Home Paperwork Filing Tips (part 1 of 2)
By Steve Thayer
EDITOR’S NOTE: I just spent too much time sifting through tons and tons of paperwork (look at the calendar and you’ll know why). Enough! Following are some incredibly simple yet useful tips to help us (okay, me) get a handle on this junk.
Tip #1 – How to overcome “I don’t know where to start”
Starting is the biggest issue voiced by most people who are struggling with getting some kind of control over their paperwork. Usually the unsaid phrase that follows is, “I will do it later.” That internal exchange only leads to frustration, discouragement and sometimes, depression.
So where do you start? We encourage you to start with what comes in the mail the first day, then the next day, and so on. Get used to the filing system you are using one day at a time. For the time being, ignore the box, file drawer or paper pile where you have been putting things “to do.” Once you have become comfortable with the system you are using, you can start chipping away at the rest. In fact, you may even be excited about doing it.
The old adage about “biting off more than you can chew” needs to be a daily reminder as you make a new start!
Tip #2 – The myth of One-Touch Filing
Some very compulsive person came up with the idea that all you have to do to deal with mail and paperwork is to only touch the document once. In other words, when you receive a bill in the mail, you open it and pay it right then so you don’t have to touch it again.
Who can do that? In my life, at least, that would mean dumping all my mail in a box (actually, to be a purist, having the mail carrier do it so that I would touch it only once), and setting aside several hours to toss, file or pay. The potential problem is that the box may get so full, I would be intimidated to tackle it.
I suggest that you approach the paperwork process with moderation and compromise by following these steps:
- When the mail is delivered, recycle or throw away anything that is clearly junk or unsolicited mail, without opening it.
- Open everything else and sort into 3 stacks:
- bills to be paid
- papers to file, and
- things to read.
- Set up an appointment with yourself to empty those stacks once a week.
The issue that underlies all of this is making decisions. The path to deal with it is learning new habits bit by bit.
Steve Thayer is a California State Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, a Certified Financial Planner, and co-owner of MyVitalFiles, a home filing solutions company. He has written articles for various publications for 30 years. His goal is to help make life less tedious and more fulfilling for people by developing paperwork filing solutions.
