Life Changes and Controlling Clutter

My interest in de-cluttering was sparked by a losing battle to stay afloat while going through significant change in my life. I watched my organizational capacity plummet, just when I needed it most. In searching for a way out, I discovered that I wasn’t alone—that transitions can turn into organizational nightmares and, when they do, clutter builds.
Whether an unwanted divorce or a long-awaited merger, change brings with it added demands. The time needed to manage change, itself, must come from somewhere. Often there’s simply not enough time to stay organized. So clutter increases. And productivity drops.
In my experience, one of the keys to reversing this downward spiral was implementing simple systems for filing and retrieving paper and electronic files. By dramatically reducing my search time (which on average is 150 hours per year, or about a month of time on the job), I had more time to address the added demands of change.
Here are the tools that helped most:
1) Paper Tiger Software (www.thepapertiger.com). In my view, no paper filing system comes close to this one. Before using it, filing was nothing short of daunting. Now I can file an entire stack in a few minutes—so I actually get it done. More importantly, I literally can “find anything in five seconds or less”, true to the software’s tagline.
2) Easyreach software. With its “find” function (available as a free download at easyreach.com), simultaneously search email, Outlook, Word, Excel and virtually every other program on your computer.
3) Swiftfile. A tool for managing the endless list of tasks also is a must. To-do lists work for some but not most. With Swiftfile each task is noted on a separate piece of paper and assigned a date for completion. If it’s not done on that date, it’s assigned another. No more half-completed lists. The trick is to keep the Swiftfile system in view at all times. This desktop file holder is a good option for Swiftile.
Assessing and upgrading your scheduling and organizing systems takes extra time in the short-run but ultimately will save you far more. Seize the opportunity. Allow the demands of change to be your catalyst for increasing your efficiency, productivity and enjoyment in life.