Welcome to The Simplifier, brought to you by…

Contents:

1. A Note From Shawn
2. Our Featured Quote
3. Article: Filing 101
4. Your Simplification Tip
5. In the News
6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com
7. Keep Smiling

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1. A Note From Shawn

The sunshine and Fahrenheit temperatures in the high ‘60s to mid ’70s have enticed me to our local river, the South Yuba, a couple of times in the last week. Watching the water move, sometimes meandering, sometimes rushing, I soaked in the visuals and simple beauty of the flow. A calm clarity settled into my body before it was time to head back to town.

I think I’ll experiment with the Pavlov’s dog method:  every time I go to the river, I’ll invite back that calm clarity. Then, once I’ve been “trained” I’ll merely need to get to the river to induce that experience! Why not? Even if it doesn’t work, I’ll sure have a good time trying.  :-)

With that in mind, I’m issuing a simple homework assignment with this issue: identify a place or situation in which you feel calm, content, and relaxed and make at least three visits in the next week. If this sounds tough, just keep it close to home. Hmmm, or take a well-day. In any case, let it be easy.

Enjoy!

Shawn Tuttle

Head Simplifier
Project Simplify
Co-editor, The Simplifier

 

 

2. Our Featured Quote

“I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.“

-Oscar Wilde

3. Article: Filing 101

By Shawn Tuttle

Imagine water flowing through a river canyon; the water need not stop and wonder if it should go over or around each rock it encounters. It simply goes around or over depending on the path of least resistance as dictated by various laws of physics. 

Bringing this into the office, we want the movement of our activities to be easily flowing. The focus of energies expended should be on the content, the very reason for being in the office in the first place, not on continually monitoring and tweaking the infrastructure.

We get frustrated when we can’t find something we need. Conversely, knowing exactly where something is can be quite exhilarating! Once we are accustomed to easily locating what we need, it fades into the background—filing and finding become an automatic process.

If a brief meditation on the physics of water flowing is not enough practical guidance for your filing woes, maybe this run-down will help you find the path of least resistance through your files. 

Filing cabinets
Have enough filing cabinets in your office to accommodate your active and reference files. Sure it’d be great to not have these bulky items taking up prime office real estate–but is this practical? No!

tip: Leave a quarter of each drawer free for easy maneuvering and room for growth. 

Placement of filing cabinets
Let’s narrow the discussion down to three types of files: active, reference, and archive.

Active should be within arms reach when sitting at your desk.
Reference can be in the same room, though out of arms reach.
Archive files have no place in the office! Get those boxed, label the boxes well, and into storage. Box labels should be easily visible and unambiguous.

Hanging folders
These are a must! They make it easier to label sections and easier to maneuver within the drawer.

tip: Label tabs on the hanging folders provide an opportunity to reflect the overall structure of your filing plus help your eyes find things more quickly. Personally, I put all main subject labels (ex. Marketing) on the far right, and the few sub-subject labels (ex. website) also on the right, but a little closer to the center of the folder.

File folders

Aligned tabs
Should tabs be aligned? I find that file folders with aligned tabs (i.e. all center tabs or all tabs on the right) can be tougher to read. When tabs are all aligned, thin folders tend to hide behind other folders.

Typed or handwritten labels
While typed file folder labels can be visually pleasing (not to mention of great satisfaction to your inner compulsive organizer) I find that in the long run, it is not practical. Say you have a file to create on the fly. Opening up your label template or pulling out the label maker is distracting to your current task at hand. Remember, you want to minimize infrastructure maintenance. If you save up all the file folders that need labels to do them, say, once a month, you are essentially leaving a process in mid-stream. Why add an unnecessary step to the filing process?

OK, ok. Sometimes you absolutely must have printed file labels due to illegible hand writing—and, if you are sharing files with others, the consistency of printed labels might make it worth the effort. In these situations, use a label-maker that is fast and easy, and assign it a station near your filing supplies.

Color coding
To color code or not to color code, ’tis the question of filers world-wide. Color definitely adds to the visual aesthetic of an office. However, the logistics of maintaining this infrastructure can quickly outweigh the benefits.

Observe: You buy a box of colored file folders, more than enough for your filing system overhaul, you think. You plan out how you are going to use each of the five colors that came in the box. You use 2/3 of one color, 1/3 of another color, and oops! ran out of another color. Whether now or in the future, when you run out of the color you are faced with a decision: Use a different color (and compromise the system)? Interrupt your flow to go to the store right now to get more of the color (and does the store sell just that color or do you have to buy another box of 5 colors (4 of which you already have plenty of)? Reality check–we should be simply filing here.

Now, I’m not going to say “No” to colored folders, I use them myself (blue for Project Simplify files). I am advising moderation. This is one area in which it is easy to get lost in the details (pretty color coding), forgetting the bigger picture (minimize time spent on your systems infrastructure.)

tip: When choosing a colored file folder, select one that has a light enough tab that you can easily read ball point writing on the label.

Do I have to file it?
One of the hottest new-tech, anti-filing tools of the new millennium is the combination of the Internet and Search engine. Think about it. Considering how fast the world is changing, what is the likelihood that this interesting piece of info in your hand won’t have been updated a million times by the time you want to reference it? Files from the past can get stale quicker than a fresh baguette! When you are ready for that info, you are more likely to do a comprehensive search online for the latest and greatest.

Another anti-paper filing tech tool is the computer. Wasn’t this the old promise of how we were going to have a paper-less office as personal computers became popularized? From online bills to storing faxes (I use the digital faxing service, eFax.com) to project work that is emailed back and forth between colleagues/clients—most of these can be stored on your hard drive, thus taking up almost no physical space at all!

Two words of caution:
1. Your digital desktop filing system must be logical and intuitive (just like your paper filing system).
2. Your brain is still required to discern whether a document must be saved or not. Countless memory-leeching files and cluttered folders distract from a smooth flow.

Is alphabetical the best way to file?
I recommend a combination of sorting by subject and alphabetically.

Subjects are major projects, responsibilities, and businesses, and… keep it simple. For me, Business, Bookkeeping/General Office (admin oriented), and Personal (my personal interests) suffice.
note: The subjects are to be customized to you. An efficient system is logical and intuitive system in which you know just where to go to deposit or retrieve a file.

Then, file alphabetically within each of those major subjects.

tip: to clump a subset of files, for example, client files or Toastmasters files, I label the file folder:
       Client (in small print) - Jane Doe (in larger print so the scanning eye can read easily)
and file under “C” for Client in the Business section
or
TM - Speeches 
(where TM = Toastmasters)
and file under “T” for Toastmasters in the Personal section.

and finally… filing a la Confederacy of Dunces (novel by John Kennedy Toole)
The protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly, was the best filer the company had ever hired. He plowed through the backlog and then kept the “To file” baskets empty with frightening efficiency. And for Ignatius, if he had to work, this job was easy enough. But he had a secret to his technique: when no one was around, he just dumped the files in the trash. While this strategy does make filing go quickly, it will not benefit you too well when you actually need the info. 

There will be filing cabinets in the office and there will be rocks in the river. They can be in the way, or they can be a part of the landscape, providing interest and assistance as you travel along. It’s up to you.

—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify

4. Your Simplification Tip

File Storage Options

You have many storage devices options for holding your papers.  

On the yes list:

Hanging file storage on wheels roller thingy (the technical term). I use a wire-framed one of these for active project files and I love it! It keeps files off the desk –good whether you like a clear desktop or have a very small desktop. And they often have a shelf and/or drawer for those office supplies that you want easily accessible but that don’t deserve valuable desktop real estate. Being on wheels, I can pull it up next to me for frequent use, or roll it away if I won’t be needing it for a while.

White file boxes for archive files are a rather brilliant idea as well. Since you assemble them yourself, the flattened version stores well until you need it, the white sides make labeling easy to read, they have handles for easy portage, and their strong sides allow them to stack well. (A marker not a writing pen is advised for labeling.)

Just say no to:

Shoe boxes – They are hard to label and don’t easily accommodate 8.5”x11” papers.

At the risk of inciting outrage, I’m also saying no to accordion file boxes. I find them more unwieldy than comfortable. File folders don’t fit in so well and you are stuck with the number of dividers it comes with. If that isn’t enough, labeling the dividers is awkward, or, if not labeling them, the unmarked ones are visually distracting when reading the file folder tabs. There might be a perfect usage for these….. Anyone?

If needing portable storage, how about a file carrying case without the accordion action?

Having the right filing tools can be key to filing right. Take time to assess your different filing needs—most likely, there is a storage solution that will accommodate it well.

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5. In the News

If you know of something in the news that should be featured here, let us know!

Declutter on the cheap (The Journal Times - Racine, WI)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/ytcr4f
A rundown of 10 key steps to declutter your home or office. 

When Less Is More (Yoga Journal)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/26plw2
This ironically-titled article from Yoga Journal stretches over 7 (albeit short) pages. See if you can hold the Lotus position for all 7 pages! ;-)

Cutting Back Without Deprivation (The New York Times)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/yvcfk9 
It’s called the Compact—but it doesn’t require a blood vow or anything…just that you don’t buy new things. Simple enough, right?
NOTE: Free registration required — or use the username “projectsimplify” and password “simplify”.

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

The Best of February 

The Ides of March are upon us…which, oddly enough, means it’s time to feature the best February’s posts on the ‘ol blog.
(How much to do you want to bet that’s the first time the phrases “the Ides of March” and “the ‘ol blog” have been combined in a sentence?)

Here you go:

Will ITOCA replace SMART goals in 2007
It may need a catchier acronym first! ;-)

3rd place in Toastmaster contest
Planning on winning brings benefits even if you don’t win. Onward!

Biz Life, Life Biz
Seeking harmony and resolution between the yin of life and the yang of business.

2-15 workshop a big thumb’s up
Shawn reviews the progression of her Simplify From the Inside Out workshop series.

The Shopping Cart Queen’s password tip
Personally, these days I only take advice about my Internet usage from royalty. If they ain’t on a face card, I don’t want their tips—that’s my rule. Luckily…

Reticulating with the Night Owls
I thought reticulating was when owls cough up those furballs with mouse skeletons in them. That’s not quite right, if we’re to believe this post.

PODS
Transport containers for alien life forms? An innovative way to get around zoning laws? Or just a simpler way to do moving and storage? You decide.

7. Keep Smiling

Apple revolutionizes product unveiling

I am already in line for one of these as I write this…

The Onion: Apple Unveils New Product-Unveiling Product

SAN FRANCISCO—At a highly anticipated media event Tuesday at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs introduced a new Apple product he said would “revolutionize” the process of unveiling new products throughout the world.

“In 1984, Apple introduced the Mac,” Jobs said to an overflowing crowd as an image of the first Macintosh computer was displayed on a giant screen behind him. “We changed the face of the music industry with the first iPod in 2001. And in January, we showed off the revolutionary new iPhone. Today, Apple is releasing a piece of innovative new technology that will forever change the way innovative new technology is released.”

The iLaunch, as the new product is called, was then raised up from below the stage, prompting the audience of technology journalists, developers, and self-professed “Apple fanatics” to burst into a five-minute standing ovation.

Read more…

Article URL: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/apple_unveils_new_product 

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Thanks for reading!

Publication Information
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The Simplifier is published by:
Project Simplify
P.O. Box 597
Nevada City, CA 95959
phone: 530.205.5775
web: www.projectsimplify.com
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