I don’t know many women with ADHD who like to file, especially when there is so much to do, and how to file is something I get asked often by my coaching clients, so I thought I would write a blog post about it as a way that I find the least amount of time and stress.
This came at a good time actually, as my file pile has built up over the past few months. This is due to my other projects have been taking up my time. I thought it was about time I did some filing to get back on track so I can find things and so it doesn’t build up again. I shall use my filing techniques to show you the steps you can use to get your filing done.
Step 1 Get All Your Paperwork Together – As I said my paperwork was already in my to file basket so all I had to do was grab it. It is not awful but any means, but I knew that it would take some time to get through it and that is usually what makes people procrastinate and end up doing something else.
Step 2 – Put Into Like Piles – You could spend all day going through each piece of paper you have to file and then decide if you want to keep it or not. This is a waste of time and will not work you don’t have all the information that you need at this step. Instead, you can look at the heading of each piece of paper and make piles of similar things. For example – put everything related to your gas bills in one pile and your bank statements in another. There are three main tips when you are doing this step – a. label each pile so it is easy to see what what is. b. don’t think too much. c. have a pile for shredding and put in it any obvious trash you may find.
Step 3 Double Check Each Pile – When you have finished going through files, you can deal with each smaller pile easier. Go through each pile again if there is something that you don’t need (i.e., if you have two of something like a bank statement) then you will only need to keep the most recent one.
Step 4 – File Your Piles – Now you are real to file your piles. You may or may not have already set up some sort of filing system so I won’t tackle that area of filing today instead we will just talk about getting things filed. Here are some things you can do when filing your piles – use consistent colors for all files, label in separate columns for the different groups, and make sure the most recent items are at the front of each file to keep consistency and it will also make it easier to find the paperwork that you need.
Step 5 Shred – When you are done filing your piles, you should be left with just trash. Shredding old paperwork ensures your identify so having a shredder in your home is a good purchase to invest in. They don’t cost a lot and I advise if you can have it when you open your mail you can shred things easier.