Organizing the Executive: Create a Reference Library

{Photo Credit: wikipedia.org}

One of the things we organizers are frequently accused of is trying to throw away important items. However, I would like to counter that we organizers want you to have information that you need, readily available, and pertinent to the situation. This is especially true for Executive offices. And one of the most helpful ways to organize that information is by creating a reference library.

Most executives that I have worked with tend to 1) have large amounts of information at their disposal and 2) have very little knowledge of what or where specific items are kept. Most tend to form piles on the floor/desk/cabinet and hope that they will be able to retrieve it when necessary.

Business Filing System

Managing all the information that a small business generates can be overwhelming. And despite the constant push to go paperless, we aren’t at that point in our information structure to be able to go without a way to manage documents.

I’ve seen lots of different paper management techniques (alphabetical, numerical, alpha-numerical, binders, folders, etc). And although each company is unique, I have found that a customized, color-coded, categorical filing system works best for most small businesses.

Here are a few ways that I recommend setting up your filing system…

Record Retention, the first step in paper management

What to keep and what to toss are always a question when organizing, especially when working through papers and documents. Here I discuss the IRS recommendations for record retention and how to implement them in your home.

The Home Office: How to make it work for you

I have talked a lot about organizing the home office because I think it is crucial to have a designated space for managing the home and finances.  In Home Office Organization I focused on the basic steps of organizing a home office, whether in a corner of the kitchen or shared space.

Office Organization

A 2011 survey completed by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics found that the average American spends 8.8 hours a day at work. The office is your home away from home so why not make it an inspiring place to work.

File the Pile!

I love to file! Piles of paperwork sorted and stored in such a way that anyone can find a document, what’s better than that. One of the most common issues I have found in paper management is that the filing system is not maintained, items are put in files but then never looked at again. Below are the steps I recommend for filing success!