I told Eric I wanted to record this podcast because I had a huge pile of papers that had built up over the past few weeks (way too much going on around here!).
When I invited him to be part of the recording, he said, “I don’t really have that much to add about processing papers.”
To which I responded, “But your desk looks beautiful right now. It’s totally clear and organized.”
And that’s when he explained that it was because we’d had guests in our home a week ago and he had hidden his piles in a closet. ?
If you have piles in your closets (or on your desk, or anywhere else in your life!) it can feel overwhelming! The magic of this podcast is being able to see what actually happens to the stuff that comes into your life. Yes, we need to delegate and delay tasks. But where do we put the papers that correspond to those tasks?
This post features one super simple way you could work through a pile–giving you space, the ability breathe, and a concrete method to create a life with zero piles.
We know everyone learns in different ways, so you can either read through the post, listen to the podcast linked at the top of the page (red audio player right below the featured image), or you can watch this five-minute video from our recent Q&A call.
Step-by-Step Processing
I like to start by writing out the outcomes I’m looking for in my Weekly Review. In this case, I wanted to have a clean desk and inbox, an updated list of projects in Asana, my planner organized, a Next Actions list for this week, my email inbox to zero, and my computer desktop clear.
But when it came to clearing out my inbox, the stack of papers felt overwhelming.
So I chose to segment the pile, putting like things together so the pile would be easier to process.
I quickly realized that many of the papers simply needed to be put in other places: in the trash, closet, Freedom Filer, drawer, storage boxes, or Spencer’s room. I also had piles for my bookmark (to be put into my planner), papers that needed action, and papers to scan into Evernote.
I put away the piles of papers that needed to go to other places, then put business cards and phone numbers into Evernote.
What was left:
- Notebook to review from a conference: I added this to my Next Actions List and put the book in my Support Cubby.
- Blood test orders: I decided on a day to do my labs. There is no rush on this and a lot going on, so I created a calendar trigger for next week. The paperwork went into my Tickler.
- (2-min task) Card from my sister: I sent her a text to thank her and put the card in my keepsakes box.
- Coupons: I created a calendar trigger for the Container Store coupon (for office supplies) and put the coupon in my Support Cubby. The dog grooming coupon went to our van–I plan to use it in a couple of weeks.
- (2-min task) Post-it note from Alia about budget on school supplies: I logged the post-it in Evernote and threw it away.
- (2-min task) Another nice card: I sent a text and made a note about something else I want to do for the person on my Next Actions List. I filed the card in my special keepsakes box.
- Post-its from a mom meeting where I got some great feedback: I read through it. Then I put it in Evernote and made a couple of notes to discuss with the new Power of Moms leader.
- Blender registration: I realized I didn’t HAVE to fill it out. I threw it away!
- New note-taking guide for an online conference in 3 weeks: I put it in my Tickler and gave myself a calendar trigger.
- New family responsibility chart: This had several new ideas that I want to work on. I scheduled a task for Saturday and put it in my family cubby.
End result? No more piles–and a beautifully empty inbox!
Can you imagine what it would be like to get rid of all the piles in your life? And then do the same thing digitally–to have emails at zero and a clear computer desktop? That will make a world of difference.
This process of getting rid of piles just lights me up because it is not about the piles. It’s not about the stuff we have to do. It’s about getting our minds clear and calm so we can begin to think on a bigger scale. That’s when we can begin architecting our lives, making our family relationships stronger, and really waking up excited and going to bed content.
Question:
What is one pile or digital space that has been weighing on your mind?
Challenge:
Take some time to process that pile or space. Consider segmenting it by putting similar things together to make it easier to process.
We’d love to hear your wins! Come share your experience in the comments below!
Related Links:
If you haven’t yet attended our free class, “How to Stop Drowning in Piles,” we would love to teach you four simple steps to get out of overwhelm. Come join us by clicking here or on the image below!
How do I see the photos you reference in podcast 31? Thank you
Hi Cindy! They should be right there in the post. I have photos of all the piles I processed, but please let us know if you need anything explained further! https://LearnDoBecome.com/episode31
It was great to find out I was tackling my piles in a sensible way, I have been breaking my piles into smaller piles and then filing, throwing or scheduling them. Step win for me!
Wonderful!! Go Susan!!
I have done these steps and do great for two weeks but then fall out of routine. Something comes up i.e. too many events, mental and physical laziness or not in the mood, life. How do you keep the consistently momentum going for the long haul???..sigh
I have the same problem. Someone looking over my shoulder might be effective for a while, but is not practical. Ideas please!
Great questions Jen & EP! One thing that has helps us a lot here at LearnDoBecome is creating and maintaining a Command Central. A Command Central is a place where you’re able to gather all the physical and mental clutter from your life and process it into a system that will literally serve you for the rest of your life. Having solid but flexible routines is another great help in keeping up with all of the stuff that life throws your way. Sometimes it takes a new way of getting started and a shift in perspective. We’d love to share more about how we do it in our free class. Follow this link to find a time that works for you: https://learndobecome.com/webinar-page/. Thanks for being part of our community!
And Jen, I’m not sure if you’re already in our STEP program, but the secret for me was to have the process of FOLLOWING the routine easier than NOT following the routine. If you can get rid of as much clutter as possible, take as many obligations as possible out of your life, and create time for recovery from backlog after vacations, busy times, etc., that will hopefully make the process much easier to maintain. I’ve found if something requires willpower, I don’t have a system defined well enough. Stick with us–we’re here to help!!
Thanks so much for this video, April and Eric! I have heard you mention the term “calendar trigger” many times and have no idea what that is. Does it just mean I put an item on my Google calendar like, “Schedule mammogram” so I remember next month to do that? Or is it some type of alarm that pings and reminds you on that calendar date to call and schedule a mammogram? How do you set it? When I Google “calendar trigger,” I see a lot of different programs. What do you use? Thanks so much for clarifying!
Hi Lara, great question–essentially a trigger is a reminder that happens on a specific day. Maybe it’s someone’s birthday & you want to give them a call…you’d create a trigger to remind you. It’s date specific but not a time specific appointment.
Calendar triggers can be set up in a number of ways. If you’re using paper, you could go to the day that you’d like to be reminded and write a letter T on the calendar. (Circling the T can be helpful so that it stands out from other things written there.) Digitally you could create an alarm as you mentioned or even just a separate digital calendar that can be hidden if necessary. April talks a little more about the concept in this post: https://learndobecome.com/2minute-tour/. Look for the section titled “My Google Calendar”.
Please feel free to post follow-up questions here, and our team can help!
Glad you asked this question.
Eric it was great to hear you on this podcast – you really did add to it! I’ve been smiling my way through a “pile” of laundry as I listened – now to work on the much larger pile of papers…
Blessings to you both,
Angela
Good luck with your papers, Angela! 🙂 So, so happy you’re here with us. And congrats on making your way through the laundry pile!
I love your inbox and I’d love to hear how you use the tiers, would you share? And if you know of other ways that a tiered inbox could be useful-also share?
Thanks so much ❤️
Hi Kat! I found this inbox at Staples (the Martha Stewart Collection), and I wasn’t sure how I would use the tiers, but it’s actually been really helpful! I have some note pads at the very bottom, my STEP print-outs on one of the tiers (including my STEP Diagram, the flow chart, Weekly Review details, etc.) and I have a “Waiting” folder on another level. That’s where I hold papers that I can’t act on until something else happens (like I’m waiting to hear from the Dental Insurance company about a claim I filed….). Hope that’s helpful!
Very!! Thank you!!
April, you mention the Freedom Filer–I’m an avid GTD/David Allen fan and I like the idea of that system, but how do you integrate that with GTD the alphabetical filing system? Or do you use it separately? Maybe you don’t use GTD Filing code…?
Thanks so much!
At first i didn’tt recognize your vocabulary regarding your areas.
Thank u for explaining many of them further in ur podcast!
Thanks for your comment, Karen! We’re glad you enjoyed the podcast.
This was very helpful! Paper piles are my nemesis! I’m excited to sort with a plan! Thank you so much!!
Thank you, Janet! We’re so glad you enjoyed the article. 🙂 Thanks for taking time to comment here. Happy sorting!
I have a question about the “keepsakes box” where you put the card from your sister. How big is it? Is it organized by year, or by some other means? How often do you go through that box to clear it out?
I ask because things like handwritten cards from friends, or other “sentimental” paper items are my downfall. I end up with boxes and boxes of them. So I’m trying to establish a rule, going forward, about what I will keep of this kind of thing. And then I want to try and go back through all of my many boxes of these types of things from the past, to do some purging. How does April handle this? Thanks!
Jennifer, this is a great question! Thank you for asking. April shares more about the keepsake boxes in this post and video, https://powerofmoms.com/organizing-the-end-of-school-papers/. We also recorded a podcast with professional organizer Julie Morgenstern that talks a bit about sentimental items. https://learndobecome.com/episode19/ Don’t let the title concern you. 🙂 We won’t be asking you to throw everything away. We want to help you make space in your life for the things that you value. We hope this is helpful! Thanks for being with us!
my command Central is in my kitchen and has to be there because I like an open space and the light. however I have no space for cubbies and I know how I think and I would do so much better with having cubbies than file folders any suggestions?
Hi Jill! I understand completely! I love cubbies. 😀 I think you could just put the cubbies somewhere else in the home and add a temporary holding file in your kitchen Command Central. Then during your Weekly Review, you could move things to the appropriate cubby. The main benefit of the cubby is to be able to find what you need when it’s time to work on a project, but the cubbies can BE wherever you’d like!