In a novel I was reading recently about a Feng Shui detective in Hong Kong, the Feng Shui Master walked into a client's very messy office. There were piles of very dusty papers everywhere. The Master said to the client "There are two types of people. Those who put their papers in files and put the files in cabinets, and those who put their papers into piles." The client asked "Which is better, the one who files or the one who piles?" The Master replied "The one who throws things away."
As a professional organizer, I am always amazed at people's resistance to throwing things away. When most folks have a new piece of paper in their hand they ask themselves "Where should I put this?" I, on the other hand, ask "How can I get rid of this?" Since we have created more written information in the past 30 years then had been created in the previous 5,000 years, we need to think differently about paper. Our goal should not be elaborate, detailed filing systems but instead clean, Zen-like, empty spaces that contain only what we ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NEED.
Of all the things you keep, even if you are very discriminating, studies show you will only refer back to about 5% of them (1 in 20), and that is if you keep ONLY the right things. If you keep everything (like some folks I know) you will only refer back to about.05% or 1 in 2,000. That means you will file, pile or otherwise bury yourself under the 99.95% of things you will NEVER use. We fear the "what if I need it and don't have it" scenario. We never consider the "what if I save it and never use it" scenario. Human beings are amazingly inventive. If you need something you threw away, you'll come up with another solution. Remember, the disorganized aren't really disorganized. What they really are is creative geniuses with a whole lot of stuff in which they see a whole lot of possibilities. My advice is to rely on your creative genius more and the dusty piles of useless stuff less! Remember, if you don't know where something is or you can't find it, it's the same as not having it, isn't it?
Think about it. When you have something new in your hand there are only a very few uses for it. One, it may be something that belongs in a client/project/subject file. If it is, put it there! Two, it may be something you need to do now or later, therefore you either do it now or write in your calendar when you will do it and put the paper where you will find it when you need it. Three, it needs to go to someone else/someplace else, so get it out of here. Or four, and this is by far the largest category, it is TRASH! THROW IT AWAY! No, you won't pick it back up later and read it, not matter HOW interesting it looks. No, you won't maybe need it for something later but you don't know what just now. No you won't get around to taking up that interesting hobby/project/wild hare when you have the time. It is TRASH! THROW IT AWAY!
So, when you first have that new something in your hand ask "How can I get rid of this?" It will keep you from surrounding yourself with 1999 things you'll never use! If you are not saying at least once a week "Darn, I wish I hadn't thrown THAT away" then you aren't throwing enough away!
Become the wise man who is "The one who throws things away."
As a professional organizer, I am always amazed at people's resistance to throwing things away. When most folks have a new piece of paper in their hand they ask themselves "Where should I put this?" I, on the other hand, ask "How can I get rid of this?" Since we have created more written information in the past 30 years then had been created in the previous 5,000 years, we need to think differently about paper. Our goal should not be elaborate, detailed filing systems but instead clean, Zen-like, empty spaces that contain only what we ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NEED.
Of all the things you keep, even if you are very discriminating, studies show you will only refer back to about 5% of them (1 in 20), and that is if you keep ONLY the right things. If you keep everything (like some folks I know) you will only refer back to about.05% or 1 in 2,000. That means you will file, pile or otherwise bury yourself under the 99.95% of things you will NEVER use. We fear the "what if I need it and don't have it" scenario. We never consider the "what if I save it and never use it" scenario. Human beings are amazingly inventive. If you need something you threw away, you'll come up with another solution. Remember, the disorganized aren't really disorganized. What they really are is creative geniuses with a whole lot of stuff in which they see a whole lot of possibilities. My advice is to rely on your creative genius more and the dusty piles of useless stuff less! Remember, if you don't know where something is or you can't find it, it's the same as not having it, isn't it?
Think about it. When you have something new in your hand there are only a very few uses for it. One, it may be something that belongs in a client/project/subject file. If it is, put it there! Two, it may be something you need to do now or later, therefore you either do it now or write in your calendar when you will do it and put the paper where you will find it when you need it. Three, it needs to go to someone else/someplace else, so get it out of here. Or four, and this is by far the largest category, it is TRASH! THROW IT AWAY! No, you won't pick it back up later and read it, not matter HOW interesting it looks. No, you won't maybe need it for something later but you don't know what just now. No you won't get around to taking up that interesting hobby/project/wild hare when you have the time. It is TRASH! THROW IT AWAY!
So, when you first have that new something in your hand ask "How can I get rid of this?" It will keep you from surrounding yourself with 1999 things you'll never use! If you are not saying at least once a week "Darn, I wish I hadn't thrown THAT away" then you aren't throwing enough away!
Become the wise man who is "The one who throws things away."
Liz Davenport is the author of "Order from Chaos: A 6 Step Plan for Organizing Yourself, Your Office & Your Life" published by Random House and available at http://www.OrderFromChaos.com. Liz has been New Mexico's Home-Based Business Advocate of the Year by the SBA. Subscribe to her business blog at http://www.OrganizingSecretsByLiz.com.
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