8 steps to conquer your paper

8 steps to conquer your paper
By Marcia Francois, 2007

Remember a few years ago when we all got excited about a paperless society? Well, I don’t know about you but I seem to have more paper now than ever before.

But where does it all come from? Mail, magazines, newspapers, printed emails (I don’t do this but I know there are lots of you who do), birthday cards, takeaway menus, brochures, notes from school teachers, e-books, and the list goes on and on.

If you don’t have a system, you are going to get overwhelmed. And you know what happens when you become overwhelmed? You don’t do anything and things get worse.

Here are my steps to organise your paper:

1. Start by throwing away as much as possible
Paper should earn the right to be in your life. Don’t just hoard everything. Before you hit PRINT, ask yourself if you really need to print it.

Tip – if you’re in the habit of just printing everything, then put a post-it note on your computer to remind you to STOP AND THINK BEFORE PRINTING.

2. Decide what needs to be stored near and what can be stored further away
Items that you use on a daily basis should be stored near you while those you use less often should be kept further away.

My Household Organising File is literally at my fingertips while my old tax returns are filed at the back of my filing cabinet. See?

3. Determine your organising style
If you’re a visual person, you might need your accounts visible until you’ve paid them but if you like the minimalist look AND you will remember to pay it, you could file it away. If you work with your style instead of against it, you will be much happier and you’re more likely to keep up with the system.

I write the due date in my planner and file the account in a temporary place until paid, and then permanently file it. Until decluttering time, that is!

Tip – Go to http://www.letstalkorganizing.com/ebooks.html for a great resource on organizing your home office. I've read it and it is fabulous!

4. Decide on a home for each type of paper so you’ll know exactly where to find it later
You should have a system so that everybody in your family knows how to find any documents.

Magazines go in the lounge until the next one arrives, newspapers (once read) go in the recycling bag, children’s artwork goes in their scrapbook, all financial documents go in the study, etc.

5. Sort into categories – first broad and then narrow
File so that YOU can find it. It’s no use filing by name if you think by category.

For example, I remember by category, like coaching, organising, writing, etc. So I don’t have folders that say Jenny, Susan, Lisa. If I’m coaching Jenny, her emails go under coaching. Susan is a personal friend so her emails go under personal. Lisa and I are working on a joint venture so her emails go under… joint venture. That’s it :-)

6. Then do the actual filing
This can be fun if you play to your personality.

I like bright colours and nice, clear dividers and pretty files. It does help to have cute files so you're more likely to keep up your system. Let’s face it – would you rather file documents in boring, grey files that are falling apart or in lovely, colour-coded files? Of course you’d rather have the beautiful files.

Make sure you label clearly and keep your system simple. If you decide to change the categories, you don’t want to have to buy whole sets of stationery.

7. Maintain
This is the most important part of any organising project.

You have to set aside some time every week to get the paper under control.

Schedule 15 – 30 minutes every week for filing and throwing away newspapers, magazines and notes from school. If you run a business from home, I’d suggest that you schedule 15 minutes a day.

Remember the old saying, a stitch in time saves nine. This is so true for paper. Ignore the paper for a month and see how it takes you hours to sort out.

8. Control the clutter
If you are serious about getting a handle on the paper in your life, put some personal rules into place. For example, each child gets a clean pizza box for all their art every year. When that box is too full, they have to go through it and decide which to keep and which to toss.

I have a memory box for all love letters, birthday cards, anniversary cards, notes and so on. When it starts getting too full, I go through it and see what I can declutter. It’s amazing how each time you look though it (every couple of years), it is easier to decide on what’s most important to you at that point in your life.


As with everything else in life, it is always more work setting something up than maintaining it. It will probably take you a couple of hours to do steps 1 to 6, and then 15 minutes a week for steps 7 and 8.

You will save time by not looking for things and money on interest charges from missing invoices and by not buying duplicate items.

(C) Marcia Francois
Marcia Francois is a personal life coach and professional organiser who teaches busy people how to have more time, less stress and a more organised and fulfilled life. Visit http://takechargesolutions.org/ for your free Organise your Home e-book and other helpful tips.

take time for your self

Take time for self-care
By Marcia Francois, 2003-2007
First published 2003

I've been battling quite a bit with time management since the middle of February and have only just come to grips with my time a bit better. It seems like I'm not the only one though!

Many people have recently said to me that they're feeling quite tired and burnt out, very busy but not accomplishing much. I call it "doing the hamster thing". You know what it is that they do - they run around on those little wheels in their cages, going nowhere fast. And that’s not a very pleasant feeling. Trust me – I know!

I really believe that in order to manage your time better, you need to decide what's important to you and what's not. If you don't decide, you can be sure that other people will decide for you.

If something is important to you, you will make time for it. I used to say things like, "I don't have enough time for exercise because I get home from work too late." One day I realised that that's absolute nonsense. Obviously I was making work a higher priority than having a fit and healthy body. It's as simple as that. Hmmm…

So this month I want you to take time to focus on yourself. I can just hear all the busy mothers out there saying things like, "but my children need me." Listen, it's not a selfish thing to do - instead, it only makes you a better person. I'm also very driven and have hundreds of things on the go so I do know what it's like. But you can’t give what you don’t have.

There are seven areas to everyone's life - spiritual, work, financial, family, friends, health/physical and personal. We constantly give and give and because we all lead such busy lives, it's very easy for that last section to slip. Hopefully that will be changing soon.

This year I decided that because my personal development is extremely important to me, I need to start scheduling time just for me. What I've been doing is scheduling two nights every month to focus on me. If I find interesting worksheets, quizzes or e-books on the internet, I print them and do or read them in this self-time too. I don't know about you but sometimes I read a book and at the time I'm too lazy to fetch some paper and do the exercises. Now I note them down and do all these exercises during my self-care time.

my favourite type of self-care!

You can enjoy your time pampering yourself with a lovely bubble bath, paint your toenails or read a favourite book. Or buy a favourite magazine and read it over some coffee and cake at a quiet coffee shop. Or book yourself on a workshop. I do regular talks and workshops and while I love it, I do enjoy receiving now and again. So every year, I attend at least two workshops.

For all the unstructured people out there, you're probably thinking, "where's the spontaneity?" I'll do a Dr Phil and ask you this, "how's the spontaneity been working for you?" I also tried the spontaneity thing and I never seemed to get around to things that were important to me!

I've really found this time of self-care very useful and I know that you will too. You'll be able to really think about what's working for you and what's not. I suggest that you buy a pretty notebook, and write it all down. There's something very special about committing things to paper instead of having it all milling around in your head.

My sister calls her personal time "Shelley time". Repeat three times: It's not a sin to have (insert own name here) _____________ time. Very good!

Download the worksheet but more importantly, take some action. You are so very worth it!

(c) Marcia Francois
Marcia Francois is a personal life coach and professional organiser who teaches busy people how to have more time, less stress and a more organised and fulfilled life. Visit http://takechargesolutions.org/ for your free Organise your Home e-book and other helpful tips.

Enjoying your holidays

Marcia's monthly motivational message - Enjoying your holidays
Remember to download your holiday survival guide

When we think about the Festive Season, some people look forward to it and some people don't.

Just in chatting to some friends the last couple of weeks, I get mixed reactions like this: I never go away during December because there's no traffic in Jhb, and then… I hate being in Jhb during December because the rest of the country's up here and there's no parking. Some people plan everything around family time, and some purposely want to be away from family. Different strokes for different folks? I suppose so.

The one thing in common is that people have definite ideas about what they want and don't want. This is great. However, you need to plan around that instead of just stressing about your expectations not being met.

So, the first action step is to decide, as a family, what is most important to you. Do you want to do cards and gifts, do lots of church activities, volunteer at a children's home or spend time with friends and family?

Choose a couple and then plan around your common goals. It might also be a good idea to write these on your refrigerator so you're constantly reminded of what's most important.

Here are some points to help you plan the holidays:

family
1. Who do you want to spend time with?
2. Are you buying gifts for everybody or will you each draw a name? I know somebody whose family only exchanges gifts with the people they're together with on Christmas Day.
3. Resolve not to get into an argument with your relatives about stupid things. Remember they know how to push your buttons!

food
1. When you cook, cook double and freeze the extra portion. On the days when you don't feel like cooking, you can just pull the meal out the freezer and defrost.
2. Make extra cookie dough and freeze. You can then easily defrost and bake when you get visitors.
3. Don't feel like you must do everything. You're not Superwoman. Say yes when people ask if they can bring something and tell them exactly what to bring.

fun
1. You don't have to attend every social event you're invited to. It's okay to say no.
2. Eat something small (sandwich) before you go out so that you don't overeat and make bad choices. This is especially true if you're on a weight loss journey like I am. Choose tomato-based sauces instead of the fattier, creamy options. Halve your portion immediately and ask for a doggie bag. Those of you in South Africa can spread some Christmas cheer and give your doggie bag to a homeless person or to the car guard.
3. If you're at a party and you're drinking, remember to drink lots of water.

figures (money)
1. Don't go overboard with the money. Buy now, pay later results in lots of stress in the New Year.
2. Decide on a budget for all gifts and stick to it. If you run out, get creative and make something (babysitting vouchers, a casserole, some baked goodies, home spa/ massage vouchers).
3. Put aside some money for the time leading up to your January salary. In SA, there is usually a six-week gap between the Dec and Jan salaries. We've done this in my family for the last seven or eight years so that we always have money in January. It takes a bit of discipline but is so worth it when there are 3 weeks before pay day and you have plenty of money in your bank account.

Well, I hope these points gave you something to think about.

Here's to a meaningful holiday season! Always remember that the reason for the season is our Saviour's birth.

Do you want to use this article? You may, as long as you include this complete bio with it:
Marcia Francois, the Take Charge coach and professional organiser, coaches people to reach their goals and maximise their potential. She publishes the popular “Take charge of your life” monthly ezine. If you're ready to finally live your dream life, get your FREE subscription now at http://www.takechargesolutions.org/