Paper Clutter - What’s in your piles?

How does it make you feel after a long relaxing weekend to come into work and see mounds of paper on your desk? How does it feel after a stressful work week to come home and look at paper clutter in your home? When you wake up in the morning, is paper the first thing you see when you open your eyes?

You have piles of paper at home and at work. Do you have any idea what information is in those piles??You haven’t had the motivation or time to tackle them, so they continue to grow.?You may be surprised at what you find in those piles. By the time you finish reading this article, you may find you are motivated to make a plan to tackle those piles.

What could be hiding in those piles?

Important documents that you had been searching for but were unable to locate. Almost every client I work with will say “I was looking for that” or “I forgot I had that.” Do you know where your passport or birth certificate is located? How long would it take you to find them? Once you get these piles under control, develop a working organized filing system so you will never have to search aimlessly for an important document again.

Business opportunities that you could have profited from in some way. There may have been a significant opportunity for you, but time has passed because you didn’t act on it because it was at the bottom of one of your piles. It’s too late now. Get your paper under control and you will never miss out on important opportunities.

An invitation to an important event.?You were invited to an event 3 months ago and you just found the invitation. The event has passed, and you may have missed out on a great night!

Money, checks, gift cards. If you have piles of papers in your home or at work, I can guarantee there is money in all forms in those piles. Get organized and never lose money again!

Even if you state you know what is in your piles, how long does it take you to find something in that pile? Does it take you longer than a few seconds to locate it?

Have you ever had a co-worker or manager come into your office and ask you for an important document??Did you sweat it out thinking about where you put it? Even worse, was your client sitting in front of you as you searched aimlessly through the piles for a file?

Do you think people form an opinion about your work because you have piles of paper all over the office, on the floor, desks, and bookshelves?

Do you think clients that visit your office form an opinion about how you function at work? Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and your client is going to wonder if their information is going to get lost in those piles or even worse if their information gets lost or mixed in with another client. They are going to wonder how efficient you will be with handling their business.

I think people would just rather continue to pile into those piles than actually spend the time to tackle the project. I think the whole process is too overwhelming for some.

It’s time to tackle that paper clutter. You have to set up these working organized systems if you want to function without paper piles in the future. The process to tackle the paper will be the same for everybody but everybody has different ways of functioning, so everybody’s system will be different. ?Make it work for you.

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