6 Reasons to Archive Your Files

February is National Archive your Files Month - Did you know there was such a thing? Well, with January being National Get Organized Month, why not right? The more awareness there is, the more likely we will actually get to the daunting task of that ___________  (you fill it in) we’ve been putting off for way too long.

It is like putting fires out all over the place, isn’t it? The in-box gets over-run with things that can wait until tomorrow.  The newspapers stack up, the eMails flow into 8 or 9 pages long and just when you may begin tackling your long list of “Do Tomorrow’s”, the unthinkable might happen… the computer crashes & all of those photos you meant to back up are lost forever…

Wait - Don’t let that happen! Let’s stop running from one fire to the other, and reach a more serene approach to managing all of this information.

Shoot for one burning issue a week and turn it into a goal. Is it your over-filled file cabinets? How about the documents you create and save in happenstance areas of your computer? Could it be the 250 eMails you’ve been holding onto just in case? Do you really need to save ALL of those e-zines, newsletters or “classy trash” meant for shredding? (This is one thing I noticed my employee was doing in my boutique –she kept a file with this title that just kept getting bigger and bigger. Pretty soon, I was forced to spend an entire afternoon on her “classy” procrastination - Ahem...). Whatever the case may be, list your goal in your calendar next week and think of a few small things you can do every day to get it done.

If you need a few ideas to get you started, here are some that are on my list:

PAPER

1. If you have a file cabinet or filing system, reach in and grab a handful of at a time.  Skim through to identify anything that can be purged, shredded or passed on. You may want to check with your CPA for advice on retaining your financial records. I have found THIS link helpful with important information on legal documents. 

Decide what can be archived for possible future needs or audits. These files can be slipped into a cardboard box or a nice file-box and tucked away to make room for the more important items you need to keep at your fingertips. Label the box with its contents and write a date that they can be legally purged. If you want to be reminded of this later, schedule it into your phone calendar or use an electronic reminder service – this is a great way to get it out of sight, out of mind, but not completely when it's a few years out.

With the changing times, it is easier than ever to let go of certain paperwork because of electronic files and paperless billing... (This proposes situation #3, below).


2. The In-Box is yet another issue for me which tends to grow before my eyes if I don’t stick to a plan. I try to keep my paperwork manageable by identifying it in three categories:

* Bills / Correspondence – If it’s a bill or pertaining to money, it goes right into my vertical letter box. Mine has two slots, which I use for IN & OUT. I know if there is anything in the IN it needs to be paid, or may be a card that needs to be filled out.  If there’s anything in the OUT it needs to be mailed or deposited.

- Requires Action – These are my “To-Do’s”. Anything that needs me to pick up the phone, fill out or schedule into my day timer.

- Informational – Personal letters, Newsletters, Coupon books, Fliers, Invitations...  Again - anything that can be absorbed, transferred into the day timer and then tossed.

I have given up on the old, flat in/out box system. It just doesn’t work for me. I am visual, and to me the beautiful wicker tray sitting atop my desk just looks like a pile of paper to me so that obviously doesn’t work. What does work is using colorful folders that I keep in a desk drawer – one for the Action, and one for the Information. I look in these two folders every day to make sure I am not overlooking anything, and I try as hard as possible to get all paperwork down to a minimum & transferred into my calendar.

COMPUTER

3. Open up your eMail and click on the pull-down titled “Sort by” at the top. Then choose “From”. This is such a great way to filter out what you really do not need.  Information tends to get lost as the days go by as they slip farther down on the list. This way you can identify certain groupings that you may not realize that you’re holding onto. This happens to me frequently because I have such great information that is sent out to me on a daily basis.  I tend to hold onto them, with good intentions of going back to read but I know if I haven’t read them by the next day I need to consider it old news. I will go on living another day without having every bit of information out there.

The same goes for notifications that you are subscribed to. Take Facebook for an example. There was a time when I was getting over 50 eMails a day from responses and messages from my friends. Now don’t get me wrong – as a complete FB addict, I enjoy knowing when I am being responded to, and reminded that a conversation is in progress.  But I have come to realize that life doesn't stop if I don’t know my friend Brooke has LOL-ed my latest brilliant update. If I happen to see it, I will enthusiastically chime in but it is now time for me to let go of the reigns.

If you find that you are getting way too much informational eMail, don’t feel bad for Unsubscribing. I recently unsubscribed to several newsletters I had been getting for my Boutique, which were valuable to me in the past. Now that I have gone completely online, I no longer need some of this information so I was happy to click on that little link at the bottom and it was one less thing I had to decide whether to keep or not.

4. Computer Documents are another form of filing that tends to get out of hand. What kind of system are you using to keep your documents? Is there a method to the madness? I like to keep my document list as simple as possible, so I identified those necessary evils as I call them – you know the ones that need to be left alone… (Data Sources, Scanned Documents, etc.) and the most useful folders I numbered 1 – 10 with the title behind them.

Because I own two businesses, I keep a Main file for each, then I have a main file for myself & my husband.  One for household information, one for traveling, a file for our sailing information, and then a few other important categories. I look at it as if my computer were a giant binder & within it are the smaller file-folders to hold information.  For an example, under my personal file, I create sub-folders for specific interests (i.e. Writing Projects, Photography...)

You will probably find that once you actually get a system down, you will feel compelled to file the next document where it will easily be found when you need it.

5. Physical photo albums for most are a thing of the past. Digital Photos are taking over our computer memory & filling up way too much space. Since one of my hobbies happens to be photography, I can sometimes upload hundreds of photos a day. I have come to realize how important a catalogue system really is when you have so many memories riding on your computer’s shaky existence. One day they are safely tucked away in your Photos file and the next they may have slipped into a cyber graveyard.

One thing I have found helpful is to join Flickr. Not only can I store my digital copies privately, but I can share certain albums with my friends and family. There are many web based photo storage companies, and many offer free membership with a limited amount of uploads. It may also be helpful to purchase an online back-up plan. This is a necessity for me.

6. Back-up. Enough said! There is no sense in revisiting and re-saving all of these files if you are willing to risk losing it all to a crash. I have learned my lesson – the above story about losing all those digital photos was my bad luck. *Sniff!*

Whatever system you come up with, embrace it for a while and see if it is working for you. If it’s not, get out the fire extinguisher and try something else until you can begin seeing through all of that smoke.