Читать книгу Up Against The Clock: How You Can Double Your Time? - Ronald C. Mendlin - Страница 17

As you are plowing through your stack, if you come across memos or letters that require a short to-the-point response, answer them immediately. Don’t even bother putting them in the A pile; just dispatch them right away. It’s usually easier to dash off a reply in the moment when the issue is fresh in your mind than it will be later when you would have to reexamine the document.

If you need more time to formulate a response, then make a few notes to yourself on the document or on an attached note before moving the document. That way, when you get to it later, you’ll have a reminder of what you want to say, and the process will go much quicker.

Put stray business cards immediately into your organizer or take a minute to record the information into your hard-copy or computer address book. Unless you have a system to organize business cards, it’s probably best not to collect business cards.

If it’s not immediately clear what to do with a given piece of paper, try asking yourself the following questions.

Is this something I can take care of right here and now? (If yes: do it).

What would happen if I lost this document? Could I live without it? (If yes: recycle bin).

Do I have this information in another form somewhere else? (If so: recycle bin).

Is this something I’ll need easy access to today or tomorrow? (If not: file).

If I were going on vacation in a few days, what would I do with this document? (Do that).

Make your life easier by getting rid of as much paper as possible including unneeded copies of documents (never make more copies than you need!), outdated reference materials, catalogs you’ll never get around to opening, and general information that doesn’t pertain to your particular job. Send these to be recycled, and then get back to your sorting.