Putting paper in its place

An inspired look at reducing your paper-induced stress

Since the ancient Egyptians began writing on papyrus 5000 years ago, humans have been making decisions about where to store these flimsy pieces of plant pulp.

Fortunately for us in the modern era, paper isn’t as fragile, expensive, or prone to rot as those hammered fronds. But it does mean that we can acquire a lot more of it than the ancients ever did. A ton. Even in our technology-rich world, people still rely heavily on print and paper.

Look on your desk right now and you might find things like mail, bank statements, records, books, checks, correspondence, receipts, printed emails, files, and more. All of it paper. Ra help us!

Paper’s like water

The interesting thing about paper is that it’s a lot like water. If there’s a clear direction, it will end up where it needs to go with a minimum of fuss. It will “go with the flow.”

When the direction of the flow of paper isn’t defined, it will pool up in unexpected places and in undesirable volumes. When life gets crazy and when you put off handling mail for a while, it can become a tsunami-like wall of paper.

Today, we’ll hone in on the kind of paper that comes to you unbidden: mail.

What’s in your mail?

Simply put, mail is made up of containers (envelopes, boxes) and contents (everything inside them). But it’s not that simple. It can include postcards, newsletters, coupons, fliers, catalogs, and more. It gets sent to you equally by people you want to hear from and people you don’t.

Some mail requires action: urgent, moderately urgent, not urgent at all. Mail comes from someone who wants you to respond in some way. As if you don’t have enough to do.

This may be obvious, but because there are so many choices to make about all this mail it’s often easier to deposit it in one location and close the door.

Where does it come from?

Come rain or snow or storm of night, the stuff I get in my mailbox arrives every day at about 10am. When we first moved into our house a year ago, we had no system. So the mail piled up. Our personal mail, business mail, stuff for the previous tenants. Everything. It was a mess.

At a spot in the kitchen where everything was landing already anyway, I set up a mini-mailbox. There, we divided the mail by who it was addressed to.

Now, it’s my daily routine to pick up my mail and sort it at the mini-box. I open everything immediately and discard of all the things I don’t want: envelopes, inserts, credit card offers, etc. I have plans to put a recycle bin and a shredder nearby, so all that’s left over will be the items that need action.

Where does it go?

Deciding where to put things once they come into your life is a personal decision that is unique to you.

To discover what works best for you, watch how you obtain your mail and observe the path it travels from the mailbox to your desk. Over time, you will begin to notice where it pools up and stagnates.

Where do you put it?

Where things accumulate, you need a way to remind yourself to take the next action step.

If, for example, that piece of mail is a bill, where would you like to put it so that you remember to pay it? If it’s a conference registration form, where will it live so you remember to take the next step (like filling it out or checking your budget)?

Everyone does it differently according to their own preferences. I have one client who uses a vertical file folder system with a file for bills and a file for receipts to enter into her bookkeeping software. I like to file it out of sight after putting a task in my organizing software.

What would work for you? Follow these steps to find out.

Things to try

1. Notice where your paper comes from

For a few days, bring a heightened awareness to the myriad sources of mail and paper in your workspace. You don’t need to fix or change anything, just notice with curiosity the places it all comes from.

2. Stem the tide

You may see after a few days that there are ways to reduce the volume of mail and paper.

When I noticed the number of catalogs we were getting, I called each business and requested to be removed from their mailing list. This may sound tedious, but the volume of mail decreased dramatically within a month – so there was less to sort.

When you start reducing the volume you have to deal with, it’s a profound way to care for yourself and nurture your business.

3. Think about where you want the things you need.

Look carefully at what kinds of things accumulate and notice what you need and trust the answers that come up for you. Often simple solutions are the most effective.