Get Organized for Efficiency

If you spend a lot of time searching through piles on your desk to find thing you need, start cutting through the clutter and get organized by using the following simple tricks.

1. Keep things you work with on a daily or weekly basis within reach in their own file drawer. Things that aren't used frequently should be moved out of sight - or out of the room, if possible.
   
   
2. Keep a trashcan or recycling bin nearby when you open mail so you can immediately dump unneeded junk mail and catalogs.
   
   
3. Keep business cards in a single location, such as a card folder. Better still, enter the card facts into a computer-filing program; then you don't even have to save the cards.
   
   
4. Buy a good planner and use it religiously. It eliminates the need for multiple calendars, sticky tab reminders and other little notes that often get lost or discarded.
   
   
5. Get rid of anything that you don't love or don't need. If you haven't looked at a particular item in a year, chances are you never will.