Variations on the Alphabetical Filing System
Posted by admin | Filed under Alphabetical Filing Tips
There may be instances when a strict alphabetical system makes it more difficult for you to locate files. In these cases, you may want to adjust the system to meet your needs.
Grouping Like Files Together
In my home filing system, I have a drawer designated for bills, company correspondence, retirement accounts and insurance. Behind each of these major categories are related files ordered alphabetically.
To mix these in the strict alphabetical files would be counterproductive and increase the time it takes for me to retrieve them. A great rule to follow is if it takes you longer than 30 seconds to file a piece of paper or retrieve a piece of paper from your filing system, you should adjust your system.
A Multi-tiered Approach
There may be times when you need to make decisions based on your available filing cabinet space. When assessing my space in relationship to my business files, I knew that I only had three drawers left and not enough files or space to dedicate to my business files. I decided to take a tiered approach and stagger my files.
My business name is Door 41 Solutions.
So, as described in the instructions for setting up the alphabetical filing system, I had
- Label “D” in the far left slot
- Label “Door 41 Solutions” in the next set of slots
I then used the next set of slots to align labels for the sub-files for my business:
- Active Clients
- Prospects
- Business Ideas
This way, I can visually see the relationship of these files to the main category “Door 41 Solutions” within the alphabetical filing system. So far, it’s working wonderfully!
Why Alphabetical Filing Works
Posted by admin | Filed under Alphabetical Filing Theory
Think about it…one of the first lessons we learned as children was how to say our ABC’s.
As we grew older, if we had to organize something, the first thing we thought of was to put it in alphabetical older.
Look at a few of the examples in our everyday world that use alphabetical filing:
- Phone numbers in our address book and phone
- The yellow pages
- The default order of files on our computer
- The order of vitamins in stores
- The order of CDs and videos in stores
- Books in a bookstore – in alphabetical order by author
These examples are all around us and it makes sense to build on what we already do and know and what works.
Try out the system and I’m srue you’ll be successful in your goal to get organized!
Maintaining Your Alphabetical Filing System
Posted by admin | Filed under Alphabetical Filing Tips
Once you have your alphabetical filing system set up, they key is to maintain it. Here are some tips to keep your system in tip top shape and the good thing is that you never have to worry about your base (ABC) system changing.
Maintaining Your Alphabetical Paper Filing System
- As soon as you realize you have a new project, client or research subject, put the paper in a manila folder and label it. If you don’t get around to making the label for the hanging file folder, you’ll still have an organized system.
- Don’t use your physical folders as reminders of what projects you are working on or have pending. Make a list and keep it on your desk. A list causes a lot less anxiety than a pile of folders…believe me.
- At the end of each day, put all of your folders back in their home (the hanging file folder).
- Once a week, take a moment to create any hanging file folders that you need and place your manila folders in their new home.
Maintaining Your Electronic Alphabetical Filing System
- Avoid the urge to save files on your desktop and get into the habit of saving the files in the correct folder. This may take a few months because you’ve probably been in the habit of saving everything to the desktop so you can find it quickly. Unfortunately, I guarantee that this strategy backfired.
- If you do slip and save a few files on your desktop, make a folder on your desktop named “File” and move everything in there. That way you can open your “My Documents” folder and the “File” folder and move things quickly to their proper home.
- Create new folders as you need to. You can do this as you save a file so you don’t have to take an extra time.
Following these tips should help quite a bit in maintaining your alphabetical filing system for your paper and your electronic files.
