Bothered by an overabundance of paper and email? This episode is for you. Last week, Shannon and Janine discussed working through backlogs and this week we share some strategies for creating systems so those backlogs don’t come back. Specifically we talk about ideas for email, snail mail and paper in general.
Discussion topics include:
- How having a system allows you to bounce back when stuff piles up during transitions
- That it’s totally normal for systems to fail sometimes
- The more successful your system, the smoother things will go
- Creating systems for email
- Automating systems as much as possible
- Unsubscribing from email lists
- The value of daily attention to email
- Shannon’s strategy for handling her email by ignoring it most of the time
- Freedom Filer, the filing system that changed Shannon’s life
- Being very discerning about the paper you want to keep in your life
- Shannon’s need for a system for storing her cartoons and urban sketch notebooks
- Keeping accessibility top of mind when setting up storage systems
Links:
- Episode 4: Backsliding
- Freedom Filer (this is an affiliate link)
I still don’t have a handle on my email so this was a helpful podcast to me. For the first time in my life, I have got paper conquered…for the most part. I use the FreedomFiler system that Janine recommends, too. I use the folders to process my mail everyday. I confess I do use the “To File” folder, Janine, but only until the end of my session when I move to my big filing cabinet which is a few feet away from my desk . To help me with processing my mail, I now have an Accountability Buddy. I use the FREE Informed Delivery service from the U.S. Post Office. I get an email everyday with an image of each piece of mail. Once I have processed that mail, I forward the email to my buddy with an accounting of what I did with that mail. It keeps me present and on time with my mail so that it doesn’t pile up.