Do you consider yourself as being organized?
I am. At least, I think I am.
After all, the spices in my kitchen cabinet are alphabetized, and so are the DVDs in my entertainment center. Look in my closet and you’ll find all my short sleeve shirts in one spot and then long sleeve and all sorted by color. My books are shelved by topic.
I suppose many would call that being OCD, but I call it being organized and efficient. It saves me time and frustration when I’m looking for what I need or want.
But right now, I need your help!
Despite all this efficiency in my personal life, my work life is a pile of papers strewn about my desk, on the floor in my home office, and all over the house. I still maintain the old stand-by paper filing system (I hate filing) because I have to maintain receipts for my business.
But it’s not keeping my bills organized that is eating away at me. It’s the notes I take during a webinar or meeting with a client, the manuscript I print to read and edit (yes, it looks different on paper than on the screen), my project time-tracking worksheets. All the pieces of paper that are still part of my life.
This mess is affecting my mood and my creativity.
I’ve got electronic files in numerous places. The problem there is I spend time looking in all those different places to find what I want. Why can’t I have everything in ONE place? Am I the only one who struggles with this problem?
How do you organize your work/files?
Are there online organizational tools that work for you? How do you keep your projects organized? Is it all a matter of staying on top of it each week/month? Did I mention I hate filing?
All suggestions welcome. I’d love to hear what works for you. Leave your tips in the comments below.
I know it’s old fashioned, but I have two drawers in my desk devoted to folders for my business. I file every paper immediately so that I don’t have to file stacks of papers and everything is at my fingertips always. I have similar folders on my computer in which I immediately file every electronic thing. I’m totally lost if I don’t have everything organized.
Filing immediately is the best, I need to discipline myself for that. How do you handle emails that are project related?
Lots of people love Evernote for organization. I haven’t mastered it yet. I use Scannable for all my receipts at work. I scan a receipt the minute I get it at the post office or office supply store, and then send it to my desktop file.
In other words, I manage my papers by going mostly digital. The things that stay on hard copy go into the old fashioned, color-coded, alphabetical hanging files. Then, the only problem is to remember whether I filed those notes under “C” for “CrossRiver” or “R” for “Rose Hill Cottage.”
Kathy, thanks for your suggestions. I tried Evernote too, and gave it up. I’ve never heard of Scannable. I cringe at doing certain things with my phone because I feel it is too accessible to outside control, too easy to hack into. I do ask for email receipts at places that offer it. With my projects I have a CrossRiver section in the filing cabinet and a Personal section. Within each I file by project name.