Taming the Paper

We are often told to handle a piece of paper only once - but what are we supposed to do with that piece of paper when we first handle it? A useful acronym to use is FAT - File, Act or Toss. Those are really the only three things someone can do with a piece of paper. We can:

-File it for future use or reference
-Act on it right now
-Toss it in the garbage.

Since much of what we receive we end up tossing eventually, toss it now, not later! That will get rid of quite a bit of stuff right off the bat.

Make the File part easy by having a readily accessible and easy to use filing system.

One thing I have found helpful is a scanner - if I'm not sure whether to File or Toss, worst case is I scan it into an organized computer file system so if I ever need it it will be there, and the paper end of the clutter disappears in either event.