How to Manage Paperwork Efficiently

To make paper flow more efficient use three letter trays. Place them on your desk and label them "IN," "OUT," and "WAITING."

Your IN Tray

Just as your email comes first to your email inbox, and your mail comes first to your mailbox, any papers coming into your office or to your desk should always be placed in your IN tray.

• If you have an assistant teach him to put everything in your IN tray.
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• If you have a mail clerk, make sure he knows all incoming mail goes in the IN tray.
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• Respectfully ask your boss to put anything she may bring you in the IN tray.
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• If other coworkers enter your office with materials, teach them as well.
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• Get in that habit yourself. Your IN tray is where you should put new materials.
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• Resist the urge to lay papers anywhere else; you will end up with more piles.
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• You will sort and process all the stuff later when you work your IN tray.

Your OUT Tray

When you have completed processing a document that you will forward to another person or department, put it in your OUT tray.

• Place items in your OUT tray instead of starting piles on your desk.
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• Save time by delivering multiple documents in one round rather than one at a time.
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• Train your assistant to gather the materials and forward them appropriately.

Your WAITING Tray

Some call this the suspense tray. It is for documents that are not yet complete because you must wait for input or action by someone else. Place these documents in your WAITING tray during the interim.

For instance, in my previous position my monthly mileage report had to be signed by my boss, a VP in San Diego, before I could fax it to the accounting office in Los Angeles.

After faxing the report to my boss I placed it in my WAITING tray. By placing it there I knew I was still waiting for him to approve the report and fax it back.

When I received the approved report, I faxed it westward once more, this time to the accounting office. Again I placed the report in my WAITING tray where it remained until I received my expense check. I then filed the report permanently.

• Your WAITING tray holds all documents that are incomplete because you are waiting on action by someone else.
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• Place the tray on your desk so you can see at a glance if you have anything in waiting.
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• Review any items in your waiting tray a couple of times each day.
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• If you believe a response is overdue, then follow up.
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• When all required actions are complete, simply forward the document or file it.

Work your IN tray at least once per day

Set aside a few moments each day to work your IN tray. If possible, wait until the daily mail delivery so you can open and handle the mail at the same time. (In my article "9 Tips to Make Your Workday Better, Part 2" I suggest that you open you mail as soon after it arrives as possible.)

To start, take the materials out of your IN tray one at a time. There may be similar documents that have been placed in there at different times, so sort everything first. This is the only time you get to make some piles on your desk!

After you've sorted all the stuff from your IN tray, begin taking the needed actions to complete the items.

· For items you don't need or want (e.g., junk mail, sales letters and advertisements, etc.) simply throw them in the trash.

· For those items that should have gone to someone else, make the appropriate notation on the document and place it in your OUT tray for proper forwarding.

· For documents that simply need to be filed, set them aside for now, but file them all immediately after you've handled everything else.

This takes care of all the stuff you can throw away, give away, and file away.

Now all that remains should be items that require some action by you. Take each item one at a time and make a decision as follows:

· If you can complete the item in less than five minutes, then go ahead and do it.

· If the required action will require longer and you don't have the time now, place it aside for the time being. You'll come back to it in moment.

· Continue the process until you've completed all the quick and easy stuff.

· All that should remain are items that will take longer to complete.

Look now at the remaining items and decide if you have the time to begin work on any of them. If so, then continue and complete as many as time allows.

For any items that remain, place them in your tickler file for work at a later time. For good advice on handling these items that require attention in the future, see my article "Just What is a Tickler File?"

Don't put anything back into your IN tray

I know of no one who goes to their mailbox, looks at the mail, and then puts some back in the mailbox, saying "I'll look at this later." Even if you do not plan to open or read your mail now, you take it into the house; you don't just put it back into your mailbox! (You don't do that...do you?)

Likewise, never put anything back in your IN tray. It is not a storage place. It is a mailbox. Follow the steps above until your IN tray is empty, which is the goal each day.

If you fall behind, catch up as soon as possible

Again, the goal is to "work" your IN tray daily. Nothing is more motivating than processing your work and seeing your IN tray empty! However, there are of course days that unforeseen events and emergencies may prevent you from working all items and clearing the tray completely. When that happens, make enough time the next day to process everything, if possible.

A backlog can grow quickly if not addressed in a timely manner. Don't feel guilty about work left over, but get to it as quickly as you can. Be consistent and you'll find that your IN tray is routinely emptied and your work is processed efficiently and effectively.