Read Time: 5 minutes

Paper piles can be a significant issue without an effective filing system. The result is usually built-up piles of paper and anxiety about the growing chaos, lost time, and the unnecessary aggravation of hunting for the right papers when you really need them. This challenge is compounded by the digital documents we receive, such as receipts, contracts, and forms – adding even more places to keep track of. Managing email is another story.

What Keeps People From Getting Organized?

At Kaos Group, we’ve found that people often resist organizing their papers for these common reasons:

1. “I know exactly which pile it’s in.”
2. “I will never find it if I file it away.”
3. “My filing cabinet is full.”
4. “I don’t know where to start.”

If you identify with one of these reasons, we’re confident our Core Four System™ will help you get started.

A Basic Guide to the Core Four™ System
Not knowing where to start is especially common and stressful. To help begin getting your paper organized, use these four broad sorting categories, which are common to almost everyone. Don’t overthink it now! You will further sort or process these papers later. Just start here.

Gather All Loose Papers
First, gather all loose papers into one pile, shoebox, or banker’s box.

Set Up the Core Four™ Designated Areas

Next, designate four distinct and clearly labeled areas or boxes:

To Do
To Pay
To File
To Read

These are the four categories that make up the Core Four System™. Like the original gathering of papers, you can continue to use shoeboxes, banker’s boxes, or similar containers to keep the Core Four System™ categories neatly organized as you sort.

Sort Your Paperwork

It may sound easy, but it’s often very challenging to begin. The initial pile may seem overwhelming, so we say keep it simple. Once you have done this part, download the Core Four System™ booklet to learn what to do with these sorted piles. Sort all the paperwork you collected in the step above into these four areas.

To Do:
These are action items that may include everything from assignments to correspondence you need to answer, to sticky notes with tasks scrawled on them. They should eventually be captured in one place – digital or hard copy; it’s your choice. The next step will be to task or schedule them in your calendar. Top Tip: Sometimes, a task is really a small project, so be sure to gather them together.

To Pay:
Place all incoming bills (contractors, utilities, subscriptions, unpaid credit card bills, etc.) here to ensure they’re entered into your accounting software, shared with your bookkeeper, or otherwise processed.

To File:
These documents have already been processed but must be kept (receipts, bank statements, contracts, agreements, insurance policies, ownerships, operations manuals, etc.). You will need to sort and organize them further, but that’s a job for another day. Learn about filing systems.

To Read:
These papers may include unopened mail, books, magazine articles, etc. – everything you hope to read when you have time. If you keep all reading materials in one accessible area, it’ll be easier to catch up.

How to Customize Your Core Four

Let’s build your Core Four™ System in a way that works for you. You can start simply by using sticky notes on the wall to designate areas on the floor, a cleared tabletop, or the boxes mentioned above. However, more permanent containers that work in your space will make you more likely to continue this process as new paper documents come in.

• Container Ideas: trays, magazine boxes, or small stackable desktop drawers. Place them within easy reach, where you will most likely use them.
• Label Your Containers: Clearly label your trays or boxes so that you remember what goes where: To Do, To Pay, To File, and To Read.
• Sort Your Papers: Deposit your loose papers as described above and all new loose paper items into one of the four going forward. For example, your visa bill goes into the ‘To Pay’ folder, and the membership receipt goes into the ‘To File’ folder.

Top Tip: The drawer system is nice for a tidier look. But if ‘out of sight’ is ‘out of mind,’ the open systems would be most effective.

Tips for Success

• Schedule Dedicated Time: Set aside a three-hour block to focus on this project and have what you need at hand.
• Stay on Task: Don’t get sidetracked by items you find, like papers you’ve been looking for. They should all fit into one of the four categories. If properly sorted, you will get to it again.
• Give Yourself Time: Doing this activity on your own takes time, as does getting used to using the system daily.
• Ask for Help: Tackling piles of paper that have been growing and causing stress for a while can be very difficult.

If you are struggling, ask someone to do this activity with you, or seek out a professional – we’re here to help.

Breathe Easier
These sorted papers will need to be further processed, and we can tell you how. This is a starting point to clear the visual clutter, reduce anxiety, and set up a system for managing paper going forward.

Download your comprehensive guide to the Core Four System™ to learn how to process your sorted piles. We love empowering our community to help themselves,
but if organizing your papers is too overwhelming, we can certainly help you do it.

 

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