In the previous chapter you learned strategies for dealing with information overload. By focusing on what you really want to achieve you now have a filter for the torrent of information that comes your way every day and a method for making sure that the 80% that is not relevant doesn’t overwhelm you. In this chapter we take that process one giant step further by showing you how to handle the mountain of paperwork that now almost everyone faces.

Are you messy – and so what?

Do you have a messy desk and office with piles of paper everywhere? If so, is that wrong? Well, to steal a question from US television’s Dr Phil, “How’s that working for you?” If you are able to find what you need when you need it, it doesn’t really matter how messy your office is. However, many messy types (including me) discover that at some point our creative chaos has got out of control and putting our hands on what we need has become a problem. A 2004 study conducted for NEC-Mitsubishi concluded that cluttered desks contribute to worker sickness. Of the 2,000 employees they interviewed, 40% said they were infuriated by their cluttered desks but couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it and 35% said they had neck or back pain from sitting awkwardly.

If the state of your desk is a problem, most likely it’s a function of how you handle paperwork, the lack of a coherent filing system, and the need to be more systematic about handling paper-related tasks. However, if you happen to be a right-brain creative type, you need different solutions from the ones you’ll find in most time management or organising books.

How do you like to work?

To find out whether you are more right-brain or left-brain in the context of dealing with paperwork and organising your work, look at the two lists below. Which one is closer to how you like to work?

The left-brain type:

• likes to work on one project at a time;
• files papers in filing cabinets and is up to date with the filing;
• follows to-do lists by order of priority;
• uses electronic organisers to keep track of appointments, etc.;
• has no problem staying on schedule and is seldom late.

The right-brain type:

• likes to work on several projects at a time;
• has piles of papers all over the place;
• is usually behind with the filing, and prefers to have folders where they can be seen;
• uses slips of paper or notes to keep track of appointments, etc.;
• tends to miss deadlines and is often late.

As you already know from Chapter 5 focusing on your strengths, if you are a right-brain type, trying to change yourself into a left-brain type is counterproductive. Whichever of these is closest to describing you, there are tools and methods that are suited to your preferences. Because most books don’t feature systems and strategies that right-brain types like, this chapter favours those a bit more, but there’s something here for everyone.

New strategies for handling paperwork

“Handle each piece of paper only once.” That’s the advice you get in every traditional book on time management. I’ve never found this rule of left-brain time management realistic. Yes, it’s a good idea to consider right away whether the piece of paper you are handling can be:

• thrown away (the best option, when appropriate)
• filed
• passed on to someone else for action.

If it’s to be filed, put a sticky note on it with the name of the file in which it belongs – that means you won’t have to make that decision twice.

If it’s to be passed on to someone else for action, put a sticky note on it indicating why you’re giving it to them.

In my experience that leaves plenty of other pieces of paper left over. There may be letters you can’t answer until you find out something else, ads for a product you may want to buy but you’re not sure yet, a notice of a social event you might want to go to, but you have to check with someone else, and so on.

Jot down on a sticky note what action you need to take, stick it on the piece of paper, and then put the piece of paper in a pile. If it’s a bill or something else that has the potential to cause trouble, put it in a different pile from everything else and make sure that pile gets attention first. When you go through the piles again one week later, your sticky notes will quickly tell you what you need to do. Some pieces of paper will no longer be relevant and you can throw them out, some can now be acted upon because you have more information, others need a little longer in a stack.

I’m sure this system would give many left-brainers a heart attack, but it works.

Filing: why you may hate filing cabinets

Many creative people hate using filing cabinets because we’re visually oriented, and we like to see where things are. When things are hidden away in a filing cabinet we can’t see them and it makes us uneasy.

Your new strategy:

• Use box files. You can write the name of the file on the side of the box, and keep the box files on your shelves. This is good for when there are a lot of documents.
• For smaller amounts, you can use folders that have a fold-over flap, and write the name on the top near edge of the flap, making it easily visible.

Also, filing cabinets and their folders make everything look the same and kind of drab. We tend to like colours and to be able to tell things apart visually. So use colour-coded file folders or box files. For example, green for financial, blue for reference, red for correspondence.

A filing system that works

For a long time for my writing I used folders with flaps and organised them by categories like “Feature Films”, “TV Movies”, “Sitcoms”, “Dramas”, “Non-fiction Books”, etc. The problem was that eventually there were a lot of folders in some sections, so that finding a particular file meant going through a lot of folders.

Instead, now each of the main sections gets a letter. For example, A is for Feature Films, B is for TV Movies, C is for Sitcoms, D is for Non-fiction Books and so on (which letter goes with which category is totally arbitrary, and if you run out of letters, you can go to AA, BB, etc.). The examples I’m using relate to files about writing projects but of course you can adapt this so the categories are relevant to your work.

Each folder within a category gets a number added to the letter. So the sections look like this:

A Feature Films (this is the category title)

The next category, TV Movies, gets the next letter:

B TV Movies

The next category, Sitcoms, gets the letter C:

C Sitcoms

When it’s time to make a new folder, it gets the appropriate letter and the next number within that category. So that you don’t have to go through all the folders each time you’re looking for a file, you make up a master list that you keep handy. If, for instance, I’m looking for the script of my sitcom project, my list will show it’s in folder C3 and I can easily locate it on the shelf. I keep the master list in my drawer as well as on the computer, and my assistant also has a copy. We update it by hand as we go along and then once a month or so print out an updated version as well.

The only drawback to this system is that once in a while, when a category gets too full, everything will have to be shifted down the shelves a bit.

Filing instruction booklets

Have you had this experience? You get some new technological marvel, maybe a printer or a digital camera or an MP3 player, and somewhere down the line, maybe a few months after you bought it, something goes wrong and you need the instruction manual. The problem is that you have no idea where it is. Then you start a frustrating, time-wasting search for it, or go on the internet hoping that the manufacturer’s website may have a copy online.

The bright folks at Verco, who make office seating, had a great idea: their Maya range of chairs comes with a pocket under the seat where the instructions can be kept permanently. You can adapt this idea by taping a plastic envelope underneath or near the machines or gadgets you use the most (scanners, copy machines, printers, etc.) to make sure the instructions do not go astray.

Use the focusing power of lists

There is one kind of paperwork you may not be using enough, and that is lists. For everything you need to do that requires some thought, you should have a list to help you do it more quickly. One example is packing for a business trip. Most likely you’re going to need the same things every time, so why not make a list to work from and speed up the process? You could even delegate the packing to someone else. Here is part of my master list:

• socks
  
• t-shirts
  
• underwear
  
• hankies
  
• flyer cards
  
• Oyster card for tube
  
• ’s licence
  
• address book
  
• trousers
  
• shoes
  
• shirts
  
• sports jacket
  
• overcoat
  
• jumper
  
• swimming trunks
  
• watch
  
• trip itinerary
  
• tickets
  
• passport
  
• diary
  
• office kit
  
• highlighter
  
• accordion wall file
  
• business cards
  
• mobile phone
  
• phone charger
  
• laptop
  
• disk driver
  
• adapter for laptop
  
• disks (incl. projects to work on)

Before I start packing, I decide how many of the clothing items I will need (three-day trip = three pairs of socks, etc.) and I cross off any of the items that don’t apply (if the hotel doesn’t have a swimming pool, no need for swimming trunks). Then I go down the rest of the list, and packing takes only a few minutes.

There may also be work tasks that you do repeatedly for which a list could be helpful. For instance, you might make a list of what needs to be included every time you write a press release.

Other times when a list could be useful include preparing for:

• presentations
• networking events
• interviews
• negotiations.

Such lists can make it easier to delegate a task that you’ve been doing yourself, because the list will help ensure that the person taking it over doesn’t forget or omit any important steps. Also make a list of the tasks you have delegated, indicating who is supposed to do it, by when and with what outcome. You can then review this list every day and check in periodically with the people on the list to make sure they are on track to deliver as promised.

Another list to have handy is all the phone numbers of people you may need to contact when things go wrong. These could include a computer repair service, a software consultant, a temp agency, a delivery service, a store that delivers toner cartridges and other office supplies, and so on. Actually it’s best to have at least two of each of these on your list. As we all know, things go awry at the most inconvenient points, when you don’t want to lose more time by having to hunt around in a panic for the help you need.

What lists will help you focus?

Take a moment to think about three lists that might be helpful to you in your work, jot their names down here, and schedule time to make them.

Do’s and don’t’s for your to-do list

The most common list that people use is the daily to-do list. It’s a great tool but often misused. It shouldn’t be a dumping ground for every little thing you intend to get around to in the next few days or weeks. By all means make up a master list of everything that needs your attention in the next week or so, but your daily list should contain only what you are committed to achieving that day. A good rule of thumb is to have a maximum of six items to focus on in one day.

If you find yourself repeatedly having to carry items over from one list to the next you are not being realistic about what you can achieve in the time available. The sense of daily failure will drain your energy. A way around this is to apply the 80/20 principle to your to-do list.

Start by making out your to-do list in the usual way. For most people, this list is a mix of what they should do, want to do, or could do that day, not what they really will do that day.

From now on, make that kind of list your first draft. Use it to blurt out all the things you might do. Then go over the list and for every 10 items choose the two – and only the two – that will give you the most value.

Only you can define “value” as it applies to you. Often people interpret it as whatever will bring in the most money, but if your office has descended into such a state of chaos that you can’t do essential tasks, then clearing up your office may be the most valuable thing you can do.

If you have 10 or fewer items to start with, you now have the two that you will tackle first. If you started with 20, you now have four and must go through the process one more time: of these four (or six, or however many you have), which are the two that will give you the most value?

Do these two first, if at all possible. That will probably require a bit of willpower, because the most important tasks are not usually the most enjoyable ones. It’s much easier to put them off and do something less taxing in order to warm up, or to get them out of the way, or some other rationalisation. Having warmed up, we find suddenly there is something else that needs our attention, and we really must check our email again, and then there’s a phone call . . . and before you know it (the end of the day) the crucial things have to be moved to tomorrow’s to-do list.

Doing the really valuable tasks first means they will get done. They also lighten the rest of your day because you will be relieved to have finished them so early. Sometimes we avoid doing the most valuable tasks because they are big and seem overwhelming. In that case, break the task down into smaller components until you have a chunk that you can do in 45 minutes or less. Then chip away at the bigger task bit by bit and you’ll soon realise you are making great progress.

If you can’t manage to do the most important tasks first, at least alternate between one easy and quick task and one more difficult but vital one in order to get rolling. Better yet, commit to doing the most important tasks first for just one week. By the end of the week the benefits will be so clear and energising that you’ll find it a lot easier from then on.

If you like having things visible, you can also write each task on a sticky note, put it up on the wall, and take it down when you have accomplished it. Save the notes as a record of what you’ve achieved.

Always carry a copy of your to-do list with you. You can write or print out a mini-version of it on an index card that you keep in your pocket or bag. That way when you are in a meeting or out and about, you won’t lose track of what else you still have to accomplish that day.

Finally, incorporate some time for relaxation and reflection in the list, even if it’s only for a quarter of an hour once or twice a day. Treat this as seriously as any other task on the list – it shouldn’t be the first item to be sacrificed if something else on the list takes longer than you thought. Remember, in today’s world, working smarter rather than harder is the road to success. Working smarter is the result of insights and creative thinking, which require time and thought.

How to handle future tasks

There will be tasks that are important to do but that you know you don’t need to do today. In fact, some of them, like certain phone calls or meetings, are tied to a future date. A great way to keep track of these is to make up a box with folders in it, numbered 1 to 31, one for each day of the month, plus 12 more with the names of the months on them. If today is 12 June, and you know that on 20 June you need to make a phone call to a potential client, you jot down a note to that effect and put it in the folder numbered 20. On 19 June, when you are planning what to do the next day, you open that folder and schedule the call. If the task doesn’t need to be done until a day in August, you put it into the August folder. At the start of each month you check what’s in the monthly folder and apportion it to a particular day folder.

What’s next

Now that you know how to handle paperwork much more efficiently, there remains one other subject that has become both a boon and a bane: email. In the next chapter, you’ll find strategies for taming the email monster.

Website chapter bonus

At www.focusquick.com you’ll find PDF forms to use with the filing system suggested in this chapter.