How to Reduce Paperwork

Papers can pile up quickly, leaving your desk cluttered and you feeling overwhelmed. Reduce paperwork in the office with the following tips.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Address Books
• Electronic Personal Organizers
• File Cabinets
• Garbage Cans
• Bulletin Boards
• Envelopes
• File Folders
• Folders
• Paper And Binder Clips
• Personal Organizers

1. Try to handle incoming letters, memos and notes immediately; don't toss them to the side and assume you will look at them later.

2. Deal with a piece of paper only once. Once you pick up a piece of paper, do something to help you get rid of it: Take the necessary action or copy information to the appropriate place, then throw the paper away. (For example, if the memo contains a meeting date, copy it into your planner.)

3. File only what is essential. Review your files periodically and clean out the ones you no longer refer to.

4. Cancel subscriptions to magazines or journals you no longer read.

Tips & Warnings

• "Paperwork" can include virtual paperwork, such as e-mail messages. As with notes and memos, deal with the e-mail message right away. Copy down dates or numbers, then delete it.

Who Can Help Sponsored

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[efficientceo]

on 11/3/2009 If you want to take the work out of paperwork check out www.Quikforms.com
This solution will rid you of paper clutter and increase your efficiency at the same time.

[ultra360]

on 9/23/2009 This is an interesting article. Thanks for the advice.

on 11/22/2005 My organization and time-saver tip consists of Post-it notes. I write down important/urgent items on 3x3 sticky notes, address each one when I have time, complete it and throw it away - or "file" it by typing in the info on the appropriate data file.

on 11/22/2005 Set aside a specific amount of time each day to deal with the paperwork, planning or phone calls you need to take care of every day. This way, if you do have to put something aside, you know you can come back to it and take care of it in a timely fashion.

on 11/22/2005 Create a database file (i.e., Filemaker). Cut and paste the e-mail joke into a record in the database. Each record can show date, subject and joke/thought fields.