I wasn’t too sure about this recommendation when I first read it, but it works so well that I feel I must recommend it. It’s another one of David Allen’s GTD tips for cleaning up your filing and working towards that empty in-tray.
Warning: Now I have to say at this point that I don’t have a large filing system and I would not recommend you go through and rip out labels here, there and everywhere before you have given this proper consideration.
For the purposes of explaining this, I am going to divide filing into two separate areas. There is what I will call long term filing. Files for specific areas of your business or home that won’t change very much and just get added to. For example, I have files for tax papers, insurance documents etc. They will probably have, and should have, some sort of indexed system – either alphabetical or numerical and that probably works very well.
What I am referring to in this case are files that will probably change much more frequently. Alongside my long term filing, I have a Current Projects cabinet which is near to my desk as it contains things I am likely to want to get hold of regularly.
Now one of the GTD recommendations is that anything that requires more than two steps becomes a project. That way it is much easier to organise on your To Do list and create Next Actions for. That’s all very well, but immediately it becomes a project it starts to create paperwork, even the first bit of paper that says “Plan Project”! But we are trying to keep a clear in-tray and desk. So what to do with it?
Have a pile of folders or wallets near your desk or somewhere close at hand. I prefer wallets as things don’t fall out of them quite so easily. Then when you are sorting through your desk on your Weekly Review, or just tidying, or an idea just comes to mind, you can grab a piece of paper, jot down the idea, date it* (very important) and pop it into a folder.
Now here comes the clever bit. Don’t have those little filing tabs that require little inserts to be written and clipped to the top of the file. It takes too long, and if you have to write one of those and clip it to the file every time you create it, you won’t do it. So remove all those (that’s why I gave the warning at the start) and simply write on top of your wallet the name of the project and file it in alphabetical order. I like to use a thick black marker and write the name at the top right of the cover the of the wallet so I can just flick through them easily.
Hey presto, a system where you can not only find things quickly, but create things quickly too.
GTD recommends not even having suspension files but just stacking the folders on behind another. I didn’t go that far as I like to be able to move the files and flick through them easily, but I just keep half a dozen empty suspension files at the back of the drawer so they are there for easy use.
Want to know more? See the GTD main website.
Feeling creative? 