One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. - A.A. Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh)

Before I started library school, I used to think that librarians were the most organized people in the world. That they could find anything, anywhere, at any time. Then I learned the truth: Librarians may be proficient at organizing books and materials for clients and library users, but their desks tell another story.

Whether it's due to lack of time, lack of space, or lack of know-how, many information professionals have piles of papers, journals, and reports stacked on their desktops, waiting to be filed. The art of being organized involves asking yourself a number of questions and making decisions. Once a system is in place, you will be able to find anything, anywhere, anytime. Taking a bit of time now will save you lots of time down the road.

To start: Close your eyes and imagine your desk free of clutter. Reference tools are at your finger tips. You can see your phone. One tray contains that day's mail. Your file drawer is orderly with clear labels on the folders. Your garbage can is handy and used on a regular basis. You are calm and organized.

End of meditation.

Open your eyes and believe that you can do it. A positive attitude is a key ingredient to success.

Some professional organizers dictate handling a piece of paper only once. For most people, this isn't practical. Two to three times is more realistic and less stressful, since each touch represents a decision made about that item. If you get mail delivered to your desk twice a day, set aside half an hour in the morning, and half an hour in the afternoon to deal with mail and filing. If you are lucky enough to have an enclosed office, close the door so you won't be disturbed.

Make sure you have the proper tools to help you get to an organized state and to maintain it.

a. In Tray
b. Garbage Can
c. To File tray
d. Filing Cabinet/Unit
e. File folders and labels
f. To Do/Action files (Research Requests; Calendar; Invoices)
g. To Read box/tray

Take one item at a time, follow the flow chart below, and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I really need this? Is the information current?

If NO, then throw in the garbage.

If YES, go to question 2.

2. Could I find the information somewhere else if I had to?

If NO, then place in To File tray or file right away.

If YES, then throw in the garbage.

Another way of making a decision means asking yourself: What is the worst thing that would happen if I didn't have this piece of paper? Thanks to the Internet, most information professionals can find information online which at one time was needed in hardcopy. This can save you lots of space.

3. The Sorting Process: What should I do with this item?

If this item relates to a contract, legal or financial matter, either file right away or place in the To File box. Mark in pencil, in the top right corner, the file into which it should be filed.

If this item is an invoice or bill that has a due date, place in an Action file.

If this item is a Research Request, place in an Action file. If this item is a journal that has important information for professional development, set aside in the To Read box. One option is to scan the table of contents and flag the articles of interest and place in the To Read tray/box or be photocopied, to be read at a designated time once or twice a week.

If this item is a report that relates to a current project, place in the To Read box or file in the proper project file. Mark in pencil, in the top right corner, the file into which it should be filed.

If this item needs to be delegated to another person, collect all items to be forwarded to other people, placing a circulation tag on each item. Distribute the materials all at once, or place in your Out tray or departmental circulation tray when you're finished sorting everything.

Barbara Hemphill, author of Taming the Paper Tiger, proclaims, "If you don't know you have it, or you can't find it, it is of NO value to you!" According to office environmental systems designer Robert Propst, 80% of what is filed is never looked at again, despite your thinking that you should keep it, "just in case."

4. To File Box: Once a week, file everything that is in the To File box. As you are filing, throw out any materials that have become obsolete or unnecessary in those folders.

Filing is similar to a game on Sesame Street: Which of these things is not like the others. Or to rephrase it: Put like with like. As information professionals, we are trained to identify categories and patterns in order to search for and organize materials for others. We have the skills to put this knowledge to work for ourselves.

Set up a filing system close to your desk that is organized by categories, subjects, and/or projects. Separate Suppliers from General Subjects. Name files with nouns, then qualifiers such as adjectives and dates, e.g., Annual Reports - 1998; Trends - Financial. Then place files in alphabetical order for easy access.

Too few files will be useless; too many file categories will be time consuming. Settle on a system that works best for you through trial and error.

Make sure each item is dated and the source is visible. If you want, write a purge date for easy weeding next time you use that file. Mark in pencil, in the top right corner, the file into which it should be filed. This will help when someone else does the filing.

Make sure file folders are labelled in a clear and attractive manner to make retrieval and refiling effortless.

5. Action Files

By organizing the tasks that need to be done by category, you will be able to deal with one area at a time and be more effective: Reference requests; Invoices/bill; Calendar (meetings, appointments, conferences); Correspondence; Homeless (items that you don't know what to do with yet) etc.

6. To Read

Schedule a time, once or twice a week, to catch up on your reading. If you can't read while commuting to work, set aside a time during a lunch break.

7. Preventive Maintenance: After reading, using something from a file, or completing an action, ask yourself: Do I still need this?

If NO, then throw in the garbage.

If YES, go back to step 4 and File the item.

When you're finished using an item, return it to the file from whence it came. Taking 30 seconds now will help you avoid taking 10 minutes later when you're trying to find something but can't remember which pile it's in. So much time is wasted looking for misplaced, misfiled, or mislabeled documents.

Get taken off mailing lists to prevent junk mail from entering your In tray.

Cancel subscriptions to journals and newspapers that you don't have time to read or do not relate to your work.

Serenity

Robin Sharma, author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, recommends taking 10 minutes at the end of each day to organize your desk so you can begin the next day calmly and effectively.

Don't feel that your situation is hopeless if you have a large backlog of materials. Put a system in place and deal with the new stuff on a daily basis. When you can set aside a couple of hours or half a day to tackle the backlog, do as much as you can until the next opportunity. By getting into a daily routine, and chipping away at the piles bit by bit, you will gradually achieve a sense of balance and a clean desktop.

A place for everything and everything in its place.

- Isabelle Mary Beeton, The Book of Household Management. 1861.

RESOURCES

Books

Hemphill, Barbara. Taming the Paper Tiger: Organizing the Paper in Your Life. 4th ed. Washington, DC: Kiplinger Books, 1997.

Winston, Stephanie. The Organized Executive: A Program for Productivity: new ways to manage time, paper, people, and the electronic office. Rev. ed. New York, NY: Warner Books, 1994.

Websites

Resources to Get You Organized www.wco.com/~dpmiller/links.htm

Sort It: Business Organizing www.123sortit.com/BO/index.html