In following up on a WordPress tips link, I came across something that could be very useful to me in an entirely different realm:
Beat Your Filing Cabinet into Shape with a Filing System Workflow
Whether your filing system has gotten away from you or it was never really under control to begin with, you can use our handy guide to beat it back into shape.
Many people have a filing system that is largely accidental. At some point they had more papers than they could store effectively on their desk so they started squirreling them away in cabinets, drawers, and so on. In other cases you inherit a filing system, like with a new job, and an office packed with paperwork.
What can you do to tame your file cabinet and make it a useful storage and reference tool instead of a paper orphanage? You need a filing system workflow. A filing system workflow is a road map for papers to follow as they navigate through your office. We can’t provide an exact road map for you, but by answering some of the questions below and assessing your home and office needs you’ll be able to construct an effective filing system workflow of your own.
Make an Assessment: What do you want from your filing system and what does your filing system need to provide? Whether looking at your personal file cabinet in your home office or a bank of cabinets in your traditional office, before you do anything with your file system you need to hammer out what exactly it is that you want from the system and why you’re displeased with its current state enough to be reading a guide to beating it into shape.
There’s much more to the article (of course), so you’ll just have to go to it if it seems you need it.
At the top of this post I intimated I really needed it. Well, look at these photos and you be the judge:
So…what do you see that interests you?
And do you think I need to belong to Nonfilers Anonymous?