The U.S. Postal Service reported that in 2006, the average household received 29 pieces of mail per week. Sometimes it seems like I get that many pieces a day! In order to prevent the mail from overtaking your home or office, try these tips:
- Have a designated place to put incoming mail until you’re ready to open it. The kitchen counter or table isn’t usually a good idea unless you’d like the mail to accompany your dinner!
- Make time every day to go through the mail. Otherwise you may feel like the postal carrier Newman from the Seinfeld TV show. If possible, try to go through the mail at the same time each day (e.g., right when you bring it in, after dinner, before bed, in the morning, during your commute on public transportation, etc.); this will help make daily processing a habit.
- For each piece of mail, decide what the next action is that you need to take on it, and then do something purposeful to move it along on its journey. Possible actions include disposing of it (throwing it out, recycling it, or shredding it), paying it, making a phone call about it, filing it, or reading it. If you can’t take the appropriate action right away, use Action Notes to remind yourself of what the next action is.
Put this processed mail that still need action into a desktop file holder, project file, or PilesSmart® system sorted according to the required action.
- Schedule time during your week to take the appropriate action on the papers in your action system.
Enjoy knowing that new paper piles are less likely to appear in your home or office because you’ve got a system set up to manage and organize the mail.
Best wishes as you turn those paper piles into smiles,
