One of the reason people hate filing so much is that they'd rather be doing something more exciting. Unfortunately if you run your own business and have an office at home you can't avoid it.
The trick is to make the filing so easy that you can't put it off. Don't use filing cabinets for the stuff you need to deal with every day. A filing system that relies on unlocking filing cabinets is doomed to fail; all you will do is put the stuff in a pile on any clear surface - and leave it there.
So have a little shelf within arm's reach and keep things like invoices, receipts and current project files nice and handy.
Another good tip is to touch any piece of paper only once. Never put it in an 'in tray' to deal with later. Just put it straight away in the place that it belongs. If you're not sure where it belongs it probably needs to go in the shredder.
Any more filing tips? I'd love to hear them.
Comments