Month: July 2022

 

6+ Steps to Going Paperless

1. Cut off the current paper

Decide what email address will be used for your paperless life, whether home or business. You may have several email addresses or just one. Decide which one will receive the correspondence that used to come to you by paper. Then:

  • Utilities – log in, choose “paperless billing.”
  • Bank & Brokerage accounts: log in, choose “paperless statements & correspondence.”

 

3. Decide on a naming convention for your digital paper

This is not a critical item, but it speaks to retrieval. If you were looking for a document, how would you think of it? Then name it that way.

2. Decide on a Filing System

  • If your current paper filing system works for you, an electronic filing system set up in the same way will probably be your best. Now is not a good time to change systems, as for a period of time you will be in a hybrid state-in two systems (paper and digital) at the same time. You don’t want to be searching for a document in a hurry and not be able to remember how you filed it.
  • If your current system doesn’t work, or you don’t have a system, then you’ve probably been thinking about a system or what you would like. Start with that.
  • Have no system and don’t want one? The beauty of digitizing is the “search.” You can,  in fact, dump all the papers into one “pile” (file) on your computer, and if you name your documents correctly, can find any paper in the “pile” in a trice. THAT’S why we love being paperless!

4. Decide on backup options

Your paper is stored somewhere and if a fire happened, you’d lose it all.  What is your failsafe? Same thing applies to data. If your computer system was stolen or failed or destroyed in a fire, for instance, you could lose all your data. Don’t.

I recommend at the minimum a personal backup and a cloud backup.

So your data should be in two or three places:

  • on your hard drive for ready access
  • on a thumb or portable drive either in a fireproof box, or carried with you; i.e., separated from your main system
  • in the cloud

It’s easy to keep your files in the cloud for ready access (think Google Drive, Dropbox, Box), thereby freeing up hard drive space. Plus it’s very convenient to be able to access documents when you’re not at your computer or not carrying your laptop.

Paper storage

5. Get a scanner

Get one that works FAST. Most flatbed (printer/scanner combo) don’t work fast enough. And one you have to feed one papge at a time?—NO. But anything is better than nothing, so dive in.

 

In the meantime…

…stay paperless in real time. Download & file emailed documents as they come in and as normal paper comes in by mail or by your carrying it in, scan it, file electronically, and toss/shred it.

6. Start converting

Decide what will convert first. Tax documents? Current year data? Recent history? Past history?

Also decide the cutoff. How far back will you go?

Converting will take time. I suggest starting with the things you wouldn’t want to lose first—likr, if your file cabinet or paper pile caught fire—then move on to the lesser important.

 

 

Periodically

Log into your banks, utilities, etc, and download the documents. I do this every month when paying bills, but for accounts such as my brokerage, I may log in and download just once or twice a year. A lot of entities won’t store your documents longer than 3 years, and some only 3 months, so make sure you get your documents while you can.

Request a consult

 

 

I don’t claim to be a real runner,

but my family claims I am. Two miles used to be my average and three miles my “long run.” Now, four miles is my slacker run, as in “I only ran four miles today.” (Ten is the longest I’ll go on g.p.—and that only once or twice a year—which proves I’m not a real runner.)

 

Something I never thought about doing two miles, but has become a big thing though, is the shoes I run in. (The family claims that you become a real runner when you start fretting about your running shoes, but we won’t discuss that here.) What I want to point out is that when I am running in comfortable shoes, I can go miles without even thinking about running. I can ponder life and happiness, daydream about things like being rich or being a hero, problem solve my own problems and even the world’s. But when I have on a pair of shoes that hurt my feet, ALL I can think about is the length of the run, how long I have to go until I’m done, and am I even going to finish. In other words, my focus becomes the itty-bitty world of my feet and my pain, and I don’t have the resources (mental, physical energy) to deal with the rest of my life or the world at large.

 

Same with clutter and chaos—disorganization—in your space. Notice the use of the word space, versus home. Because the space that can be cluttered or unorganized can be physical or mental, home or away. Here, I’m just drawing a parallel, not helping you declutter or get organized. Just pointing out what you already know instinctively—that when your space is cluttered or even just disorganized, your focus becomes the pain in front of you and you are no longer available for the greater things you want for you, or for the world at large. This is just how it works. But like my running shoes, sometimes you didn’t even know there could be a problem until—well, you have a problem. My purpose here is to say that you may feel some kind of way about life, and it may not be life. It may be clutter changing your focus, or disorganization blocking your ability to see clearly. And you just may not realize it.

 

 

 

“Organization like everything else in life doesn’t have to be done perfectly. It just has to be done enoughly. “

Being organized on the other hand, frees you up. Because you are not constantly trying to remember the things you are supposed to do, find the thing you need right now!, replace the thing you lost, handle the thing you are responsible for at the last minute–then detox from all that stress, your brain is free to ponder, daydream, and problem solve. Getting organized makes a world of difference to your focus. Do it. And always remember, organization like everything else in life doesn’t have to be done perfectly. It just has to be done enoughly—enough to free you up.