Getting Things Done

It has been a while since my last post - good things happening at work, bought a house, and life has been very busy. Luckily, a conversation with a co-worker reminded me of the importance of "smelling the roses" - in order to grow, one must make time to reflect, and the blog is a perfect medium for outloud thinking and reflection. Reading is another area that suffered - I've been trying to finish Getting Things Done by David Allen for a couple of months now, and I am still only half way through.

That said, the book added immediate and significant value to my life by suggesting a very simple concept: filing. If you are reading this at your desk, chances are you have random papers here and there, and they seem to linger and plant strong roots encouraged by the blueish light of the computer screen. I've had this happening at work to some extent, but the situation was much worse at home, as the amount of paperwork on the loose was balancing between irritating and overwhelming.

The filing approach advocated by Allen rests on the following premise: if something (like a piece of paper) can be dealt with in under 2 minutes, it should be done immediately. Otherwise, it needs to be either thrown away or filed (I am somewhat oversimplifying so read the book to get the complete picture).

The filing system must meet two criteria:

1. Filing is easy and quick. This is accomplished by having your filing cabinet, blank paper folders, and labels within reach so the entire process takes literally seconds.

2. Things you file can be easily found. This is accomplished by sticking to a straightforward alphabetical system.

I already had a filing cabinet and only had to buy a box of folders and labels; in the next day or so a giant, shapeless pile of miscellaneous papers, from bills to post cards, has disappeared into the drawer, purged and organized, and since then finding that fishing license or an expense receipt has been a breeze.

One caveat: I also use Neat Receipts for anything that can be scanned. This brings down the amount of papers to be filed, and Neat Receipts has a pretty good search capability so finding things in it has never been an issue.

Bottom line: get a filing system in place, and you will stop wasting time trying to find an important document. You'll just open your filing cabinet, and it'll be right where you think it is.