Using the notes section of the program to track information you can use to build relationships, and to trigger important decision dates, can be the difference between booking and not booking. A Rolodex can be a very valuable organizing tool. Use it to keep track of services such as computer repair, graphics, etc., as well as quick access to frequently contacted clients and colleagues.
In addition, you can use it as a mini-filing system. A tidbit of information too small for a traditional file -- for example, a note from an e-mail newsletter about what color print brings the best sales. When you want to file something in your Rolodex, ask yourself, if I wanted this information again, what word would I think of first?"
4. Create a paper filing system that works easily and consistently! If your filing system is not working, ignore it and start over! It is unnecessarily depressing and time consuming to spend time organizing information you are not using. It is much easier to start over than to try and fix it. Clean out your most accessible file space, and put those files into less accessible space if you are not comfortable throwing them. Begin your new system, and as you need information from the old files, incorporate it into the new system.
File information according to how you will use it, not where you got it. For example, file seminar handouts you received at an NSA convention under the topic of the seminar. To determine where to file a piece of paper, ask yourself: If I need this again, what word will I think of? The answer to that question is the file title. Arrange the files alphabetically. The key to the continuing success of your filing system is a File Index -- a list of your file titles. Use your File Index to determine where to file a piece of paper just as you would use a chart of accounts to determine which account to charge an expense. Keep a copy near the filing cabinets and see that co-workers have a copy.
It is easier to locate where a paper might be located by quickly scanning the File Index than by thumbing through drawers of files -- and possibly missing the very one you needed. The File Index not only helps you locate a particular document, but will avoid creating a file for "Car" when you already have "Auto." Remember to keep it an active document. Handwrite changes as you add or delete files, and print out new copies as necessary.
5. Manage your paper on the road as well as you do in the office. Every piece of paper you collect on the road can be divided into three categories: toss, file or act. Play a game with yourself to see how much you can get in the wastebasket before you get back to the office!
Carry file folders labeled by specific action. For example, "Act" is for papers, which require action when you return. Note in the upper right hand corner the specific action you want to take. A "Call" file makes it easy to use the 15 minutes before a flight to make one or two quick calls. "Discuss- (your assistant) contains papers she can handle. Finally, be sure to include one labeled "File" -- with a copy of your File Index. As you get papers along the way that you want to file, check the File Index for the keyword, write it in the upper right hand corner. When you return, filing will be easy. (Consider hiring your 10-year- old!)
So, you want to get organized? "Where do you start?" A good place in most offices is a "File Clean-Out Day" with all the members of your staff. Get plenty of trash bags, wear comfortable clothes, and order pizza. People often ask me, "How long will it take to get organized?" It doesn't matter -- just start somewhere! The longer you wait, the more time it will take, and the more difficult it will be. And remember, human behavior is not like a
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