Pajamas, Pacis & Projects – OH MY!

The key to a successful business is organization!  I know it’s a bummer, but how can you sell a product, service, or even yourself – in complete and utter chaos?  Granted, there are those who seem to thrive in disorder, but I bet they’d be downright business phenoms if they gave themselves a chance in an orderly environment.

What’s your prime clutter area(s)?  Well for me, my desks are it!  I can clutter a desk faster than a baby can fill a diaper – so you know how fast that is!  But one of my secret weapons is an easy file system and some great office tools.

Here’s one:

Instead of using manila folders within hanging file folders, I purchased the accordion A-Z and 1-30 folders.  They work awesome!  I did an inventory and wrote down all of the subjects of each of the folders I had.  If I needed to consolidate I did that, if I needed to purge I did that too and the result was a list of things to file, like: Telephone Bills (1), Biz Credit Card (2), Cell Phone Bill (3), etc.

I then made a master list to match my accordion folders and put the items in the order I felt made the most sense.  I have two A-Z folders and three 1-30 folders and they hold everything neatly and orderly.  All five lists are on a single sheet and I have three (3) copies so they’re easy to find for filing.  Each list has room for additions and I update my list via computer once or twice a year.

I have one for household bills, another for biz stuff (accounting/computer info), one for just writing stuff (ideas) etc., and the last for family specific items.  It then got the expandable folders for ALL of my manuals - appliance, electronics, and furniture specific items.  It’s such a cinch to find a manual, or anything else – makes me wish I’d done it years ago!

There is no single answer for s successful filing system.  The key is to develop a system that’s easy enough to actually use and helps you keep your work area ready for you to use it!

So, what’s your secret filing weapon?