In regards to being organized with your paperwork the best strategy is to avoid creating piles in the first place. We need to be more strategic in our work time to circumvent pile explosion. One way to cut up the pile is to sort all mail over the recycling bin or waste paper basket. A pile can form on your desk but it also can form around the walls of your office, on the credenza, on bookshelves, filing cabinets or any surface that is flat.

Organizing your most important pile

Frequently piles are created by information that isn't filed. Items be it paperwork, memos or documents that we don't know what to do with and other items that need to be filed but we just haven't done yet. When faced with piles first try to condense the offending material into smaller piles by selecting items that go into the master important pile. By bringing the most important items into this pile you first can define the size of the problem you are facing. You can determine how much time is needed to resolve to dissolve this pile to nothing. You might not be able to do much more than creating this important master file at this time. Due to time constraints schedule an appointment with yourself in the next 48 hours to get rid of this important pile. Don't worry about the other pile that might remain. Focus on the most important until it has evaporated.

File it to find it

Filing is an art form that most of us in management, sales, and even at the executive level don't do exceptionally well. I am going to give you some tips in this area but before I do, my best advice is to delegate filing if you are in the aforementioned categories and you struggle with organization at times.

I am far more effective handing documents, papers, reports, memos and other items to file to someone on my team that has better organizational skills than I do. This is true whether the document is electronic or paper. It can also be found easier, faster and with less time invested by asking someone for it then trying to find it myself.

When forced to file without help here are a few simple questions and rules to follow that will help you. The first question that must be asked is: do I really need this? You might even insert an extra really in that question. In the end is there value in saving this item I am considering filing? If the answer isn't a definitive yes you might be better round filing it rather than lateral filing it.

The second question is what happens if I don't keep it? Is there a negative that could happen to me if I throw this away? Throwing away important documents, tax returns and business receipts are ill advised. You have to retain your tax records and all supporting material for seven years according to the IRS. We don't want to throw items away that have future value.

Filing is really a laborious process. I don't recommend doing it daily but waiting a month or six weeks is too long with too much build up in piles. Take the act of a weekly filing appointment with yourself that is programmed into your schedule. There will be increased efficiency because you are in a file mentality. It will cause you to throw away more marginal items and complete the task in less time.

A clean and cleared off work space is the most important initial ingredient to a successful filing session. Get all the piles off the desk even if you have to place them on the floor temporarily.

File folders are your next most valued tool. You might consider a color coded filing system with the days of manila colored files as your only color choice being in the past. You can find them in a rainbow of colors. Green could be used for new business or new projects. The green could connect with new revenue or new money to the company. Red could be used for problem issues or problem customers because the red light is flashing. You can design any system using any color you want, I just advise against the use of just bland old manila ones.

You will need a quality filing cabinet with space for growth. What you have now might not be enough if you are a piler. I prefer the lateral variety of filing cabinet. They are more costly but a huge time savings because it's easier to see all the files in the cabinet at one time. You can even use modular filing systems that stack like most doctor or dentist offices use. I can still see in my minds eye my Father the dentist's files with all the colored folders, dots and labels of all his patients.

Even if you use multiple colors for your folders there will still be numerous files to sort. Labeling each file is paramount to organization, efficiency and time savings. These also could be color coded to further differentiate one type of file form another.

Focus on completion and don't allow interruptions. For most of us we don't wake up in the morning and say, "Wonderful, I get to spend two hours filing today." When faced with a few hours of filing set a goal or benchmark of what you can do. If you can't complete the whole project cut it down into a portion that you can complete and make the commitment to do that part without fail. We all need to tap into the urge to achieve closure.

Because the task of filing is so mundane it would be easy to allow other things, people and priorities to creep into the time we set aside weekly to deal with piles and files. In a few short weeks the weeds will easily take over your garden. Treat this time as valuable but don't use your best time mentally. I would suggest toward the end of your week in the afternoon time when you have less energy. Friday afternoon could be a good time to complete the files with fewer interruptions.