5 Organization Ideas for 2016

I cannot believe that the first week of 2016 is nearly over! I made a promise to myself (one that I seemingly make every year) but it was that I would finally, finally, finally, follow through on some goals I set. For the first time, however, I realized that I had to do more than write them down and never look at them again. I did write them down, but I also listed steps that would be needed to achieve each of my goals. My first goal: keep my desk in tip-top shape!

I consider myself to be fairly organized. Not only is it a necessity for being an attorney, but it’s also part of my personality. However, I have noticed that the busier I have become, the more papers have piled up and scanning documents on my way to a “paperless” office has decreased. So, I have devised 5 ideas to keep me organized this coming year and beyond:

You celebrated. Now what?

1. Clean off the surface of my desk and sort through the piles. It’s overwhelming seeing paper piled up, but I have found that going through a lot of the papers, most I don’t even need!
2. File the papers I have kept. For those papers that don’t have home, I’ve either created a new one or figured out how to combine it with something else.
3. As soon as papers come in, deal with them! If it has to be thrown away, toss it. If it belongs to a client file and needs to be scanned, scan it and file it away. I will not let my scanning pile up longer than a week. Which leads me to number 4…
4. Pick a time and day of the week for administrative work.  And do it during that time! I have blocked off time in my schedule every week (Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m.) to take care of administrative work. It’s usually a light day and it is nice going into the weekend with a clean desk. It also helps me prepare for Monday mornings!
5. Finally, review my goal list and action steps. See where I am and where I want to be. If something is not working, figure out why and how to change it. Most importantly, don’t lose sight of those goals. If I fall, pick up and start up again right where I left off!

What organizational methods do you use?