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Truth 29. Good Filing Saves Your Time and Your Reputation
Ever spent time looking for an important folder at work? Or
searched frantically through piles of paper for something
you know was there yesterday? People may think of filing as
a small thing: a tedious administrative task that is not the
best use of professional time. On the contrary, filing is
the glue that connects past to present in organizational
life.
Filing is a vehicle that allows you to find information when
you need it. Good filing means creating a framework that
will allow your future self to quickly and efficiently
retrieve what you need. So before you or your assistant set
up a system, stop and ask yourself how you, and others, will
need to use the information in the future. The word “others”
is key, since fellow team members need to understand the
files, as will anyone to whom you later hand over a project.
The absent minded professor who has papers piled to the
ceiling but can still locate anything is a romantic ideal,
fine if you are the only one needing information, but
problematic as soon as others are involved. Those piles on
your desk can also label you a “messy thinker.”
There is no perfect system for filing, so don’t get hung up
on creating one. But good labeling is fundamental, whether
files are on your computer, on your desk or in a cabinet.
Name each folder or sub-folder as soon as you create it. If
you can’t think what to call something, take five seconds to
let the first word you associate with the matter pop into
your mind. This instinctive label will probably be what
occurs to you when you look for that information again. If
someone else does your filing, make sure that you agree on
labels and locations with them, since they may not
automatically think as you do. Finally, when there’s a
connection between electronic and paper files, be sure to
use the same name. It may sound obvious, but it’s amazing
how many people don’t.
In the pre-computer age there were fewer filing options.
Finding things was often more straightforward, but also more
time consuming. The information age has brought us many
different options and tools, from email storage systems to
zip discs, from shared systems on servers to intricate
databases. Once you understand and agree on the use of these
electronic aids, you can have all kinds of information at
your fingertips.
On an everyday basis, make use of the layered folders
available on your computer to classify information, rather
then just dumping it in ‘My Documents’, or on your desktop.
On a more strategic level, seek the advice of IT staff on
how to create an efficient strategy for storing information.
This is particularly vital for archiving: filing for things
that you no longer need every day, but may need to get your
hands on quickly. Technology may allow you, for example, to
archive old documents in a way that doesn’t take up space in
current folders, but that can still be easily accessed via
your computer.
Whatever you do with long-term filing has got to be better
than the old days when paper files were put in storage. Not
only were the files hard to find, they often came to you
after quite a delay covered in dust and mold. |
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