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Organize your work in 2001
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January 10, 2001: 6:38 a.m. ET
Group projects according to task you need to accomplish next, expert says
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Quickly now, before the crush of business duties makes you forget those New Year's resolutions: You were going to get organized to make yourself more productive, remember?
The first thing to do is throw out your old ideas about organizing, suggests Jan Jasper, a New York management consultant and author of "Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information & Technology."
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 TAKING BACK YOUR TIME
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Here are some tips from organizing expert Jan Jasper on tackling clutter to become more more productive at work:
Cleaning off your desk can actually interfere with efficiency. It's far more important to have a good system for getting your work done than it is to have a clean desk.
"Handle each piece of paper only once" is bad advice. But DO make a decision or take an action each time you handle a paper.
Avoid binders: If you don't have time to file, where will you find the time to hole-punch?
Sticky notes are useful planning tools. Used properly, they are a helpful adjunct to your appointment book, and are very useful when mapping out steps toward a goal.
Establish "communication-free times" when you don't answer the phone or respond to e-mail. To be productive, you need times when you can work without interruption.
Filing alphabetically is rarely a good idea. You're better off filing by category or purpose - placing related items together, regardless of where they fall in the alphabet.
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Jasper is less concerned about the proverbial messy desk than about developing the systems that will move you forward through your day's activities.
In particular, she recommends setting up a series of file folders, based not so much on project or client (though you will be doing those, too) but built around the action to be taken next.
Do you need to make a phone call about this? Are you waiting for word back from a call you have already made? You might have a folder with several different projects or clients, but all of them requiring phone conversations. (Then you set aside a block of time to make those calls and work your way through that folder.)
Likewise, if you plan to order something from a catalog but you don't plan to do it till later, stick that paperwork in the folder with your utility bills. A catalog order wouldn't belong with the monthly bills in a conventional filing system, but so what? They call for the same kind of action -- filling out a form and writing a check, she said: "You might as well do it all at once."
As for those catalogs, they may just be contributing to desktop clutter. Especially if you are a regular customer, you will be getting a new copy soon.
"Unless I'm going to order this week, I can go ahead and throw it away, because I'm going to get another one next month," she said.
In fact, you probably can afford to be ruthless about tossing all kinds of paperwork. In today's information economy, your greater risk is of losing the important things you need amidst the clutter. And if you do need some factoid later, chances are you can find it again.
Take advantage of software
One way to cut down on paper clutter is to take advantage of the database capabilities built into modern computer software such as Outlook, Goldmine and Act. Many businesspeople use such programs only to read their e-mail or keep phone numbers, but these packages include powerful information-management features that can boost your personal productivity.
"It really can change your life," Jasper said. "I'm doing a lot more than I ever could before."
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MORE TIPS FROM JAN JASPER
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Decide what NOT to do. Cross low-impact tasks off your to-do list. If you want to fit a new activity into your life, you must first take something out.
As soon as you decide to do a project, think through the steps, then "pencil in" each one in your appointment book. This turns your appointment book into a planning tool, rather than just a place to record daily minutia.
Create "action files" for works in progress. As a backup, note important deadlines in your planner.
Stop making notes on paper - type it into your computer instead. Use your information management software to its fullest.
Leaving a voice mail message is often more efficient than sending an e-mail. Not only is it faster, but recipients who are away from the office will get a voice mail message faster.
Never file a newsletter intact. Note any events you plan to attend in your appointment book, tear out useful articles and file them by topic, then throw away the rest.
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But that also means learning the software. By all means, read the instruction manual. Take a class if you learn better in a structured environment.
The worst thing, she said, is to abandon one software program -- or any organizing system -- and moving on to another without combining the files. "Then you get some records here and you get some records there and you don't get any of the benefits," she warned.
But no system, electronic or paper-based, works on its own. You must stay in touch with your projects, to keep each one moving ahead. Thus, the centerpiece of Jasper's system is your calendar, whether it's a six-ring notebook or an electronic assistant.
That means when you decide to tackle a project, you mark the key dates in the calendar, so you can check on your progress. It also means, when you RSVP an invitation, you write it in your calendar immediately -- so you don't find the invitation months later, buried under a pile of other important papers.
"Another reason I recommend writing things down is because you get a sense for how much of the day is already spoken for," she said. If exercise is one of your New Year's resolutions, then your gym dates deserve to go into the calendar.
That means you also must be ready to drop low-priority projects in order to pursue those with the greater payoff, she added: "You have to know what your high-impact activities are."
So take a deep breath and get started. "If you are buried under a mountain of stuff, you are going to feel like this is impossible," she said. But the payoff will be worth it: "You're going to see a dramatic difference in your life. You'll see some benefit right away if you're consistent. 
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