps of paper.

Step4

Put current and new business in your In box. This includes bills and invoices that must be approved or paid, correspondence that must be answered, forms that require review and signature. Put completed business in your Out box. Items that are headed for the mail, forms that need a second signature, invoices that are moving on to the next level of approval go in the Out box.

Step5

Make a commitment to take a look at the items in your In box every day. Try to move something from In to Out each time you check the box. Assign someone to handle the things in your Out box (your admin, your significant other, you), and make certain that the Out box is attended to every day.