5 creative ways to organise your files

On a scale of 1-10, how organised is your desk right now?

Often, with several meetings taking place, signing and storing documents, data capturing and completing tasks in a week, one can easily be overwhelmed. When you’ve got a lot on your plate, you may discover that you still need to catch up on last week’s filing because you just didn’t get time to do so.

Here are a few great tips to help you organise your files better

Place high priority files first

If you have a demanding job that requires you to meet daily or weekly deadlines, chances are, you may miss a few important items if they are not documented properly. Prioritise all your tasks based on what is urgent and important – this should be placed right at the top. Underneath this, file items that are not urgent but are important to do. Thereafter, file them based on what is not urgent, and not that important to prioritise as yet – especially if the due date is further away. Use a combox, preferably different colours, and file them based on what is high, medium and low priority.

File alphabetically

If you have several clients or brands you are working on, a great way to find documents relating to them, would be if you filed them in ascending order, based on their respective names. This will make retrieving hardcopies easier. When filing electronically, your best and safest bet would be to have an effective document management system in place to safeguard and keep track of your files wherever you are in the country.

Create shortcuts

If you regularly work within a folder, the last thing you need is to constantly click to find the folder, especially if they’re hidden in several other folders. Instead, create a shortcut to the desired folder on your desktop so that your files are accessed in one click.

Organise based on due dates

Similar to filing according to what is urgent and important, it would be helpful to file items such as invoices and outstanding payments based on their due dates. Ensuring payments are made on time is vital, therefore, if there is a scheduled payment coming up in a day or two, it’s best to place that at the top of the pile.

Create folder templates

Filing does not need to be tedious if you have a strategy. When filing documents on a desktop, you would most likely create folders and sub-folders in the past. Use these as templates the next time you need to onboard a client, work on a new project, or start a new financial year. This enables consistency in your workflow and saves you time

Make your workday easier with a proper file storage solution to give you peace of mind and feeling less stressed ahead of the day.