Letters, magazines, bills, flyers, what to do with them all. There should be only two responses to every piece of mail or e-mail, do something with it, or toss it!
The best way, as always, to deal with it all is in an organized fashion.
One of the quickest ways to do this is to have the following folders:
A red one for things that must be dealt with immediately. This would include anything that needs an immediate response, something that has to be done today. A letter you must respond to, a meeting you have to schedule, a report you need to do, a telephone call that needs to be made. Within this folder you will need to prioritize what needs to be handled first, second, etc.
Bills that come in and need to be paid should be placed in your tickler file a couple days before their due date to account for mailing time. So as you are opening your bills that come in the mail, check the due date and place them in your tickler file. If it has to be paid upon receipt, put it in the red folder so you can deal with it immediately.
Meetings (flyers) that have to be attended are placed in a gray folder. Be sure to check the dates, highlight them. Your next step is to be sure to place them on your calendar, and then to tickle them two days before for your review or if there is anything you need to do or prepare for the meeting.
If you receive meeting highlights or minutes by mail, these can be placed in a yellow folder for your perusal at a later date. These are the types of things that can be read during lunch, or while backing up files, printing, etc.
Magazines and articles you receive can be placed in a black folder. This is your reading folder. Take it with you when you go on appointments that you know you will have some lag time. Read during lunch. Schedule time in the morning and weekends. If you make reading a part of your daily schedule, it won't pile up. And remember, once you read it, file it away, or toss it.
Every piece of paper should generate a reaction, the reaction might be to deal with it, file it, or toss it, but one of them needs to occur. If you follow this simple rule, you can keep mail and paperwork under control, and your sanity to boot.
Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2000
Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com
If you feel like your life moves faster than a... Read More
"You will never find time for anything. You must make... Read More
Vilfredo Pareto's Principle, or The "Pareto Principle," is more commonly... Read More
The concept of Mercury Retrograde is very well known even... Read More
If you have spent any time at all working at... Read More
There is no such thing as time management. You cannot... Read More
"Slaves to the clock" was the cover story in the... Read More
?busy, busy, busy, busy, busy?busy, busy, bus? OK, slap me... Read More
In most organizations, meetings are often the biggest time-wasters. With... Read More
Choose to be HappyHappiness is a choice. You can choose... Read More
A new client recently admitted to me sheepishly that she... Read More
One of the tried and true organization and time-management tools... Read More
Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More
As a professional organizer, consultant and trainer, I have come... Read More
"I never seem to have any time for myself. What... Read More
Our daily lives are inundated with a crammed to-do list.... Read More
Microsoft wanted to know how individuals around the world were... Read More
Number Yourself: Count yourself as an important individual. You are... Read More
Where does your time go? We all know we are... Read More
Time and money are both very important in business. Yet,... Read More
We live in a world where more is expected of... Read More
What keeping time really means is...being on time!You know, there... Read More
If you can motivate yourself at will to get any... Read More
You can lose, damage or waste some things in life,... Read More
According to a Miller Heiman 2003 Sales Effectiveness Study, over... Read More
house cleaning company Glencoe .."Can you find four extra hours in your day?" a... Read More
Do you believe that the best way to deal with... Read More
1. Do tasks less frequentlyClean house every 10 days rather... Read More
From Potential to PerformanceOne of the great things about life... Read More
So What Then Is The Opposite Of Procrastination? Urgency is... Read More
OK...let's assume that you're truly motivated to change. Great. But... Read More
Many people want to be coached to manage their time... Read More
If you operate any kind of home business, you must... Read More
I would like to touch upon a subject that it... Read More
As a business owner, wouldn't it be great if you... Read More
Time and money are both very important in business. Yet,... Read More
One of the most common complaints that small business owners... Read More
"Time is what we need the most and what we... Read More
When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More
How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More
What would you say to me if I told you... Read More
Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More
If you feel like your life moves faster than a... Read More
When you decide to become self-employed, you automatically become the... Read More
?busy, busy, busy, busy, busy?busy, busy, bus? OK, slap me... Read More
I am an ordinary man - A middle class high... Read More
Hey - Did someone press the FFW button?Have you ever... Read More
Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time... Read More
At Home? Keep related items together, for example the coffee... Read More
Are you too busy to put yourself first? If a... Read More
Time Management |