I spoke to a business associate of mine today and she made an interesting remark. She said that she hates to file. When I asked her why she started to say she didn’t have time, was afraid she’d never find it again, and that it wasn’t a priority. But she finally admitted. She didn’t like filing because she didn’t know how to do it. What a revelation! What an easy thing to fix!

If you can relate to my associate, click the link below and hear filing tips that may point you in the right direction:
Filing

For quicktime click here: http://brightfarm.com/bvi/20080109_FantasticFriday.mov

Did you know…... 80% of what we file, we never reference again?!!

First, there are 3 types of files: Action – Reference – Archive . Most people hate filing and I suspect it is because all of your files are grouped together and not separated by type.

Action files are those files that you reference all the time or at least weekly. They contain information that is needed to do your job or work at your desk. Therefore these should be the files that are located in the file drawer attached to your desk. If you do not have a file drawer in your desk, then these files should go in the file drawer closest to where you sit and work.

Reference files are files that you need to reference occasionally, usually monthly or annually. A good example is your auto insurance policy. It expires either annually or semi annually. Can you think of any other files that may be reference files at home or at work? Because these files are used less frequently, they can be housed in another file cabinet, located elsewhere in your office.

Archive files. These are the files that my clients rarely have segregated. Archive means that this information is being kept for retention purposes. This is information, like your tax returns, that you must keep for a specific period of time or indefinitely. These files can be boxed and labeled and stored outside your immediate office. File cabinets in the store room or garage are good locations for the archive documents.

It is also important to maintain your files. Set aside some time every 6 months to go through your file drawers and purge files and documents that are no longer needed. The first time you purge your files, it may be labor intensive since it has never been done before, but keep doing this every 6 months and its goes more quickly.

If you want to roll up your sleeves and organize your office, , go to my website and check out the Organize Your Office Day- virtually! On Jan 19th ……. Listen to the f*ree preview call on Jan. 12th to hear the format of the day and start your first assignment. To register for this f*ree call go to http://www.organizedhabits.eventbrite.com/.

Keeping your financial paperwork organized will help with your budget and your peace of mind! First, it is important to have a central location for your monthly financial papers. This doesn’t always have to be at a desk, it can be created in the kitchen, it can be portable.

The key is that it is accessible and convenient.I like to recommend that my customers create a bill paying center. This can be a tray or basket on the desk, a file in the filing cabinet, or an accordion file that can be used in any space. In your bill paying center you will have monthly bills, checkbook, stamps, pens, envelopes, ATM and EFT receipts and any other items you need to use.

Additional bill paying tips:

• when the mail arrives, put the bills in the bill pay center immediately
• use a computer bill paying program (i.e. Quickbooks, Microsoft Money)
• use bank autodrafts and online bill paying when possible
• balance your checkbook monthly
• organize your incoming bills with your paydays (i.e. pay on 1st .. 15th)
• write out your bills on the eve of your payday
• create a bill pay fact sheet (what paydays which bills are paid, which credit cards you are trying to pay off first, web page addresses for bill pay and banking, or any information that you can refer back to each month)

Having a bill paying center in place will help you streamline your monthly financial duties and save you time and money!