Simple steps to declutter your office

By Sylvia Hsieh Dolan Media Newswires BOSTON, MA--If you can't remember the last time you saw the top of your desk under all the client files, legal pads, books and assorted knick knacks, it's time to declutter. A few simple steps apply universally to reducing paper clutter and keeping it in check, says Monica Ricci, a CPO (certified personal organizer based in Atlanta. The first step is to eliminate unnecessary or unwanted in-flow of mail, paper and periodicals. Attorneys often save paper as physical reminder of an item on their to-do list, but this usually just ends up creating a pile of tasks you are procrastinating about. A trick to reducing the pile, says Ricci, is to merge your task lists with your calendar, so they are on the radar every time you open your calendar. Next, create a way for files to flow through your office smoothly. ''You want to be sure you can locate the paper you need when you need it, and have a good policy in place for what happens when a file becomes inactive,'' Ricci says. A few old-school organizing tools can help. Stackable file trays take up only a tiny corner of real estate on your desk and can be stacked several feet high. But they only work if each tray has one job, so label each tray for a discrete and specific purpose: invoices to send out, papers to sign, bills to pay, mail needing a response, etc. Your desk should be reserved for go-to resources and active files only, says Ricci, who recommends wall folders for easy access to active cases. For bulky files, Ricci favors an open-top rolling file cart instead of a closed drawer where a file can end up out of sight and out of mind. With ''a rolling file cart, you can move [it] around, slide [it] under your desk, and keep it close at hand but still off the desk top,'' she says. Inactive files that must be preserved can be shuttered in a closed cabinet; for large volume, consider renting off-site storage, Ricci says. Once you get these systems in place, stay on top of paper clutter by spending a little time each week - it should take only 30 minutes - to coax paper into its proper place. Then, pat yourself on your back and notice your new efficiency. ''You eliminate a tremendous amount of time and frustration spent looking for stuff,'' says Ricci, who claims that each of us wastes about 150 hours per year trying to find misplaced stuff: ''That's like three work weeks.'' Entire contents copyrighted © 2010 by Dolan Media Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is expressly forbidden. Published: Thu, Sep 16, 2010

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