This article was originally posted in The Simplifier #57.

Article: Turning On the Easy Access Station

By Shawn Tuttle

Just think if all of your dishes, pots, pans, utensils, plates, and mixing bowls were spread all over the counter. You’d come in the kitchen for a bite to eat and hunt around for a fork. You just saw one over here earlier…where is it now? Not too practical, and hopefully, not too common. More likely, all of your kitchen things have designated places. You know where to put them when they’re clean, and you know where to go when you need something. It’s easy, right? (“Yes!”)

Shouldn’t it be that easy to deal with all the papers in your office? This one goes here, this one there… Then when you need one again, you know just where to look. It’s easy, right? Hmmm, I’m not hearing the same enthusiastic “Yes” on this one. While the physical shape of bowls and plates makes sorting in the kitchen easy, the nondescript nature of a piece of paper requires you to engage analytical skills to figure out where it should go.

We talked about dealing with incoming stuff in The Inbox Zapper. What this doesn’t address are the files and papers that end up scattered on your desk during the course of the day.

Many set up a file rack on their desk or put files in their desk drawer for quick access. Great idea for facilitating your work flow. However, my experience with clients’ offices is that these file areas have long ceased to be useful. Usually, they end up as a catch-all, with the files ending up there out of convenience, rather than intention.

Let’s reclaim a file space that’s within easy reach of your desk chair, establish its parameters, and set it up to serve you well. I call this the Easy Access Station.

Benefits
How does the Easy Access Station make your life simpler? It stores like things together for quick location and access. Because it’s so easy to get and retrieve files, it’s a cinch to keep your workspace clear and thereby focus on the project or task at hand. (And it’s that much easier to leave yourself with a clean desk for the next morning!)

Here’s how to set up an Easy Access Station:

1. Determine what to include.
   Which files are you currently using on a regular basis? Customized for your situation, they may include:
   - Current Project files for projects that you are actively working on. By active I mean this or next week, not sometime this month. You may have several files for large projects. Only keep the one/s you are actively using in the Station.

   - Cycling files capture repetitive or “cycling” information that you deal with all the time. These might include: 1-to-1 files (for a specific person), Bills to Pay, Bookkeeping to Enter (or give to bookkeeper), Upcoming Event Info, Receivables, Contacts to Enter, Pending, and/or a Someday/Maybe file for ideas you are considering but haven’t committed to doing yet. I also have a Movies file where I drop names of movies that people recommend or that I read about and want to see.
   (Note: Some of your cycling files could be digitized. No reason that you couldn’t have a movies list in a notepad, Word doc or spreadsheet. However, I like the ease of the hardcopy file because, for example, I’m dropping things in from the newspaper.)

   - Empty file folders for quick-grab access as you go through your inbox. Your newly-made file folders probably get filed in your main filing cabinet, not in the Easy Access Station, but you want the empties easy to reach.

   - Reference binder holds information that stores well on a single pieces of paper. Usernames and passwords, packing list, phone lists, travel log, etc.
   If scraps of paper and Post-its are the bugaboos of your workspace, then you’ll want to focus on the cycling files and reference binder.
   

2. Choose placement and container. 
   In the Organizing By Zones article, I talked about Zone 1 being the desktop and Zone 2 being within arms reach of your desk (and not on your desktop). You may ask, “I use these files daily, so why not put them in Zone 1 on my desktop?” You could–it depends on your situation.
   The important factor is that they are physically easy to access. Opening a door, drawer or lid, adds an extra hurdle to easy access. If you have a desk drawer, it must be really easy to open and close! If it isn’t, use that drawer for other storage and find another solution. Also, files should have room to breathe in their space, and not be difficult to pull out or put back in.
   Other factors to consider: How much free space is on your desktop? How much of an open-space feel do you want on your desktop? How much spreading out do you like to do? Do you have room for a file cart on wheels? Do you have a floor that a file cart would roll on? Would your workspace benefit from the extra drawer or shelf that comes with many file carts?
   

3. Label sections for easy finding. 
   Labeling also serves as a reminder that only these types of files are allowed here. The three recommended sections could be called: Current Projects, Cycling files, & Empty files.
   

4. Nurture the integrity of your Easy Access Station.
   Take a quick scan once a week for projects that are no longer current for you. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the project is completely done. What it means is that you won’t be working on it for a few weeks or that it’s out of your hands. Remove these files from your Easy Access files and, if they need to be kept, store them in their proper place in your filing cabinet.

Aside from selecting and purchasing your file container, setting up your Easy Access Station can be done fairly quickly. (Just remember to actually use it once you get it set up!)

Most people agree that working at a clean desk feels better than working at a desk cluttered with papers and files. The Easy Access Station makes switching between projects easier because your current files are within arms reach. It also provides a home for the somewhat random information that tends to clutter your desk. Having less on your desk makes it easier to focus on the task or project at hand. So set up your station, monitor it weekly to keep it current, and enjoy your clutter-free desk!

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Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.