Productivity Pointers
Five Simple Techniques for Surviving Information Overload
In spite of the promise of the "paperless office," studies predict there will be 50% more paper in offices by the end of 2005 than there was in 1995. Only 10% of the people in a recent survey by University of Washington School of Information were happy with the way they handled electronic information. Research shows the average worker spends 150 hours per year looking for misplaced information, but 80% of what we keep we never use.
Barbara Hemphill, author of Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger at Work, says, "One of the biggest stumbling blocks to increased productivity and decreased stress is information clutter." If you’ve tried to organize your desk in the past, but it didn’t last, consider these tips from Hemphill to eliminate clutter, reduce stress, and increase results:
- Take everything off your desk except what you must do. Today’s mail is tomorrow’s pile. Put everything else you can’t throw away in boxes to deal with later. Create a new system to eliminate future messes – then you can deal with the past.
- Clutter is Postponed Decisions®! Implement The FAT System‘:
- File it in a reference file or electronic folder in case you need it later
- Act on it immediately or in the near future
- Toss, recycle, or shred it
- Get The Magic 6™ tools for your desk to implement your decisions and eliminate unnecessary paper:
- Wastebasket/recycle bin/shredder
- Sorting trays on your desk for In, Out, and To File
- Rolodex or electronic database for contact information
- Calendar/electronic planner for appointments
- File drawer or box for Action Files – things to do
- File drawers or boxes for Reference Files – papers you want to keep
- Organize your Action Files to prioritize your work and manage your time. Categorize them by date (a "tickler file), by category of action ("Data Entry), or by project name
- Create an Index for your Reference Files. A filing software program, such as Taming the Paper Tiger, creates a file index, prints labels, and allows you to cross reference files. You can also do a "Google search" for the paper files as well as electronic files in your own office.