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File for Success!
Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 14:52 One of the biggest reasons our offices tend to get into chaos is because we simply don’t know what to do with half the stuff that comes into our lives. If we don’t know what to do with it, we tend to put it down somewhere to deal with “later”. The inevitable result is piles of unsorted paper and a backlog of work.
One of the most important ways of ensuring that we know what to do with things is to have a filing system that is both easy to operate and completely up to date. Unfortunately most people, particularly in small businesses, try to work with filing systems that don’t properly support them. Remember: we will always tend to follow the path of least resistance. If our filing system is difficult and cumbersome to use then we will tend to avoid using it, which will then make it out of date as well - thus increasing the problem further. On the other hand if our filing system is fast, instinctive and up to date, it becomes easier to use it than not to use it. The good news is that you can have a fast, instinctive and up to date filing system fully operational by tomorrow. Here’s how.
The first step is to go out and buy plenty of lever arch files and clear enough space for them on a bookshelf. Forget about folders, ring binders, suspension files and all the rest. Lever arch files on a book shelf are the best way of filing. They stand upright, don’t fall over, can be moved around easily and it’s simple to insert and remove papers from them. What’s more you can use dividers to subdivide the contents. For things you don’t want to punch holes in, you can put them in a plastic envelope and file the plastic envelope. For very small items such as till receipts I staple them to a larger sheet of paper and file the sheet of paper. For those of you who don’t know what a lever-arch file is, here’s a picture.
How do you get a totally up to date filing system right now? It’s easy. Declare your old filing system dead and start completely afresh, opening new files as you need them. Every time you get a new piece of paper open a new file for it or put it into one of the new files you have already opened. Work the files in the way I suggested in a previous newsletter by putting the files as you use them at the top left hand end of the bookcase. With lever arch files it’s easy to move the files along to accommodate this. Doing it this way you will have a completely fresh and relevant filing system, where you can always lay your hands on the papers you use most often.
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Reader Comments (9)
Great to hear the success you are having with the methods.
I don't know what the equivalent of a Lever Arch File would be in the USA. However I found a supplier online who imports them: Empire Imports http://tinyurl.com/yzxzpq
We also have a division of our business called Bindertek http://www.bindertek.com that also sells Lever Arch files in the USA - BUT in the stand US size. Bindertek has a line of indexes designed for the legal profession as well.
I might not be impartial, but I agree there is no better way to organize paperwork than Lever Arch Files!
If anyone wants a Lever Arch Lesson - please feel free to email me at abeall@empireimports.com and also please excuse this shameless self promotion!
Thanks for your query. It's difficult to give recommendations without knowing the exact circumstances, but off the cuff my feeling would be that you want to have everything that is still current for a 30+ year client in one or more lever-arch files and everything that is dead and buried in archive boxes. That way you can access everything you are likely to need more or less immediately, while still being able to find old stuff if for some reason you have to refer to it.
I'm assuming here that lawyers can never just throw old stuff away!
thanks again
On the whole it's usually best to file by date with flags on the important stuff that you refer to often. But don't forget that the system is intended to be flexible, so experiment!
Resource material: it depends on the nature of this material. I keep all my instruction books for example in a separate box file. Magazines, catalogues, etc. that I wish to keep, go in a magazine rack.
Whatever filing system you are using, keep it well weeded.