6 Simple Steps to Make Mail & Paperwork Painless

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

Creating Simple Systems, Part 1: Mail and Paperwork

While simplifying your life begins with reducing clutter, whether physical, emotional or mental … it doesn’t end there. If you simply reduce clutter, it won’t be long before the clutter’s back, with a vengeance. The way to keep things simplified is to create simple systems, and to make those systems a routine habit.

You probably have some systems already, whether you’ve thought about it or not. And if you haven’t given these systems much thought, they might not be great systems. For example, what’s your system for handling mail? Here’s an inefficient system: check your mail every so often, and then toss it on the first available surface, where it will pile up. When you finally get tired of the pile, you start opening all your mail, and discover that a few bills are already late. Then, you’ll leave the unopened mail on a pile on your desk or counter, including the now-paid bills along with other documents that haven’t been dealt with yet, piling up even higher until you dump it into a box or the trash.

Not the best system. Yours probably isn’t that bad, but you might be surprised at how many people have this kind of unintentional system. Let’s examine a more intentional system that will keep things uncluttered and organized.

You can figure out a system that works best for you, but here’s my suggestion:

Create one “mail center” in your home for dealing with your mail and incoming paperwork. This should include an inbox for all incoming papers, a waste-basket (the simplifier’s most important tool!), a small filing system (just some manila folders in a drawer or file case is fine), and something to hold envelopes, stamps, your checkbook, pens and other needed tools.
Inbox. All incoming mail, school papers, and other paperwork goes straight into your inbox. Don’t toss them on a counter or the kitchen table or a desk. Put them in one place only: the inbox. It’s best if you remove the mail from the envelop right away, toss the envelopes and any junk flyers, and toss junk mail and catalogs right away — but even if you don’t, at least toss everything in the inbox.
Process. Once a day (or once a week if you prefer), process all the papers in your inbox. Start with the top one, and deal with it completely, before moving down. Your choices: toss, file, take action immediately (if it takes 2 minutes or less) and then toss or file, or put it in an action folder and note it on your to-do list. Don’t ever postpone a decision on a piece of paper when you’re processing and put it back — make a decision and dispose of it, and then move on to the next item, until your inbox is empty.
Pay bills immediately. While you’re processing your mail and paperwork, you can put all bills in a folder to be paid at a certain date (you might have two dates a month when you pay bills, for example, or a weekly bills day). But another alternative is to just pay the bill on the spot, as soon as you’re done processing your inbox. Either write a check and put the bill and check in an envelope to be dropped in the mailbox tomorrow, or go to your computer and pay the bills online. Either way, the bill is taken care of, and off your mind.
Enter stuff into your to-do lists or calendar. For papers that contain tasks or appointments or schedules, you’ll want to enter the tasks on your to-do list immediately, and enter any dates into your calendar immediately (I use Gcal). I even enter all my kids’ soccer games, school events, and other activities in Gcal, and then just file the school papers or schedules in a “school papers” folder so I can refer to it later if necessary.
File immediately. Once you’ve paid a bill or taken action on a piece of paper, you should file it immediately (unless you can toss it). Don’t let it sit on your counter, or pile up in a “to be filed” pile or folder, or go back into your inbox. File it right away. Set up a simple filing system with manila envelopes, labeled with the name of the billing company or utility, along with folders for other important documents in your life, and use a simple alphabetical filing system so you can find things immediately. Always have a stack of manila folders and labels on hand (some people even recommend a handy Brother label-maker) so you can create a new folder quickly if you need it. The trick to filing is to do it right away and not let it pile up.

That’s it. No papers should ever be anywhere except the inbox or in your filing system. It’s simple and efficient. The trick is to make this a habit, and stick to it like a routine. Have set times of the day or week when you process your inbox and pay your bills. Create a simple system like this, and you eliminate the clutter and the worry.

What’s your system for managing mail? Let us know in the comments.

See also:

6 Simple Steps to Make Mail & Paperwork Painless

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

Creating Simple Systems, Part 1: Mail and Paperwork

You can figure out a system that works best for you, but here’s my suggestion:

Create one “mail center” in your home for dealing with your mail and incoming paperwork. This should include an inbox for all incoming papers, a waste-basket (the simplifier’s most important tool!), a small filing system (just some manila folders in a drawer or file case is fine), and something to hold envelopes, stamps, your checkbook, pens and other needed tools.
Inbox. All incoming mail, school papers, and other paperwork goes straight into your inbox. Don’t toss them on a counter or the kitchen table or a desk. Put them in one place only: the inbox. It’s best if you remove the mail from the envelop right away, toss the envelopes and any junk flyers, and toss junk mail and catalogs right away — but even if you don’t, at least toss everything in the inbox.
Process. Once a day (or once a week if you prefer), process all the papers in your inbox. Start with the top one, and deal with it completely, before moving down. Your choices: toss, file, take action immediately (if it takes 2 minutes or less) and then toss or file, or put it in an action folder and note it on your to-do list. Don’t ever postpone a decision on a piece of paper when you’re processing and put it back — make a decision and dispose of it, and then move on to the next item, until your inbox is empty.
Pay bills immediately. While you’re processing your mail and paperwork, you can put all bills in a folder to be paid at a certain date (you might have two dates a month when you pay bills, for example, or a weekly bills day). But another alternative is to just pay the bill on the spot, as soon as you’re done processing your inbox. Either write a check and put the bill and check in an envelope to be dropped in the mailbox tomorrow, or go to your computer and pay the bills online. Either way, the bill is taken care of, and off your mind.
Enter stuff into your to-do lists or calendar. For papers that contain tasks or appointments or schedules, you’ll want to enter the tasks on your to-do list immediately, and enter any dates into your calendar immediately (I use Gcal). I even enter all my kids’ soccer games, school events, and other activities in Gcal, and then just file the school papers or schedules in a “school papers” folder so I can refer to it later if necessary.
File immediately. Once you’ve paid a bill or taken action on a piece of paper, you should file it immediately (unless you can toss it). Don’t let it sit on your counter, or pile up in a “to be filed” pile or folder, or go back into your inbox. File it right away. Set up a simple filing system with manila envelopes, labeled with the name of the billing company or utility, along with folders for other important documents in your life, and use a simple alphabetical filing system so you can find things immediately. Always have a stack of manila folders and labels on hand (some people even recommend a handy Brother label-maker) so you can create a new folder quickly if you need it. The trick to filing is to do it right away and not let it pile up.

What’s your system for managing mail? Let us know in the comments.

See also:

Posted on 19 April 2007 in Simplicity |
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Comments (13)

Gaz Says:

April 19th, 2007, 7:23 am

Hi Leo,
I always used to file mail chronologically, with a stack of 12 folders for the (tax) year, and at the end of the year the entire contents of that stack would go into a giant brown envelope, along with the associated payslips and tax return. It was an easy system to use and, more importantly, to find things in if I had to refer back to them — when filling my tax return for example.

Now that I’m living between several countries, have no permanent address, and often spend months at a time on the road I’ve had to do everything electronically instead, but I thought you might like to weigh the option of chronological rather than alphabetical filing :-)

~gary

Leo Says:

April 19th, 2007, 7:40 am

Hi Gary … interesting idea. I think the key is for it to be easy to use, and easy to find things quickly when you need them. Your system could fit that bill just as easily as alphabetical, so I’d say go with whatever works … but thanks for the alternative. Just wondering: if you needed to find a particular bill, how easy would it be? I’m thinking that the alphabetical system would be good if I wanted to look back through all my cable bills, for example, which is something I do sometimes, to see how things are tracking.

Spike Says:

April 19th, 2007, 7:44 am

In my hallway I have my inbox near the door along with a bin, shredder and corkboard. All mail and indeed any other pieces of paperwork I collect goes straight into the inbox. Anything I need to process like a bill goes onto the corkboard (because its on my front door it’s in my face all the time). I don’t get enough mail to feel the need to process everything everday but as part of my regular tidying/de-clutter regime I work my way through the inbox and corkboard - it’s no good having a nice, clean hallway yet have it ruined by an overpiled inbox :D

Organize IT

Leo Says:

April 19th, 2007, 7:47 am

Thanks for sharing your great system, Spike!

cno Says:

April 19th, 2007, 9:40 am

Actually, you pegged my system exactly when you described the “inefficient system”. Scary.

Tom Says:

April 19th, 2007, 12:40 pm

This is a well-written, useful article. My only modification suggestion would be that a recycle bin (with a shredder nearby) is the simplifier’s most important tool. I think Gary is on to something, too: using online billing reduces the amount of physical “clutter” (although one could argue that it creates electronic “clutter”) in your home. You can set up your email inbox to automatically file statements and bills in folders that you set up, much like you described for physical paper.

a Says:

April 19th, 2007, 13:35 pm

Like the photo of the rolling mail station… what is the brand? web site?

ann

Leo Says:

April 19th, 2007, 15:24 pm

@Tom … thanks for the nice comment. You’re right, of course … stopping the mail from coming in in the first place is the most simple method. That’s not always possible, especially where I live, so the waste bin is the next best tool.

@ann: the rolling mail station is a bit expensive, but it looked cool … anyway, it’s from http://www.ballarddesigns.com.

Leo Says:

April 19th, 2007, 15:30 pm

@cno … I had a hidden camera installed at your house just to research this article. :) But actually, what I described is the typical scenario … you’re not alone.

Thribble Says:

April 22nd, 2007, 5:50 am

I have magnetic clips on my fridge. Basically, I open all the mail when I get home from work, and if it’s a bill it gets clipped to the fridge. Everything else can be read and tossed or put in my “filing pile” (which happens about once a month). Bills get paid in a hit every weekend. The fact that they’re hanging on the fridge is a great reminder!

Christian Tietze Says:

May 11th, 2007, 15:50 pm

If I only knew where to get those folders… In Germany the standard seems to be hanging folders. Hanging folders for, I don’t know, like 10 different uses. But asking for folders that actually stand in a box with nice-loooking tabs (no plastic ones which are put onto the folder separately) yielded nothing until now :(
I’m really lacking a reference syste, which bugs me every time and again.

Klaus Says:

June 17th, 2007, 8:10 am

Christian, you may want to check the Leitz website and look for “Einstellmappen”. Though not exactly alike their folder counterparts (5 Tabs instead of 3) they should do what you require.

If you like you can visit the german GTD Forum http://www.gtd-forum.de where such things are discussed in detail and in german…

kbee Says:

August 16th, 2007, 20:10 pm

This is by far the easiest and fastest way to organize paperwork: I put all paid bills, paycheck stubs, receipts, etc. into one box for the whole year. I don’t file each bill or receipt into it’s own file. If I ever need a receipt, or paid bill (which is very rarely) I know that it is in the box. It may take a little time to find it, but I spend a lot less time doing that than filing each indvidual piece of paper. At the end of the year, I label it with the year, put it in storage, and then start with a new box for the next year. KISS - Keep It Super Simple!