It’s that time of year. Back to school for the kids and back to organizing basics for us grown-ups!
Much of what I do as a financial organizer / daily money manager with or for senior clients is what I call “basics.” Some are tasks they could do themselves IF they had the time, interest, attention, or bandwidth. But that could be a big IF. For some clients, my assistance is a necessity; for others, it’s a treat (peace of mind, companionship, a helping hand).
I often say organizing is not rocket science. In fact, we learned the basics back in kindergarten when we were told to keep blocks together in the block corner and crayons in the art corner. (For a description of my services and client accomplishments, look here and in my blog.)
What if you’d like to get back to basics yourself and need a refresher? I am happy to share these four basics of paper organizing that have served me well since starting Personal Money Manager™ in 2008:
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Put like things together
Often I start paper projects with a basic sort. I (or we) approach a daunting pile of paper or mail by sorting items into basic categories. Then we can focus on the most urgent ones. The others are placed in temporary labeled files. That way, it will be easier to get up to speed with the contents when it’s their turn in the spotlight.
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Don’t let it pile up
Paper piles have a tendency to simply disappear after a while. They don’t REALLY disappear, which would be great! Instead, we stop noticing them. Here’s an alternative: Get in the habit of filing papers away promptly. For papers that are still in process and need to be kept top of mind, make a “Pending” file. These are items that you’ve handled at your end and you are now waiting for a response.
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Make the time
Master organizer, Julie Morgenstern points out that “Most people are very unrealistic about what they can accomplish in a day” or even how long a single task can take. In Time Management from the Inside Out, she suggests actually timing yourself doing basic tasks. Most people won’t choose to, but it would be a reality check. One client recently called her credit card company to resolve an issue. She has not stopped telling me that she was on hold endlessly. The whole project took a solid hour.
She was shocked. I wasn’t. Some typical financial organizing projects take a chunk of time (and patience). I’ve developed techniques to deal with them. For example, I make peace with long hold times by putting the call on speaker so it doesn’t take all of my attention. I’m free to move on to other tasks. Call during off days or hours, never on Monday mornings or Friday afternoons
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Calendar it
When I arrive at a client’s home, they are ready to organize. I suggest to those going solo: make appointments with yourself. This is more specific than simply making the time (see "Make the time," above). Put a task on your calendar and you’ve taken the first step towards getting it done.
Ready to get back to basics or perhaps get help with paperwork more in the rocket science category? Please reach out to me. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
Photo Credit: ID 169270194 © Konstantin Yuganov | Dreamstime.com