nina nordstrom & associates :: your professional productivity resource: Filing 101

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5/28/2009

Filing 101

The Secret To Success
It’s not your fault if you feel frustrated by filing! Most filing systems take too much time to file, hide the papers you often need, and require unnecessary maintenance. It’s no wonder many of us resort to paper piles! The problem is not with you; it’s the filing system you’re using. The solution is to eliminate all file maintenance, reduce your file time dramatically, and accelerate retrieval of papers needed for routine tasks. You can quickly learn the essential paper-sorting techniques, how to stay on top of action files, and ultimately how to set up your own self-purging reference file system. All it takes is a little know-how!

Simplify With The Art Of Filing™
No matter how much paper you have to sort through, there are only three kinds of paper. ‘A’ is for Action. Action files are for papers that require immediate action or follow up, such as bills to pay. ‘R’ is for Reference. Reference files are for papers that you want to save for future reference. ‘T’ is for Trash. Trash is for papers that can be thrown away (or shredded and recycled). Always keep these three kinds of paper separate (A.R.T.) and you’ve won half the battle!

Keep Action Files In Sight
Papers that require action or follow up are best stored in a vertical slot organizer on your desktop, an open filing rack, or a portable expanding wallet for papers. Ideally you can label the slots from the side (facing you). Action files can be organized by category or by date. Categories may include “Bills To Pay”, “Letters To Write”, “Calls To Make”, and so on. Dates may include days of the month, “Days 1-15”, “Days 16-31”, and “Future”. At the end of each month review your “Future” file and decide what papers to deal with in the upcoming month. Papers that are extremely urgent may be placed on your desk right in front of you – to be dealt with immediately. A good action file system allows you to spread out things to do over time and prevents you from having to search through your paper piles each day just to decide what to do!

goal achievement quotes

"Success in any endeavor does not happen by accident. Rather, it's the result of deliberate decisions, conscious effort, and immense persistence...all directed at specific goals." -Gary Ryan Blair
"Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears." -Gillian Anderson
"Setting goals for your game is an art. The trick is in setting them at the right level--neither too low nor too high." -Greg Norman, golfer
"A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not too much above his last achievement. In this way, he steadily raises his level of aspiration." -Kurt Lewin
"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable." -Christopher Reeve

time management quotes

"It's not enough to be busy. The question is, what are we busy about?" --Henry David Thoreau
"The whole secret of freedom from anxiety over not having enough time lies not in working more hours, but in the proper planning of the hours." --Frank Bettger
"Hard work is often the easy work you did not do at the proper time." --Bernard Meltzer
"The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time." --Sydney Smiles
"The challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves." --Steven Covey
"Time is life. It is irreversible and irreplaceable. To waste your time is to waste your life, but to master your time is to master your life and make the most of it." --Alan Lakein
"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." --Michael Altshuler