ReAnn Rothwell’s Money Saving Ideas, Tax & Organizing Tips

 Q: Dear ReAnn,

I am drowning - I hate my inbox! In fact, it is so full of paper, that I have added other stacking trays to handle all the items that are handed to me.

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A: Hi,

Ugh! I hear you feeling weighed down and trapped. Remember, it took a period of time to get like that, so it will take some time to undo the mess. That’s ok - just as long as you now set up a system to clean it up and keep it clean.

PLAN an appointment in your calendar with your inbox. Try 20 minutes at least every other day. Make sure to make an hour long appointment on the last day of your week, whether it is Friday, Saturday or whenever, so that when you come back to work at the start of a new week you have a clean inbox! 

Focus only on the incoming items during this time. No telephones, e-mails, or other interruptions. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish in 20 minutes. Put a “Do Not Disturb!” sign on your door and on your phone. At first you may have to come in early, stay late or take time from lunch. You are going to have to train not only yourself to do this, but your co-workers and perhaps even your boss to give you the time to devote to your inbox appointment. It is important!!

If a lot of paper hits your desk every day, I recommend that you divide your inbox into several different boxes. As you open mail or as people put paper onto your desk, instead of dropping it all into one box, have THEM do the basic sort for you.  For example have 4 trays or slots: have an inbox for clients, one for catalogs, one for bills and one for misc other.  Or sort immediately by priority: One for calls and things that must be handled today, one for tomorrow, etc.

After about 2 weeks, you will begin to see your desk top again. Continue to plan time in your schedule to attend your inbox on a regular basis.  (See below)

Let me know how it works out!

ReAnn

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When Is The Last Time You Saw Your Physical Inbox Empty?

Is your Inbox buried underneath the stacks of papers that you have been intending to process?

Many times we end using our inbox as a storage folder. Anything that we are unsure about tends to get stacked in the pile for review at a later date which then seems to never come.

Work on and attend to your inbox at a set 20 minutes daily and be prepared to make decisions on the incoming items. Once you have removed the document from your inbox, you can either:

1. Toss - Be sure to shred anything with personal information on it!

2. File it in reference - Be ruthless: is this really something you need to keep or can the information be found online when/if it is needed at a later date.

3. Act

4. Route to a colleague

5. Read/ then toss or file

By handling each item and making a decision about it, your inbox pile will reduce quickly and you will be able to use it for the purpose you intended in the first place!

Use your inbox system wisely and you will regain control and increase workflow.