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Do You Suffer From Paper-itis?

Written by: Will Turner

Article Overview: Do you get bogged down with too much paper? Are you a stacker? Learn ways to get more organized and get rid of your paper piles.

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Do You Suffer From Paper-itis?

Research in organizational effectiveness indicates that the average worker spends up to 30% of his or her time looking for stuff. Wasting your time searching for a particular memo or file is a real productivity-killer. The people who suffer the most are the paper-lovers. You know who you are; a quick glance around your office is all it takes. Do you suffer from paper overload or paper-it is?

I know about this, because I once had a chronic case of this disease. It was out-of-control. I had stacks and stacks of paper on my desk, on my credenza, and even on my floor. Sure I could rationalize like the best of them; “I know where everything is,” I would remark when a coworker gave me a questioning glance. And while I could usually put my hands on something, it wasn’t without first searching through 50 – 75 sheets of paper first.

Then, I read about a study that reported that 50 out of 52 managers surveyed would not promote a competent employee if he or she had a messy desk. “How unfair!” I thought as I tried to further justify my obsession to keep a copy of everything.

Then came that sinking feeling; I needed to deal with my acute case of paper-itis. If my co-workers could tame the paper monster, certainly it was within my capabilities to do the same. Besides, I would be competing against them for my next promotion.

So, I started to learn what my neat colleagues already knew and practiced. I needed a system. I discovered several in my research. One was the TRAF system and another was the 3-D approach. They are remarkably similar with different terminology. Both are designed to get the user to touch a piece of paper once and avoid all the wasted time of picking up, setting down and shuffling paper constantly. Note that these systems work well with electronic documents as well.

In the TRAF system, the “T” stands for Toss. That means that you must get liberal with your use of the trash can and throw away anything that you don’t need or that you can retrieve from other sources as needed in the future. In other words, do you need a personal copy of something when you can easily retrieve from another source?

The “R” stands for refer. If you get a piece of paper on your desk that could or should be handled by someone else, delegate or refer it to them immediately. Simply ask yourself, “Am I the best person to handle this.” If the answer is no, then pass it on without delay.

The “A” stands for act. These papers contain information that you need to take action on. I’ve found that if I used a simple four-part filing system, I can deal with these action items very expeditiously. With the papers that you need to act on, sort the papers as you receive them into one of four files. The first file is the “Immediate” or “Today” file. The second is the “This Week” file, the third is the “This Month” file and the fourth is the “When I Have Time” file. Simply review the files as needed and move them from one file to another as appropriate. Your “Today” file is prioritized on your daily to-do-list. At the end of the day, you simply move items from your “This Week” file to your “Today” file.

The “F” in the TRAF system stands for file. File in file cabinets, not piles, those items that you will need to refer to at some future point. Avoid the tendency to put off filing until it becomes overwhelming; that’s what “pilers” tend to do. Also, keep a master list of all your files and their physical location to avoid redundancy and make it easier for yourself to find documents when you need them.

The 3-D approach is basically the T, R, and A of the TRAF system. The first D stands for “dump it.” The second D stands for “delegate it.” And the third D stands for “do it.”

Of course, these systems made sense, but I had years of bad habits to overcome. How could I get started on my road to an uncluttered desk? It seemed so overwhelming. For me, it had to get fixed, just like it accumulated – one pile at a time. So each day for a couple of weeks, my goal was to get through a stack of paper. With each diminishing pile, my confidence increased. Maybe my paper addiction was curable after all.

But, I needed more. It was like I had the infantry where I wanted them, but I needed more artillery. More strategies, perhaps? Letting go, really letting go and using the trash can liberally was so hard. Sure, I didn’t need that article or piece of junk mail today, but what about three months from now? My demons seemed to be resurfacing.

Then I discovered some more organizing wisdom from others far savvier at clutter-control than me. I would like to share two challenges that can change the way you work; they certainly did for me. The first challenge is anyone that has trouble letting go of paper. It’s the “grocery bag challenge.” Get a paper grocery bag (a cardboard box will also work). Put it under your desk. For 30 days, put any paper or mail that you are tempted to save, but that holds no immediate value into the bag. At the end of 30 days, review how many times you needed to go back into the bag to recover something. If you’re like most people, you won’t need to retrieve anything. If you’re a classic paper pack rat, it’s time to let go and use the trash can much more frequently.

The second challenge is for those that get easily distracted by all the things they need to do. It’s the “clean desk challenge.” For the next 30 days, you should work from a clean desk. That means the only papers on your desk are directly related to the immediate task at hand. When you have finished a task, you put that file away and start fresh on the next item on your to-do-list. For some of you, the immediate reaction is “I can’t do that.” Let me give you something else to think about. What if I told you that I would give you $1 million dollars at the end of the month if you could successfully work from a clean desk for the next 30 days; could you do it?

If you’re desk is a real nightmare, you may never get to this challenge, because you can’t seem to get started. The easiest way to start is to take everything on your desk now and move it off. It’s ok to put it in piles on the floor if necessary. You can deal with them later, a little at a time.

Getting your paper jungle under control is like anything else that’s challenging. Find or create a system that works for you and then muster up enough discipline to implement it consistently until it becomes a new habit. You can be more organized in 30 days or less. What are you waiting for?

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