Keep your paper flow on your desk from getting out of hand.

Organization of piles of accumulated paper on your desk.

Rule #1

The most important rule to remember in dealing with the paperwork monster on your desk is to handle each piece only once.

As you pick up a piece of paper that has just shown up in your inbox, be prepared to make that the last time you touch it. Ask yourself "why do I need this?" If the answer is a) to take action on it, b) to do something with it when I get more information from someone, or c) to refer to as I do other work, keep it. If the answer is anything else, throw it away.

If it is something you aren't going to deal with, trash it now. Don't set it down to get back to it later. Don't kid yourself by thinking you might do what the paper asks if you know in your gut you won't. Bite the bullet. Get rid of it now and go on to the next piece.

If the paper pertains to something you are going to do, do it now. Don't set the paper down to think about it, or to look at the next one. Take action. Answer it. Send it to someone who can take action. Make the phone call to give the writer the requested information. Deal with it now so you don't have to touch that piece again.

Rule #2

Sometimes you have to bend Rule #1. Sometimes you can't deal with an issue right now and be done with it. Sometimes you have to handle a document more than once. In these cases, the important thing is to handle each piece as few times as possible.

If something comes in that you can't handle because you don't have the information, try to finish it up right now. Call the person who has the information you need and stick with Rule #1. However, it that person isn't available, set it up to minimize the number of times you have to touch it. Don't throw the paper back in you inbox, or into a pile on your desk. Put it into your calendar or date file for follow-up at a specific time.

Some people keep an accordion file that that has a pocket for each day of the month. They put documents they need to follow up on into the pocket for the day they are going to follow up. If the person you need input from is out to lunch, put the paper in the tomorrow pocket. However, if they are on a trip for two weeks, put it in the pocket for the day they return.

I keep a planning calendar on my desk. When I have to put something aside for action later, when I have gotten the information I need, I slip the paper in between the pages of the calendar at the right date for follow up.

The reference diet

The third reason for keeping something that shows up on your desk is to refer to it as you do other work. Minimize the material in this category. Put yourself on a reference diet. Slim down the references wherever possible.

Ask your self whether you really need to keep the document for reference. Is it something you REALLY need or something you MIGHT need? Don't keep it just because you MIGHT need it. Keep as little as you absolutely can.

What documents you do keep for reference should themselves be put on the reference diet. Slim them down as much as you can. If a ten-page report contains a one-page list of currency conversion rates, for instance, that you need for later, keep the one page and toss the other nine.

The reference material you do keep should be filed away right now so you only handle it once. Don't set it in a "to be filed" pile. File it right now with the project with which you will use it.

Be ruthless. Be brave.

As you handle each new piece of paper that comes to you, be ruthless in your decisions. Take no prisoners. If you really don't need it, toss it. And be brave. Don't put something into your reference materials just because someone might ask you something about it someday. Don't build a fortress of paper to protect yourself.

Manage This Issue

You can tame the paperwork monster. Touch each piece of paper only once, if possible. Act now if you can. If it has to be put aside for later, use a sorting system that allows you to minimize the number of times you have to handle any piece of work.

Avoid The Email Avalanche

Use the tools available to manage your email and reduce clutter.

Fortunately, it is easier to avoid being buried in an avalanche of email than it is to tame the monster of paper that wants to take over your desk and your life. Most email programs give you tools and this article will show you how to use them to get your email under control.

In the past two articles, we looked at how to get rid of the piles of accumulated paper on your desk and how to keep it from getting buried again. Avoiding the avalanche of incoming email is even easier.

Bar the door

The most important rule to remember in dealing with email, just like in dealing with paper, is to handle each piece only once. The nice thing about most email programs is that you can avoid having to touch some of it at all.

Most email programs have filters or routing rules that you can set. The program follows your instructions to handle certain email in certain ways so you don't have to see it. Typically, you can use it to block email with certain key words or from specific senders. I have mine set to forward any incoming email that contains the word "joke" to a special folder that I only open when I have time. Any that contain "viagra" or "how to make money"or a few others get sent straight to the trash.

As you detect patterns in your incoming email you simply edit the rules or filters to send the material to the appropriate place so you don't have to deal with it.

The boss is coming

You often can use your email program's settings to classify email for you so you can deal with the important things first. Email from my boss gets the title bolded and in red so it stands out in the list. I have a key project I am working on now. Any email with that in the title automatically gets put into a separate folder that I keep open.

Prioritize the rest

I like to use the preview pane at the bottom of my incoming email list. I can quickly scan the email and route any emails that my filters missed or that aren't sufficiently standard for me to define a filter. If it needs an answer, I open it and reply. If I need more information before I can reply, I drag it into my pending folder. I then set a flag to have the program remind me when it's time to take action on that item. Finally, if it contains material I will need to refer to as I do other work, it goes into the reference folder.

Can it

Do you often get emails that ask the same question? You can create canned replies to those frequent questions and build them into signature files in your email program. Then you simply click the reply button to the email, select the appropriate "sig" file, and send.

Once you have sent a reply, there is seldom any reason to keep the incoming message. Delete it. Then use the settings on your email program to routinely empty your trash folder. This setting can be either on a time limit or a volume of files stored.

Manage This Issue

You can avoid the email avalanche. Use the filters, rules, and features of your email program to limit the number of times you have to touch each email. Use them to help you prioritize and deal more quickly with those you do have to touch. Act now if you can. If it has to be put aside for later, use the program's reminder feature to keep you from forgetting items.

©Christian Employment Resource, 2010