A few months ago I was helping a physician-client to clean and organize his medical office. As I gave him my proposal for the time and cost assumption, he asked how I intended to accomplish my task. My answer was simple, “One piece of paper at a time.”

There’s no quick way to organize a disorganized pile or space, except to do  it piece by piece.

I would suggest starting with your desk. Look at the piles and determine what really needs to stay on top. Imagine your desk as a piece of real estate, then ask yourself, “Does this item (say for example your telephone) deserve prime real estate?” If the answer is yes, it goes on the desk, if not, it goes somewhere else.

We all have the “I know where everything is” pile on our desk. Eliminate it and file those papers away. Yes, you know where everything is if it’s in that pile, but how long does it take you to go through the whole pile? Most likely, it would take longer than if the paper was filed in an appropriate spot in your file cabinet.

Following the top of your desk, go through all the drawers. Discard what is not needed and organize the rest. Using colored folders often helps to keep your files orderly. Next, go through all of your file cabinets and organize them as well.

If you have a great organizing idea, please share it with me below.