The first page of this article of filing tips introduced a filing system that would help you cut down on the amount of time you have to spend filing. The following tips explain how to further speed up the filing process by customizing your filing system.
3. Think before you file.
What happens after I’ve used the monthly folders to do the accounting? The documents need to be moved on to the “main” filing system. But rather than just filing each document individually depending on its title, I file logically according to group, a filing procedure I find much faster.
Let’s have another look at the example of the printer toner cartridge. Instead of filing this receipt under “P” for printer toner cartridge, I would file this one under Office Supplies – Receipts, the same place that I would file documents such as a receipt for a collection of post-it notes or a receipt for printer paper. This not only makes filing faster, but makes it much easier to find documents afterwards.
4. Use whole words and phrases on your file folder labels, not just letters.
There’s no rule that says that you are only limited to single letters when creating the divisions of your filing system. And if you do, you’re making your filing unnecessarily slow and complicated. Customize your filing system so you can benefit from filing by group and find the right location to place a document more quickly.
For instance, instead of just having a section of my filing system labeled “C”, I also have a section labeled “Client Files”. The files within “Client Files” are organized alphabetically. The beauty of customizing your filing system this way is that it can always be further subdivided and organized if you need to. So a major client could have a file system divider labeled with her name within the “Client Files” section to make finding documents related to her easier.
In this example, then, the labels on the filing system would read... “B”, “C”, “Client Files”, “D"... See how much easier your filing becomes?
Another filing tip to speed up your filing: Don’t forget to customize the alphabet, too. Instead of just having an “M” section, label one “Mc” too.
5. Keep your “first” filing system close and convenient.
The other great thing about using a two-stage filing system such as the one I’ve described above is that it becomes much easier to keep the first stage of your filing system (the monthly folders) physically close to your work space. You’ll be much more inclined to file papers immediately instead of letting them pile up if you have a close, organized place to file them.
So put your last, current, and next month’s monthly folders in a tray or use a concertina file and put it within arm’s length in your work space. The bulk of your filing system (the “main” filing system as I called it in filing tip 3) can be across the room or even in a different room entirely, but in the interests of saving time, you shouldn’t have to get up to do your first stage filing.
The filing tips I’ve given you so far should help you cut down the time you spend filing and prevent brain freeze. But what about making your time filing more fun? In truth, the only strategy I’ve come up with here is the outright bribe, rewarding myself with a cookie if I file for a certain amount of time. This will work, but can have serious detrimental consequences if you have a lot of filing to do.
About French Language Guide Laura K. Lawless takes a more artistic approach, using all different colors for her file folders and using unusual fonts or calligraphy for the labels. Whether or not this makes your filing more fun, it will certainly make doing it more attractive.
