Do
you find yourself moving through
stacks
of papers on your desk in search of a document you
were holding
only a moment ago?
Are you at a loss
to find a place to put all the correspondence that
comes
your way? And
do you ever wonder
where you
filed that
important letter?
Divide
Work Areas
Start
with a plan to put your office
in
shape. Divide your work area into sections: your primary
desk, your bookcase,
credenza,
second desk or computer work station, and your files. Organize one area
at a time. Decide about what information, materials and
supplies
you use most frequently. Those should be
closest
to you, while less-used items can be stored elsewhere.
Break
the cleaning and organizing project
into
steps that easily fit in with your work schedule.
Throw
out as much as possible. Materials
to
toss include
outdated
versions of manuals and catalogs, extra copies of documents, information
you never use and papers you did not even know were there.
If you use
reference manuals infrequently, send them to a central resource area for
your work unit. Move information you do not need now but that retains
historical value to a central storage area.
Be ruthless
about making save and toss decisions. Throw it out if: it is a
duplicate; it is no longer relevant; the information is readily
available elsewhere; or you do not have time to read it.
Group
Into Categories
Organize
the remaining items. Group together items that fall into
broad
categories, such as reference manuals, company information,
vendor
catalogs and reports.
This will enable
you to go to one shelf and quickly find related items.
Sort
your files by use. If you touch them every three to four weeks, they can
remain. If you use them less, banish them to your unit's central filing
system. Keep in mind that a study by Stanford University found that 87
percent of filed paper is never looked at again.
Label
each file with a broad heading that covers all the papers inside. When
you find more than one file with related information and it will not be
too
cumbersome,
place all the materials in one folder. Use nouns for file headings; for
example, mailing list, budget, newsletters, printing. These are broad
categories that allow for flexibility. Avoid starting a label with an
adjective - the, or, an - or with a number.
When trying to
retrieve a document you will think first of what it concerns
usually, not the date it took place.
Anything
that stays on your desk must be used regularly. Place
knickknacks,
family photos, clocks and souvenirs on a shelf or side table instead of
your desk, where they
take up
valuable space and
create a visual distraction. Limit personal items such as toiletries, a
spare pair of shoes or an umbrella to one special drawer. Such items as
a calendar, paper clips,
stapler,
pens and pencils can also go into a drawer. By keeping the desk surface
as free of clutter as possible, you
lessen
the probability of losing or misplacing papers and make it easier to
focus on high-priority items.
Declare
War on Paper
Launch
your attack on paper by going through the stacks from the top, down and
sort into five categories: immediate action, low priority, reading
material, to file, or to discard.
With
each piece of paper, ask, "What's the worst thing that could happen
if I threw this away?" Unless the outcome is critical, toss it!
Keep the "immediate action" stack on your desk in front of
you. Put all else in appropriately labeled files making a note on your
to/do list so you will not forget about it.
Develop
Good Habits
1)
Decide on what to do with each piece of paper the first time you touch
it and
put it away
immediately.
2) Spend
15 minutes at the end of each day
clearing your desk.
3) When
taking notes, write information on the correct document the first time,
not on little pieces of paper, which are easily lost.
4) Clear
your" In-Box" at least once a day.
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stacks
of papers:
piles, plenty of work papers
(pilas de papeles de trabajo)
were
holding:
were
having in your hands
(tenías en tus manos)
are you at
at a loss?:
are you perplexed, amazed? (¿estás
desconcertado/a, sin saber qué hacer?)
comes your way: appears in front of you (que
te
cae)
do you ever wonder: ask yourself
sometimes (te preguntas
alguna vez)
filed: put away, kept in a file cabinet (archivaste)
in shape: in order, in good condition (en orden)
credenza: credence, a sideboard or buffet (mueble
lateral)
supplies: paper clips, staplers, pens you use everyday (elementos,
útiles de escritorio)
closest: nearest (muy cercanas)
break: spit in, divide into (divide, separa)
into steps:
in several procedures (en
etapas)
throw out: remove (elimina, descarta)
to toss: to throw away (a descartar)
outdated
versions:
versins no longer in use, obsolete (versiones desactualizadas) |
be ruthless about: don't have any mercy
with (no sientas pena
por)
broad:
wide (amplias)
vendor catalogs: seller
catalogues (catálogos
de los vendedores)
this will enable
you:
this will allow
you (esto
te permitirá)
sort: classify (clasifica)
label: put a label on (etiqueta, rotula)
cumbersome: difficult to handle (difícil de manejar)
when trying to retrieve:
when you try to get or find back (cuando
intentes recuperar)
knickknacks: small mass-produced articles (chucherías,
adornitos)
take up
valuable space: absorb valuable space (ocupan lugar
necesario)
stapler: a machine that inserts stales into sheets of paper in order to fasten them together
(abrochadora)
lessen: reduce (reduces, disminuyes)
put it away: put it aside (hazlo a un lado)
clearing: making a way by removing objects which
obstruct the place (despejando, haciendo lugar en) |
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