Sherry Borsheim, a Paper Tiger Expert of Simply Productive, provides a list of things to look for in file cabinets and tips to setting up your filing system to get organized, stay organized and be more productive!

Also check out Sherry’s Organizing Bootcamps that will give you a JUMP-START on ORGANIZING your office, home and life. She will give you her trade secrets and steps to setting up your organizing systems, including recommending Paper Tiger filing system software for document management, to be organized and manage the paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical stuff in your life.

Most offices and homes still have a lot of paper. Going completely paperless is not for everyone, and there are some papers you must keep in original format.  Papers can often pile up because your filing cabinet or file system doesn’t function properly.  Poorly functional, inexpensive file cabinets can cause more frustration and stress, and stop you from filing altogether.

Before you buy, build or set up a new filing system or file drawers, assess your current filing cabinet requirements. Including how easy it is to retrieve and file away your papers.  Review my top tips that you must know before you buy your next filing cabinet or build  filing drawers in your kitchen or home office.

Poorly designed file drawers:

• Sag or drop when you open file drawers
• Don’t have enough clearance on the top and file tabs, file folders or papers get jammed and damaged on the top edge
• When you open the file drawer it doesn’t slide easily
• You can’t see the files in the back of the file drawer
• The files drop down too far inside the file drawer
• It’s not easy to pull out a file folder or hanging file because the drawer doesn’t extend  out far enough
• Hanging file frame falls apart easily or moves around too much and are not secure
• Hanging file bars inside the file drawer keep coming off, or the clips don’t hold the rails properly
• There is no bottom surface to the file drawer
• Hanging files don’t slide easily on the file frame, rails, or hanging file bars

When your file drawers and filing cabinets are not functioning properly, you are less likely to use them, and papers will pile up.

The next time you are looking at a file cabinet, designing a file drawer, or buying a container to store your filing system in, ensure it is easy to use and retrieve papers from, well made, highly functional and fit in with the design of your office or home.

Highly function file drawers must have these key features:

• Easy to pull open and close a file drawer
• Drawer slide rails are of good quality and can handle the appropriate weight for the drawer size
• You can easily read the file labels
• Enough clearance inside the drawer so papers, file folders and hanging file tabs don’t rub on the top and get damaged (10.5″ is the height of a hanging file with a clear file tab).
• When you pull a file drawer open, it needs to extend out far enough so you can easily retrieve the files in the back of the drawer
• The files should not drop down too far inside the file drawer.  You want the hanging filing bars to be closer to the top of the file drawer edge, allowing enough clearance for hanging file tabs and file folders
• File frames or file bars, must be secure inside the drawer and not move around or fall apart
• Look attractive and fit into the design of your office or home

How to make your filing system ergonomic

To reduce back strain and the twisting motion when you are sitting at your desk chair and reach for a file set up your files facing towards you.  Not all file drawers will accommodate this, but you can buy “front to back” file bars for many filing cabinets that allow you to switch your files so they face you when you open a lateral file drawer.

Also, if you have a desk drawer, see if you can turn the files so they face you when you open the drawer while sitting at your chair.  These two ergonomic tips make a huge difference for ease of use and reduce strain on your back and shoulders.

Make Your Filing Cabinets Beautiful So They Fit in With Your Decor

Spruce up your drab file cabinet with wallpaper that inspires you and fits into your décor.  Casey Green at Fossil and Design Sponge shows you step-by-step how simple and fun  Casey’s wallpaper do-it-yourself file drawers project is!

If Your File Cabinet Has No Hanging File Frame

You can purchase hanging file frames from Staples that will fit securely inside most file drawers.  You may need to cut the file frame down to fit your drawer.  It’s a bit of a workout doing this and requires some muscle.  Personally I use a hack saw with a blade for sawing metal.  Wire cutters are not strong enough.

If the file frame is too large or doesn’t fit, then the next option is to buy hanging file containers like the picture here.  You can drop several of these inside the file drawer so you can use hanging files or file folders and they stay in place without flopping around.

Remove Unsightly Stickers from Your File Cabinets

A product like Goo Gone or rubbing alcohol will remove stickers from metal file cabinets and will clean them up so they look attractive again.  Always test the product first in an area that won’t show.

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Original article posted at http://www.simplyproductive.com/2012/07/filing-cabinet-must-know-tips-to-stay-organized-productive/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=linkedin

Sherry Borsheim is the president of Simply Productive. You can visit Sherry, access her free article archive and grab lots of free stuff at http://www.simplyproductive.com. Sherry lives in Vancouver, BC Canada with her husband (her high-school sweetheart).

Printed with permission.

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This article by Natalie Conrad of Organized Habits, and a Paper Tiger Expert, tells us the key to keeping paper under control is to stay on top of it and gives us steps to do just that! Natalie also recommends Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management to get everything in your life organized — not just for filing paper!

Since the beginning of my professional organizing career, the most asked question has been “How to I keep up with all the paper in my life?” (or some variation thereof). Paper is prolific in our lives as Americans. The fact that we now have computers seems to have compounded, rather than relieved, the influx of papers. Even though we may receive less letters and billing statements in our postal mailbox, we are still inundated with the circulars, ads and the charitable and political donation requests.

So the biggest key to controlling the paper is to stay on top of it.

I have seen ignored stacks of paper grow to reach ceiling heights. Sometimes the paper is collected into boxes that then clutter the garage, leaving the cars in the rain! How do you keep up with all the paper in your life? By staying on top of it. Here’s what I mean:

You come in from work, mail in hand. Don’t just throw everything on a horizontal surface! Instead, quickly sort thru the mail and throw out those pesky circulars, ads and anything that is junk mail. By simply doing this, you will have decreased the amount of paper in your hand by 50-70%. Get used to the fact that when you think something is junk mail, you are probably right – it’s junk mail! Don’t feel like you have to open the envelope from your political party unless you do plan to make a charitable contribution. They are not sending you a check! Just shred it and move on with your day!

Now what to do with the rest of the mail in your hand? You have a few options here:

1. Look at everything right away, make decisions, and put things where they belong, OR
2. Have a mail basket or container of some sort that you put this mail in until you have time to look at it.

Going thru the mail basket once, twice or even three times a week will help you keep the paper to a minimum. The key, however, is to do something with the mail once you decide to go thru it. This means put the bills to be paid together, read the newsletter, add that “Save the Date” to your calendar, make a note of things that require a response on your to do list.

Like the Nike slogan – just do it! Getting rid of that visual paper clutter will go a long way in helping you begin to sort out the mental clutter. Did you know they were related??? More on that later……

Natalie Conrad is an organization consultant, speaker, and author in Northern California. She is also the founder of Organized Habits, a premier organizing firm, serving national and local clients in homes and small business settings.  She is passionate about organizing as she believes that the clutter holds one back from pursing their life long goals and dreams. Visit Natalie’s blog for more articles like this by going to www.OrganizedHabits.com/blog

If you have your own business, you realize how difficult it can be to keep things organized and in order. Paperwork alone can be a real nightmare, but Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management, not only can you finally get all your paper files in order, but anyone in the office can find them.

Using Paper Tiger, you never have to worry about whether to file a paper under “Smith’s dog care,” or “Fido dog walking schedule” again, and solves the many problems with filing such as:

• You can’t decide what to name something;
• You keep putting off filing because you don’t like making new folders when you need to file;
• You can’t remember where or what name you previously filed something under;
• You forgot that you’ve filed a relating file so you create a duplicate;
• Staff sharing files in the same filing cabinets, everyone thinks differently so relating files are named differently under separate hanging file folders;
• Staff turnover or the one person in the office that knows where everything is gets sick or on vacation.

The Basics of a Document Management System

The best thing to consider is using document management software as your ultimate tool for a filing system. The great news is that Paper Tiger can be used for more than just your paper files, but start with the paperwork part of your business. This is often the most important aspect of your business because it affects you, your clients and even how you get organized and prepare for tax time reporting.

Consider how the alphabetical method filing system would work. You would have to make sure everyone who might need access to the document would be in agreement with the labeling system and then make sure you had everything in the right alphabetical order. One simple slip and you could spend a lot of time searching every file of every drawer in all of your filing cabinets looking for one single piece of paper.

You can index the document into Paper Tiger’s database with any item name you want without any worry about finding it later, because the system will allow you to add as many keywords as you want to describe all documents that you put in your hanging file folders. For documents that you want to add to the same file, simply edit the Item and add additional keywords necessary for the new document(s).

Because the hanging file folders are already set up numerically and waiting for your documents, you eliminate the time-consuming hassle of having to find and create a file folder each time you want to file something.

When you’ve indexed your paper files or other physical items into Paper Tiger, and you need to find an item, you simply conduct a Google-like search in the database and Paper Tiger will let you know where the needed item is located, then no matter what someone types in to search for the Fido Smith dog care and walking schedule, the answer will appear based on the keywords entered previously. Find that file number and you have your paper without even having to think about putting it in alphabetical order, or what you would have put on the file tab.

Get Organized Beyond Paper

So after you have your papers in order, you realize that you and your staff waste a lot of time finding things you need relating to the business, such as inventory or office supplies. Now you can use your document management software to keep track of the bin number you keep extra flea collars in, the box number where your back stock for leashes is and even if you have those personalized dog beds in your business, home or at some offsite storage unit.

Below is another example of how to use Paper Tiger to index and organize your CD’s, and can be used to implement the same concept to index your office supplies or inventory or your books or any other physical item that you can put a number onto:

1. Name a Location CDs, with capacity of 100 (you can increase this later if you need to) Then print labels for the 100 items ready to affix onto each CD as you index it.

2. Begin indexing your CDs individually by adding a new item in this Location. I would name the item by the name of the movie or topic or singer of the CD, and continue with something like the following:

-Item Name: (name of the movie or topic or singer of the CD)

-Keywords: (actors/speakers, length, rating, brief description)

-If you have Professional or Pro edition, you will be able to apply a Category to the item. If so, add new category for either drama, fiction, comedy, historical, etc. (as info, the Basic edition does not have the Category function) If you have Basic, then you can add the category to the keywords section as well, then when you search for a specific category, Paper Tiger will bring up all of the CDs that you’ve indexed with that category, which is basically the same thing that would happen if you were to select the Category drop down box in Professional or Pro.

3. As you index each CD, affix the corresponding label to it and store in your new place. As you’ll see in this picture below, both the CD and the CD jacket are numbered so when you search Paper Tiger, you can go to the corresponding CD jacket number, and you’ll also know to match the numbers when replacing the CD.

The bottom line is that if you can put a number onto an item, you can index it into Paper Tiger… then whether the physical items are paper files, boxes, bins or books, etc., type in a keyword for an item the same way you do with an online search engine, you can find it. Start making your organization system work for you and your entire office by using Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management and get organized today!

Trying to get yourself established and off the ground as an artist isn’t always easy. One of the greatest challenges artistic minded people face is sometimes balancing the business mind with the creative one. The bottom line is that many creative types thrive when it comes to creating their art, whatever the medium may be. When it comes to taking care of the other details, things often fall apart.

Getting organized doesn’t have to be that difficult. The most challenging part may only be getting a filing system like Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management in place, and before long you will have to do nothing but be creative and file as needed into your filing system you’ve put in place to work for you. As you get more clients or sales and can hire others to help manage your growing business, they too can learn to use the same system with no effort at all.

Why a Filing System Is Important to Be Organized

More than likely if you are seriously trying to establish yourself as an artist, you have paperwork scattered with no real system. Your focus is being artistic and the rest seems like just details. You probably even have some important papers lying around in piles that may act as a priority system, but if you should need to find one in a pinch there would be no way to do so.

You probably have papers including:

• Your receipts for supplies and other important papers relating to your expenses and income
• Your notes or bio to be used for a press release
• A stack of important model release forms to keep you legally protected in case any one of the models you used for your photos or paintings claims you didn’t have their permission
• The application and related papers for the artists grant
• A list of places where your artwork is on display or on consignment so you don’t lose any pieces and can find one when someone should contact you about purchasing your art

More than likely there are a lot more pieces of paper lying around that you can’t keep track of but need to. In many cases, the paperwork has gotten so out of hand it can actually stress a person out and becomes an extremely important task that just keeps getting put off.

Implementing Paper Tiger to Get Organized

For Paper Tiger, you would keep your paper in its original form (you do not have to scan it) and use the power of the computer to index the paper that you need to keep in hard copy format, and also index other physical items,such as your artwork and where each piece is located. Paper Tiger can index anything!
For paper filing, you would first set up all hanging file folders in your file cabinets at one time using the numbered tabs that you print out from the software and they never change. You input information relating to each document in the database’s corresponding index file number location. You can give the document any name you want without any worry about finding it later. This is because the system will allow you to add as many keywords as you want that describe all documents that you put in your hanging file folders. For documents that you want to add to the same file, simply edit the Item and add additional keywords necessary for the new document(s).

Because the hanging file folders are already set up and waiting for your information, you eliminate the time-consuming hassle of having to find and create a file folder each time you want to file something.

When you’ve indexed your paper files or your artwork and other physical items into Paper Tiger, and you need to find an item, you simply conduct a Google-like search in the database to find where the needed item is located. This solves problems with filing such as

*You can’t decide what to name something;
*You don’t like making new folders when you need to file;
*You can’t remember where or what name you filed something under.

When it comes to locate the list of galleries where your artwork is, you would type in the name that you’ve given each of your artwork into the Item Name field of Paper Tiger, then in the Keyword field, you would type in where the item is located and any other information that you might want relating to that piece. Then when you need to know where a particular piece is, you would conduct your search in Paper Tiger, and your filing system will let you know where it is.

If you have no idea where to start in setting up an organized filing system; one where all legal and tax requirements are met, you might consider hiring a productivity consultant who can help you understand what you need to keep, how long you need to keep certain items, and the consultant will be able to create a customized work-flow for your business side to help you maintain an organized system.

It is as simple as that. Even someone who begins working for you could type in a keyword and find the needed item quickly. When you get organized it makes it that much easier to stay organized. Start your business off the right way with Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management to help keep your records management organized. Start getting organized by implementing your document management software and put the focus back where it should be, on your artwork!

CALL TODAY! Contact productivity expert, Anne McGurty of Strategize and Organize, to schedule a strategize and organize analysis of your situation.

Are you managing both paper and digital files? Feeling stressed?

How do you bridge the paper world to the digital world?

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The car industry got it right…it’s no longer a gas or electric decision — it’s both – a hybrid.

With your paper files and digital files, you need a hybrid as well. The solution is Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management with its new addition of Digital Tiger.

Imagine

• Improving customer service by being able to produce information faster
• Happier employees as they can find what they need, when they need it
• Reduce the stress in your work day

Why make the transition alone … it’s not a tactical project that you can piece-meal … you need a strategic solution to be in the hybrid world.

All you need to do right now is the make the decision to spend 30 minutes with Anne McGurty, productivity expert, to strategize and organize and engage in a getting started analysis.

Call 303 881-0174 or email at amcgurty@strategizeandorganize.com today to get on Anne’s schedule!

You may have already heard of the 100 Thing Challenge. It is the idea that people do not need more than 100 things in their homes and life. The belief is that by cutting down on the amount of things you own, you will bring more joy and simplicity to your life. You may not be ready, willing or able to make this kind of drastic commitment, but you may still be able to have some of this same joy by simplifying to some degree and organizing the rest.

If you feel your home or office conditions are causing you unnecessary stress, it is time to make some changes. If you feel the things you own are beginning to own you, it is time to regain some control. If you feel you have been avoiding going into your garage, attic or offsite storage unit because you can’t bear to see all that stuff, you owe it to yourself to at least consider simplifying and organizing the rest.

How to Simplify

The most basic rule of simplifying is taking the time to sort through and evaluate what you have. Separate items into piles such as “Keep,” “Sell” and “Donate.” It isn’t about going off the deep end and getting rid of everything including things you will later come to need. In fact, when in doubt, always keep something if you are hesitant. The next time you go through and do a spring cleaning, you may know for sure if a particular item really can go or if you are glad you kept it.

Once you have narrowed down your personal “inventory”, you can decide what you will keep out, what gets stored in the home, office, basement, or rented storage unit if there is even still a need for one. Ask other family members to get involved. Each person can take care of their own belongings and help decide on the items that are shared by the entire family.

Then decide how you will go about selling the items to be sold, and where to drop off the items to be donated. Then make plans to do it instead of putting it off until another time.

How to Organize

For items that you decide to keep, your best bet is to use Paper Tiger Filing System software. Getting organized means not having to fight clutter, wonder where something is or search for an item or paper file again. You can use Paper Tiger’s indexing system to keep track of anything that can be numbered. This could be paper files in your filing cabinet, your craft supplies, your Xbox game collection or your book collection, whether the items are in your home, office or require storage in an off-site location.

Type into Paper Tiger’s indexing system whatever is going into each file or bin and use as many possible keywords you can think of for the items. This will help at a later time when you need to conduct a search and can’t recall what you may have called the item or if someone else needs to do a search and isn’t sure what you may have called the item in the system. That’s all there is to it really. Your bins or files can be numbered and put away until you need them again without worry that you’ll be able to find them when you need them. Do a regular spring cleaning and be sure to update your indexing system database to reflect the addition, move, or removal of any items.

After all, getting organized is half the battle — being able to easily and quickly retrieve those items and knowing where they should be returned to is the other half of the battle to stay organized.

Previous articles you might find helpful to get organized:

A Filing System the Whole Family Can Use

Handle Your Small Business Filing Needs With Filing System Software

During this webinar, Nancy Hagan of Effective Day demonstrated how to get started with Paper Tiger Online. In addition to demonstrating examples requested during webinar registrations, Nancy demonstrated work-flow examples by filing items from her inbox to help you use Paper Tiger more effectively to get organized and be more productive.

Nancy also presented how to organize things other than paper files, such as books and storage boxes. And later in the presentation, she talked about how to use a tickler (monthly/daily) filing system to organize your action file.

Please visit www.effectiveday.com to learn more about Nancy and the services she provides, and click here see her Productivity Coaching special. You can contact Nancy at 513 899-9949 or email at nancy@effectiveday.com

To learn more about Paper Tiger and Digital Tiger, visit www.thepapertiger.com

Filing System Q&A from the Webinar

Q: How do you share the location of items with your staff when necessary or how do you set it up from the beginning that way?
A: If you have a multi-user plan, after you have created your database and locations, you can click on the People/Permissions tab from the Dashboard, then invite users via their email and set their permissions as to what they view and/or edit. You can see multi-user articles at http://www.thepapertiger.com/support/view_articles.php?forum_id=220848&catId=230 that you might find helpful.

Q: How do I print the Reference location?
A: See this knowledge base article that gives instructions on how to print labels for your locations within your database: http://thepapertiger.com/support/articles.php?id=198696&catId=230 and Nancy also demonstrates printing labels in this webinar.

Q: Could you set up a database that would store your books — physical library?
A: Here is a blog post also that you might find helpful that gives more examples of how to index different items: http://www.thepapertiger.com/blog/filing-system-family/

Nancy Hagan of Effective Day, works with business people who want to be more effective and productive, focus on their highest priorities and be free to do what they do best! Effective Day provides Organizing and Productivity Coaching, Consulting, Workshops and Products for busy people who want to make the most of their day and enjoy their life.

This article by Natalie Conrad of Organized Habits, and a Paper Tiger Expert, reveals that we sometimes hate paper filing because we simply don’t know how to file. Natalie gives us some great tips in how to look at our paper files differently and to set up a system that will be easier to maintain.  Natalie also recommends Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management to get everything in your life organized — not just for filing paper!

I spoke to a business associate of mine today and she made an interesting remark. She said that she hates to file. When I asked her why, she started to say she didn’t have time, was afraid she’d never find it again, and that it wasn’t a priority. But she finally admitted. She didn’t like filing because she didn’t know how to do it. What a revelation! What an easy thing to fix!

Did you know…… 80% of what we file, we never reference again?!!

First, there are 3 types of files: Action – Reference – Archive. Most people hate filing and I suspect it is because all of your files are grouped together and not separated by type.

Action files are those files that you reference all the time or at least weekly. They contain information that is needed to do your job or work at your desk. Therefore, these should be the files that are located in the file drawer attached to your desk. If you do not have a file drawer in your desk, then these files should go in the file drawer closest to where you sit and work.

Reference files are files that you need to reference occasionally, usually monthly or annually. A good example is your auto insurance policy. It expires either annually or semi annually. Can you think of any other files that may be reference files at home or at work? Because these files are used less frequently, they can be housed in another file cabinet, located elsewhere in your office.

Archive files. These are the paper files that my clients rarely have segregated. Archive means that this information is being kept for retention purposes. This is information, like your tax returns, that you must keep for a specific period of time or indefinitely. These files can be boxed and labeled and stored outside your immediate office. File cabinets in the store room or garage are good locations for the archive documents.

It is also important to maintain your files. Set aside some time every 6 months to go through your file drawers and purge files and documents that are no longer needed. The first time you purge your files, it may be labor intensive since it has never been done before, but keep doing this every 6 months and its goes more quickly.

A System for the Day to Day Paper Filing

This is a great video tutorial by Natalie that gives great tips in how to set up an action file system for your day to day paper files. Click here to watch how simple setting up your own system can be! Of course, you can always call Natalie to get her help on the more intense filing and organizing situations in your life.

Natalie Conrad is an organization consultant, speaker, and author in Northern California. She is also the founder of Organized Habits, a premier organizing firm, serving national and local clients in homes and small business settings.  She is passionate about organizing as she believes that the clutter holds one back from pursing their life long goals and dreams. Visit Natalie’s blog for more articles like this by going to www.OrganizedHabits.com/blog

During this webinar, Anne discussed the basic concept of Paper Tiger to organize both paper files and other physical items of which you need to keep track so that you can find them when you need them. She demonstrated the following to show how to use Paper Tiger more effectively so you can get organized and be more productive.

• Get started with Paper Tiger Online.
• Created a Database, created a Location, created Items, and print labels for items.
• Demonstrated a work-flow example by filing items from her inbox.
• Demonstrated how to index books, contents in a bank lock-box, contents in storage bins, and holiday items.
• Demonstrated searching in Paper Tiger, and how easy it is when you need to find something.

Find Anything In Your Office In 5 Seconds or Less…Guaranteed! Watch the webinar to learn more.

As information, Anne is a professional speaker, productivity expert, professional organizer and author. If you want to learn more about Anne and her services, please visit her website at www.StrategizeAndOrganize.com.

She may be in Colorado (and sometimes in Arizona!), but she’s nationally recognized as an expert and works with people throughout the US in person and virtually.

You can contact Anne at amcgurty@strategizeandorganize.com or by phone at 303 881-0174.

See more information here on Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management

Filing System Q&A from the Webinar

Q: Can Paper Tiger be used on a Mac?

A: Paper Tiger Online works on any computer with an Internet access including Mac. Browsers supported:

-Mozilla Firefox 3 and newer

-Safari 3 and newer

-Google Chrome 4 and newer

-Internet Explorer 7 and newer

Our desktop, downloadable version of Paper Tiger is a Windows only software so if you wanted a version that wasn’t web-based, you would need to install Paper Tiger desktop onto a virtual Windows program for the Mac such as Virtual Box which is free or Parallels or Virtual Box.

Q: I missed the first half did we discuss photo storage?

A: No, Anne didn’t cover photo storage, but this blog post might be helpful to you: http://www.thepapertiger.com/blog/organizing-memorabilia-organized-living/

Q: is the “Notes” section a searchable field?

A: No, the Notes section is not searchable. Paper Tiger searches “Item Name” and “Keywords” sections.

Q: What if my clients really want their files named, instead of numbered?  I understand the logic of PT numbering system, but many of my clients will also want to be able to look at their folders and find things visually instead of using PT.

A: We have had people to put 2 tabs on each hanging file folder; one with the item name and one with the item number that Paper Tiger assigns to it. Alternatively, you can see our blog post regarding Alphabetic Method for Paper Tiger Online at http://www.thepapertiger.com/blog/alphabetic-method-for-paper-tiger-online/ but it is not as convenient.

Q: I’m a bit confused – is “location” a physical location (i.e., garage), with items in the list (i.e., holiday items)?  It seems like “Holiday Items” and “Action” would be items within a location, and not locations themselves.

A: “Locations” in Paper Tiger can be for either physical locations or types of items being organized. In this instance, Action would the Location because you would be filing actionable items/projects as Items within the Action Location.

Holiday Items could be a Location itself if you have a lot of different ‘holiday themes’. For example, if you have a “Holiday Items” Location, you could have Items within named Valentines Day, Easter, Spring, Summer, Fall/Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., for each holiday theme box. Then the Keywords for each Item would be listed as what is in each box. You might find this blog post helpful: Filing System Software to Help Organize Holiday Decorations

If however, you only had 1 box that contained all of your holiday items and you had that box located in the garage, you could name your Location “Garage” and box 11 contained your holiday items. “Garage” would be the name of your Location in Paper Tiger, and “Box 11″ or “Holiday Items” would be your Item #11, your keywords would be the list of contents in that box.

Also, please see our knowledge base at http://thepapertiger.com/support/articles.php?id=205263&catId=230 for a description of what a Location is in Paper Tiger.

Q: How do you use Paper Tiger to organize files on your computer?

A: If you have a Paper Tiger Online Basic or Pro account, you would be able to use the Digital Tiger function. Digital Tiger is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online Basic or Pro account for now, to connect your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs account. Then you will be able to search from one place to find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger, and your digital files that you have in Google Docs. The way it works is described on our web page at http://www.thepapertiger.com/digital_tiger.  To prepare for Digital Tiger, you can create, scan or upload your digital files to Google Docs.

If you have the desktop version of Paper Tiger instead, the only way to make Paper Tiger work to organize electronic files in it’s current format, is to treat your electronic or scanned documents as if they were paper. You would need to make the decision as to how you want documents filed, including ‘naming system’ (how you want documents named to match the way you organize your files on your hard-drive.)

As you may already know, in the Paper Tiger database, Location is a physical Location for storing Folders, such as a file cabinet or a desk drawer that relates to a Location within the Paper Tiger filing software. Item Name is the descriptive name you give a hanging folder or in your case, an electronic folder.

You would decide how to name your ‘Location’ electronic folders, then have the same Location name in the Paper Tiger database. Once your document is scanned and named according to your decided ‘naming system procedure’ on your hard-drive, then you could input the document name into the Item Name field and as many keywords as possible relating to each document into the Keywords section of the Paper Tiger database.

Whenever you need to find an item then, you would be able to search Paper Tiger, which would direct you back to your electronic file folder location.

Or alternatively, you could use Google Drive separately as a digital file storage location, and possibly a backup system for the files on your computer, and conduct your digital file searches in Google Drive.

One of the most important parts of being a small business owner is being organized. No matter what type of business you have, you are going to have records to maintain. Some small businesses require much more than others; it just depends on whether you also have to keep things on file such as client records. Regardless of what your small business is, you will have to keep records even if for just things like your income, expenses and other data for tax time. You also have to keep these organized in case you are ever audited.

If you are thinking about opening a small business, you are probably not even aware yet of how much paperwork goes into the behind the scenes part of the business. You have to keep your business license on file first and foremost. Take opening and managing a yoga studio, for instance. You will have papers for the copies of your yoga teachers’ certifications, the liability waivers of each and every student and receipts from all of your purchases that are related to the business as part of your expenses for tax time. This is just a fraction of the types of documents you will need to manage.

Getting Your Filing System in Order

Don’t let the thought of all of this records keeping startle or scare you off. Just knowing this is the reality should simply prepare you to make sure you have a good organizational system in order from day one. This may seem obvious for businesses such as Certified Public Accountants or even doctors opening their own private practice office. The truth is all businesses have a better chance for success and survival by making sure to have a good record management system set up before the business even opens.

More than likely your record management system will consist of filing cabinets of some kind. The problem is the alphabetical filing system alone is just not efficient. For example, unless you are dealing with just sorting files by clients’ or patients’ last names, alphabetizing can actually make things more confusing. What you may label one document, someone else may not think to call it when trying to look it up. In fact, you could honestly forget what you called the file in the first place.

Utilizing an Indexing Filing System

The best manner in which to organize your record management is using an indexing system like Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management. You number your files, enter the data into the software relating to each document or set of documents such as the item name and additional keywords that you might relate back to the files, and never have problems retrieving your data again. By inputting multiple keywords into the software database for each document, you can also rest assured you or someone else will be able to find the file at a later date.

For example, you can enter key search terms such as “taxes,” “expenses,” receipts,” or “write offs” all entered for the same file. Later you can use any of these terms and the search engine will inform you of where the file is located. No more searching because you can’t remember if you filed it under ‘T’ for taxes or ‘E’ for Expenses or ‘R’ for receipts, etc. You owe it to yourself and the future success of your business to get and keep your record management system organized from the very first day.

Paper Tiger is an indexing system for your physical files that has an easy-to-use search engine built in so that lost information is virtually eliminated in your office. You would simply type in the information into the database relating to your files or other physical items to get organized so that you can find what you need when you need it, without time-wasting searches.

You would keep your paper in its original form (you do not have to scan it) and use the power of the computer to index the paper that you need to keep in hard copy format, and also index other physical items. Paper Tiger can index anything! Some things just can’t be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, etc. That cannot be done with systems that require scanning into an electronic file.

For paper filing, you would first set up all hanging file folders in your file cabinets at one time using the numbered tabs that you print out from the software and they never change. You input information relating to each document in the database’s digital file location. You can give the document any name you want without any worry about finding it later. This is because the system will allow you to add as many keywords as you want that describe all documents that you put in your hanging file folders. For documents that you want to add to the same file, simply edit the Item and add additional keywords necessary for the new document(s).

Because the hanging file folders are already setup and waiting for your information, you eliminate the time-consuming hassle of having to find and create a file folder each time you want to file something.

When you’ve indexed your paper files to Paper Tiger, and you need to find a file, you simply conduct a Google-like search in the database to find where your file is located.

This solves problems with filing such as:

-       You can’t decide what to name something;

-       You don’t like making new folders when you need to file;

-       You can’t remember where or what name you filed something under;

-       Staff sharing files in the same filing cabinets, everyone thinks differently and anyone can search a keyword;

-       Staff turnover or the one person in the office that knows where everything is gets sick or on vacation.

If you haven’t already, please view our videos on our Paper Tiger page, which may help you understand better. Please also see our Not Just For Filing Paper page for ideas to index other items in addition to paper files. You might also check out our article Customize Your Filing System with Paper Tiger’s Indexing Method for additional helpful tips in how to set up your filing system.

Keeping Up With Paper and Digital Files

Some people are trying to set up their filing systems to a more paperless environment, and scanning incoming paper files that is not necessary to keep in hard copy format. In the case where you’re going to keep some hard copy files, but you also want to keep up and be able to find your digital files, we recommend Google Docs through a Google or Gmail account for your digital file storage. Google Docs is great for storing the digital files that are scanned and those files that you can upload from your computer.

With the addition of Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online filing system software Basic and Pro plans, you can connect to Google Docs for a combined document management software solution. Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online (Basic or Pro plan for now). You can still index your paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical items such as books and manuals into Paper Tiger Online, and use Google Docs for your digital file storage. Google Docs is the lowest cost digital file storage system available, and is more convenient than storing your digital files on your hard drive (or multiple computers) that would take up valuable memory, or keeping up with CDs or Flash Drives.

Combining Paper Tiger’s indexing method, there’s a way to organize and index all those items that simply cannot be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, items in safe deposit box, etc. Then by using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online, you will be able to search and find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger and your digital files that you’ve uploaded or created into Google Docs format relating to the same keyword search from one software system, Paper Tiger.

The bottom line is, when you get organized it makes it that much easier to stay organized. Start your business off the right way with Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management to help keep your records management organized.

This article by Natalie Conrad of Organized Habits, and a Paper Tiger Expert, lists a few of the reasons behind why clutter piles up in our lives; and how to get started on a system for moving forward to get organized.  Natalie also recommends Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management to get everything in your life organized — not just for filing paper.

There is Always a Reason Behind the Clutter

I was helping a client recently who has a beautiful home. Everything seemed to have its place and the home was very warm and inviting. I was asked to help with the home office. The office had a desk piled with papers, bills and receipts as well as boxes of more of the same tucked under the desk. I have seen much worse than this, but my client was struggling to get the home office organized and back into a functioning room. As we began to work, we talked about the reasons for the room’s unorganized state. There is always a reason behind the clutter. I am not saying this so that we can justify the clutter, but to help us recognize that there is something behind the physical clutter we see. Below are a few examples of the reasons why people now have clutter when they used to be able to handle it.

Different Reasons Behind the Clutter

• Death of a loved one

• Medical crises/long term illness

• Change/loss of job (including retirement)

• Family members moving in/out

• New baby

• Divorce

• Depression

• Moving to a new location

All of these reasons have something in common; change and transition. This is a very common trigger for many of us that causes a once under-control home to become cluttered and less functional.

“Every time we go through a major change,
we experience a breakdown in our organizational systems.”
~ Julie Morgenstern

Periods of transition, such as the ones listed above, require that we give ourselves time to adapt and adjust and then rework our organizational systems to be more in line with our new, current reality.

“Our life is not static and neither are our organizing systems.”
~ Natalie Conrad

In other words, give yourself a break. You are going through, or have just gone through, a transition. Once you feel the earth is a little more solid under your feet again, then get some help and get back to being organized. Tweak your old systems or set up a new organizational system.

But here’s the thing – start with the present. Don’t try to go back through all the things that were “let go” during your transition. Deal with the things that are presently coming in the mail, the projects at hand, and the bills to be paid this month. Set up a system to manage today and if you have time, go back and straighten up the past later.

What are your reasons for clutter?

If you need ideas on how to get started on being more organized now that you’ve gone through a transition, keep reading Natalie’s blog for ideas to get you started. Use the “search” function and key words to get help for your particular situation or room in the house. You can also leave a comment for her and pick her brain a little!

A System for the Day to Day Papers

We also found this great video by Natalie on her blog that gives great tips in how to set up an action file system for your day to day paper files. Click here to watch how simple setting up your own system can be! Of course, you can always call Natalie to get her help on the more overwhelming clutter situations in your life.

Natalie Conrad is an organization consultant, speaker, and author in Northern California. She is also the founder of Organized Habits, a premier organizing firm, serving national and local clients in homes and small business settings.  She is passionate about organizing as she believes that the clutter holds one back from pursing their life long goals and dreams. Visit Natalie’s blog for more articles like this by going to www.OrganizedHabits.com/blog

You keep meaning to get your home and office in order so you can enjoy organized living; it just keeps getting put off. The idea of trying to organize everything and de-clutter seems like such a daunting task, even though you know it will make you feel much better and less stressed in the long run.

There are all those paper files, books, training binders, DVDs and video games to straighten up. When you need to find a book, it takes more time than it’s worth to find it! There are winter clothes to move to storage and summer clothes to fetch, if you can remember which bin in the basement that you’ve put them. You also have that collection of NASCAR souvenirs or another treasured collection, some to showcase and some to store for safekeeping.

The good news is that you no longer have to put it off. By implementing Paper Tiger Online filing system software, you can now de-clutter and feel confident to put things in their own place and be able to find them again when you need them. It will be so worth the time invested to get organized, because you won’t be wasting time afterward with time-consuming searches for needed items.

“How-to” De-clutter

Paper Tiger can be used for paper files, but also for many other physical items. Anything that you can put a number onto, you can index with your filing system software. This is especially important for items that may be kept in more than one location. So, for example, if you are going to keep some collectible items on display and want to store some in your home and others at a rented storage unit, this helps you recall what ended up where. If you manage any kind of online selling of items too, this software is a must have. All those items you keep in your home because you’re afraid that if you put them away, you won’t remember where you put them, can now be stored somewhere else. This will free up so much space in your home and you can have your home back!

So, take one room at a time, and find out what needs sorting, organizing and filing. Then, decide what you would like to keep in the home, what you would like to box up and keep either in the basement, a rented storage unit or some other type of storage space. Then type in the information into the filing system database, indexing or cataloging each item with item name and keywords, including where the item will be stored, and get back to having organized living. Any changes or moves you make to your physical items can also be adjusted in your filing system database, and you’ll always be able to track your items.

After your home is organized, go through your office. Start with the top of your desk. Find a ‘home’ for everything – the right place on your desk for each item that will help you work more efficiently. Take one stack of paper files at a time, and then one drawer at a time, and index the items in your hanging file folders into Paper Tiger’s database.

Don’t feel like you have to ‘get organized’ all in one day! Make a list of each room in the order in which you want to get organized. Then schedule time on your calendar, allotting the amount of time you want to spend for each room. Some rooms, like the garage, might take more than a couple of hours in one day, so schedule a couple of hours in two different days. It might even be helpful to create a plan of action for an area that is too overwhelming – making a list of what items you want to organize first, then second, etc., in a room so that it won’t seem too much at one time.

How many times have you thought, ‘I really need to clean out the garage, but it will take so long, and I have to do this and that, before I tackle that huge job’, and it just never gets done? If you schedule an hour to sort through and organize the sports equipment on one day, then on another day, take an hour to sort through and organize the tools.

How It All Works for Organized Living

A digital filing system that enables you to index physical items, makes it easy to track things. If you had a folder for your car repairs and needed to refer to it, could you be certain you could find it when you needed it? Would you remember if you titled it car, auto, Honda or repairs? Did you put it in a file or is it in that huge stack ‘to be filed’?

By using a digital filing system, you can type in any of those keywords and be able to find it with a quick search in the software database. With the old method, all you had was an alphabetical system, which obviously has worked, as long as you could recall the name you filed it under previously – maybe not as efficient as it could be. Digital filing systems take all the confusion out of the equation, even if more than one person is using the system.

Keeping Up With Paper and Digital Files

Some people are converting their filing systems to a more paperless environment, and Google Docs is great for storing the digital files that are scanned. We recommend using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online filing system software to connect to Google Docs for a combined document management software solution. Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online (Basic or Pro plan for now), to connect your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs account. You can still index your paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical items such as books and manuals into Paper Tiger Online, and use Google Docs through a Google or Gmail account for your digital file storage. Google Docs is the lowest cost digital file storage system available, and is more convenient than storing your digital files on your hard drive (or multiple computers) that would take up valuable memory, or keeping up with CDs or Flash Drives.

Combining Paper Tiger’s indexing method, there’s a way to organize and index all those items that simply cannot be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, items in safe deposit box, etc. Then by using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online, you will be able to search and find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger and your digital files that you’ve uploaded or created into Google Docs format relating to the same keyword search from one software system, Paper Tiger.

If you choose to use the combined digital software solution with Paper Tiger Online and Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, you will be setting yourself up for organized living so that you can find anything in five seconds or less!

Do you work from multiple computers, such as your computer at work, your home computer and your laptop? If so, then you probably already have a pretty good idea of how difficult it can be to keep all of your digital files in order and how much of a pain it is to look for a digital file, only to remember that it is on a different computer or CD or Flash Drive.

Let’s say that you had to call in to work sick, but there are things you can do from home that will keep you from getting too far behind. Sure, you have the capabilities to do the work, but unless you have the right files, which of course are going to be on your work computer, there isn’t a whole lot you can do but wait until you are back at the office.

Then you also have to think about keeping up with technology….remember the floppy disk? Did you remember to copy files to a newer digital file storage location before getting a computer that doesn’t accept floppy disks? This can be a real problem.

Organize Your Digital Files

There is one way that you can overcome the problem of not having the files you need on every computer that you use. All you have to do is get them organized, and take advantage of a digital filing system. Sure, you probably have some sort of system on each of the computers that you use, but this isn’t going to help you when you are using a different computer and need to access a file that is not on it. In addition to having a system on each of the computers you use, why not use an Internet based filing system? Then, you can access whatever files you need, when you need them, from any computer that you are using.

You don’t have to limit yourself to just storing your business files with a digital filing system. You probably have all kinds of personal files, from family photographs to personal documents, and you can organize all of these and access them easily from any computer when you have them integrated into an online digital filing system. Only you, and anyone you share individual files with (such as employees who need access to certain files), will have access to any information that is stored in these files.

Digital Filing Systems Keep Your Files Safe

It happens all the time – a computer crashes and we lose everything that has been stored on it. You could be losing a lot of important files, from business files to your own personal files, and there is no way that you will be able to get these files back, unless you have a good back up system. When you use an online digital filing system, you will never have to worry about losing anything again.

Instead of having to wade through a ton of paperwork to get to a file, or not being able to access a digital file because you are not at the right computer, have all of your digital files organized with an online digital filing system. You will be able to get to on any file you need in seconds, no matter where you are and what computer you are using.

We recommend using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online filing system software to connect to Google Docs for a combined document management system software solution, you can still index your paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical items such as books and manuals into Paper Tiger Online, and use Google Docs through a Google or Gmail account for your digital file storage. Google Docs is the lowest cost digital file storage system available, and is more convenient than storing your digital files on your hard drive (or multiple computers) that would take up valuable memory, or keeping up with CDs or Flash Drives.

Some people are converting their filing systems to a more paperless environment, and Google Docs is great for storing the digital files that are scanned. Combining Paper Tiger’s indexing method, there’s a way to organize and index all those items that simply cannot be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, etc. Then by using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online, you will be able to search and find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger and your digital files that you’ve uploaded or created into Google Docs format relating to the same keyword search from one software system, Paper Tiger.  Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online (Basic or Pro plan for now), to connect your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs account.

How to Organize Your Digital Files for Most Efficiency

Again, we recommend using Google Docs through a Gmail or Google account. Google Docs is Google’s free, web-based office suite that provides word processor, spreadsheet and slide show solutions similar to Microsoft Office. Using Google Docs, you can create and edit new documents online, upload documents created on your local computer or document attachments sent via email. (Note: the 1st GB of digital storage with Google is free. Click here to see more information on Google Docs digital file storage and at Google’s knowledge base here: http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1047457)

In addition, Google Docs can also be used as a reliable and budget friendly digital file storage solution for all your file types including document management for electronic files, video, music and image files.

Google Docs allows you to upload and store files in the cloud. You can upload both files and folders, including an array of file types ranging from document types to image types to video formats. Here are some of the things you can do when you upload files or folders to Google Docs:

• Access your files and folders from any computer, anywhere in the world by signing into Google Docs. The only requirement is that you have an Internet connection and a Gmail or Google account.
• Share files and folders with friends, family members or colleagues, allowing them to view the files in the Google Docs Viewer.
• Convert files to Google Docs format and collaboratively edit these files online.
• Upload photos and videos to view or share.
• Organize your digital files in folders called ‘collections’ and individual files can be organized to appear in multiple collections.

Commonly asked questions about uploading files and folders to Google Docs:

• Are uploaded files secure?

Uploaded files have the same privacy and security as any of your other documents in Google Docs. Additionally, the default visibility setting for uploaded files is “Private.”

• How big can an uploaded file or folder be?

An uploaded file or folder can be up to 10GB. If you’d like to convert a file to Google Docs format, the size limit depends on the file type. Learn more about size limits in Google Docs.

• Why aren’t my uploaded files showing in my Documents List?

If your Document List is sorted by Priority, uploaded files and folders may not show at the top. If you’d like your uploaded files and folders to show at the top of your Documents list, you should switch to the Last Modified view.

• Can I share and collaborate on a file I upload?

Google Docs also allows for real-time collaboration with other GDocs users, file sharing, and access documents on your mobile device. You can share any uploaded file with another person, and you have full control over who can do what with your shared files. If you’ve converted that file to Google Docs format, you can also collaborate on that document in real-time with other people, meaning that everyone that you share a document with can edit the document at the same time, and each person be able to view the changes real-time. So, when the shared file is updated, there is no need to re-send it as an email attachment, because it is automatically updated for everyone.

Click here to see more information on how Google Docs works.

As you can see from this article at Now You Can Backup Your Google Docs to Your Local Drive!, Google Docs users not only have the ability to easily share and collaborate with others, to view data from any web device, but also have the peace of mind of automated backups, for an efficient document management system for organizing digital files.