Creating Your Office Filing System

Did you know that the average time it takes to find a particular piece of paper is 10 minutes?  And that 3% of all papers are in fact misfiled?

Paper does not file itself.  There is no magical paper fairy that comes into your office at night to file everything in its appropriate place. Nor is there an invisible helper that creates and actually sets up a filing system for you if you don’t have one.

Piles of paper are distracting.  They are a constant reminder of work to be done in some manner.  Paper piles decrease your efficiency and undermine your ability to do what you need to do.

However, with a little bit of time and patience and a helpful dose of office know how, that pile of paper that seems to get higher and higher in your office can in fact be conquered. That doesn’t mean moving the pile from one horizontal surface to another either.

So how do you begin to set up a filing system and office work space that functions well?

The basic structural elements

The first step is to invest in a desk that, at the very least, has a drawer so that you have a place to store pens, pencils, fasteners and other office necessities.  I personally am not a fan of roll top desks or large armoires as items are then easily lost.  I prefer a functional desk space that is streamlined and clutter free. A comfortable chair is also a must have, as well as a filing cabinet.  And don’t forget the importance of proper lighting.

Desk accessories

Next is to have a place for your papers to go as soon as they arrive into your office.  This could be an “in box” where you place your mail until you have set a time to open and deal with it.

You also need to create an “action” centre on your desk.  The type of action depends largely on the work that you do in your office.  However a good rule of thumb is to have action folders labelled “File”, “Pay”, “Read”, “Add to Contacts”,  “Contact” etc.  These action folders should be contained in a vertical desk top file organizer within easy reach and within eye contact as a visual clue to the actions that need to be completed.  I suggest avoiding any general action files that say “critical” or “urgent”.

File folders for paper containment

Next comes the filing system.  No office is complete without one, whether it be electronic or paper based.  For paper based systems, some people work well with colour coded files.  The benefits of colour coding include:

• Improved retrieval times
• Reduced risk of lost files
• Eliminated misfiles
• Increased efficiency and productivity

You may perhaps keep all your financial files, such as banking and investment papers, in green folders; your critical records such as employment, education, insurance and health in blue files; your reference files, such as school information, special articles of interest, bus schedules, travel ideas in yellow files and perhaps all your utility bills in orange files.  Whatever colour you choose should reflect how you think about a particular category of files.

Basic office supplies

No office is complete without some basic supplies.  These would include pens, pencils, highlighters or markers, stapler, staples, paper clips, note paper, tape, rubber bands and binder clips.  You’re also going to need printer paper.

This is not a comprehensive list of all the things that one might have in an office but can certainly be used as a guideline to begin your office set up.  Think about what actually happens in your office and the activities that take place there.  Once you determine the tasks that actually belong in your office you will be able to create a system that works for you.

If you need further advice or information on how to make your office work for you, contact me and I would be pleased to help.