If you are a busy mompreneur working on improving your goals, it is imperative that you create easy systems that help you systematize actions that you have to repeat over and over again. Setting up solid systems in your business creates many benefits for you!
Systematizing your processes:
- lowers your anxiety because tasks get easier to complete and become more routine
- increases the likelihood that things will get done
- allows you to document them and ultimately delegate them
- creates a better experience because you can always focus on continuously improving your systems.
Today’s tip will help you get out from under all that backlog of paper and all those piles in your office or home!
How to Create Your Paper Processing Center
The single most requested area where mompreneurs require some focus when they feel overwhelmed is for assistance with paper, files, piles and what to keep or toss in the course of their business! Although I always suggest you seek the advice of your tax professional or your attorney, setting up a paper processing system will be imperative to your success and ability to have what you need, and find important papers when you need them.
To design a paper processing center, create an area that is conveniently located, where you can drop and process your paper easily. To make a successful paper processing center location is very important. You want to be sure that you have your center located conveniently so when you come in with a handful of papers you have a place to put them.
To be successful follow these steps:
- Not every paper must be kept – so don’t delay… sort all incoming mail over your trash/shredder and dispose of anything that you do not need or have to take action on.
- For the items requiring action – determine what the very next action step is (file, pay, call, schedule, etc.)
- Immediately ‘activate’ that paper by placing it in an appropriate file labeled for the action you need to take.
- Your paper processing center should also have a task list that you can add each item to as it comes in.
- Be sure to block time in your calendar to process paper at least weekly. Some people like to process paper along with other administrative routines such as paying bills or calling people back for appointments.
- Each time you process a paper and identify that there is a ‘Next Action’ to take you should add the item to a to-do list and then place the paper into an action file used to manage your tasks.
Once you have gone through the backlog of paper, the three essential behaviors that will help you to successfully manage your paper processing center are:
- consistency with incoming papers
- adding tasks to your to do list as papers come into your system, and
- taking time to process and maintain your system regularly.
If you want help to clear out your piles of paper (and get organized throughout your home and office) check out my inexpensive Organizing Products:
- DIY Get Organized Home Organizing Guide
- Get Organized To Keep Your Family Sane – free DIY work book and audio course
- Time To Toss It – Guide to help you purge those cabinets, collections and long-kept items! (Also available on Amazon for Kindle downloads here)
How do you take control of YOUR paper piles? Please share your tips and tricks in the comment box below!
Image courtesy of scottchan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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