56 | Simplifying Your Paperwork Process
56 | Simplifying Your Paperwork Process
In this episode, we dive into simplifying your paperwork process. I get it, paperwork is a daunting task, but once you incorporate the correct procedures, it can become second nature.
Join me as I outline the process in three straightforward steps, drawing comparisons to the weekly chore of doing laundry. From recognizing your designated area to creating a processing routine and implementing a filing system, I've got you covered. So, pause, relax, and let's streamline that paperwork process gradually. Remember, you're more organized than you think. Tune in now to learn more!
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Intro: Welcome to A Pleasant Solution, Embracing An Organized Life. I'm your host, certified life coach, professional organizer, and home life expert, Amelia Pleasant Kennedy and I help folks permanently eliminate clutter in their homes and lives. On this podcast will go beyond the basics of home organization to talk about why a clutter-free mindset is essential to an aligned and sustainable lifestyle. If you're someone with a to-do list, if you're managing a household and if you're caring for others, this podcast is for you. Let's dive in.
Amelia: Welcome to Episode 56, “Simplifying Your Paperwork Process.” Hey y’all. As we journey into this second year together, I want to share a logistics update. If you're an Apple Podcast App user, I want to make sure you're not missing out on any of our latest episodes. Due to recent updates from Apple Podcast, some of you may have been inadvertently "Paused Out," preventing you from receiving the newest content from this podcast. To ensure you stay connected with me, please take a moment to follow these simple steps: Open A Pleasant Solution: Embracing an Organized Life in the Apple Podcast App. You’ll see one of three things. If you see a Pause Symbol, click on it to resume automatic downloads for our show. Alternatively, if you see a Download Arrow, click on the three dots, then navigate to Settings, and change to automatic downloads. Lastly, if you see a Follow Button, click on it to start following our show. That’s it. Your loyalty and continued listenership for all that’s to come this year means the world. Thank you for taking a moment to make sure you're connected and never miss an episode, and if you have other favorite podcasts on Apple you listen to regularly, be sure you follow the same steps for those shows too!
Although this intro today was necessary, it actually provides a great bridge to today’s topic: paperwork. Simplifying your paperwork process is like staying up to date on podcast episodes. Once you implement the correct steps, paperwork has the potential to become automatic. Hahaha - I just heard some of y’all roll your eyes. I know. Paperwork is one of the biggest headaches and pains that I hear folks lament about. It’s time consuming. It’s overwhelming, and sometimes a little scary. It’s definitely dull. Unless you love details and love organizing things, processing paperwork isn’t typically at the top of most folks’ lists.
So, on today’s episode, I’m going to offer a way to simplify the process. There are three main steps involved in paperwork. One of A Pleasant Solution’s core values is simplicity of time, space, and being, and that’s what we’re going to employ here. Sure, paperwork can be cumbersome. There are lots of tiny details that you can tweak to make it more efficient or more accurate. Yet for today, I’m going to focus on making the process accessible. To move you out of overwhelm and inaction, and towards the possibility that you too can handle paperwork. You’re more organized than you think, and simplifying your paperwork process is about getting honest about your current system (yes, even piles and piles count as a “system”) and making incremental changes from this day forward. As with all organizational processes, dedicating a few hours up front to get curious, better understand your individual obstacles, adjust, then practice implementation and maintenance will help you in the long run. Short term discomfort, long term rewards. One micro-decision at a time.
First, I want to paint a picture for you, and share something about me. I’m a PBS nerd. There, I said it. I love a good mystery or historical drama. They’re relaxing for my brain as I don’t have to work too hard to enjoy them. Now, I’m totally fine if you classify me as several decades older than my 43 years. No shame. I started watching PBS with my mother when I was young, and just like listening to NPR, have continued to do so as I’ve gotten older.
The picture I want to paint for you is the office worker of the late 1800s, or early 1900s. The paperwork. The piles. The meticulous handwriting script. The ledgers. The filing systems. Of course, into the mid to late-twentieth century there were secretaries and accountants whose roles were dependent on their attention to detail with paperwork. Everything had its place. There was a level of order and diligence in the pre-computing era that seems like a ridiculously high standard today. (Sure, that could be a romantic view of things… but stick with me.)
You, my friend, are not supposed to be meeting that scrupulously high standard. You, my friend, have the luxury of NOT having to meet that scrupulously high standard. You have the pleasure of trusting that in the era of information overload, if you miss any number of details with regards to your paperwork and payments, another reminder or notice will surely come your way. So, the first takeaway I want you to hold close today is that the system you land on can have small gaps and room for mistakes. There are many guardrails in place to help you find misplaced papers or emails, solutions abound through search functions, online automated payments, appointment reminders… you can give yourself permission not to be as orderly as my historical PBS characters. You can give yourself permission to recycle and shred documents knowing that other than your most essential life documents, you’ll be able to request a new electronic or physical copy of something in the future if needed. Setting up a basic process and committing to a dedicated time to review and process paperwork are much more important than weekly precision for the average homeowner. Take a deep breath and exhale.
Ok. So, I’d like to give you an analogy for simplifying your paperwork process. In its basic form, paperwork has three steps, just like another favorite household task… laundry. Let’s say you do laundry once per week. Imagine your process. Ideally, folks place the dirty clothes in the hamper. (We’re not talking about next to the hamper or half clean/half dirty. That’s when you drift into making laundry and paperwork more complicated. We’re going for simplicity.) The hamper is where you hold the clothes until they’re ready to be washed.
Next, you decide it’s time to do the laundry. You may have a set day and time when you do laundry, like Sundays. Or you may simply recognize that it’s time, like when you only have one pair of clean underwear left. Either way, there’s a frequency for when you put the laundry process in motion. After the dirty clothes are clean, you put them away. Clean clothes live in our closet or in drawers. This is a judgment-free zone, so if your clean clothes live in the laundry basket, recognize that they may be getting “stuck” in your laundry process (just like the clothes next to the hamper or the half clean/half dirty ones). You know that your clean clothes have a home. You know exactly where they belong so that you can find the individual items when you need them. That’s what I want to highlight here – the home for your clean clothes. Then, the process repeats.
Paperwork is no different. There are 3 main steps to this simple, systematic process, just like laundry. I’ll break them down next, so if you ever get stuck or lost or find yourself avoiding your paperwork process, just come back to these 3 steps and the laundry analogy. You’ve got this.
Step one is to identify your holding place. The holding place for laundry is the hamper. Paperwork needs a holding place too. It comes into the house from numerous sources: the mail, school, printouts from your computer, handouts from events… there are lots of sources, and you can attune your attention to noticing where paperwork comes into the house. You also have the power to pre-sort incoming papers if that makes sense to you. By pre-sorting, I mean identifying anything that’s junk or completely irrelevant. Papers that are junk or irrelevant go directly into their holding place, either the garbage or the recycling. Done. For super important paperwork, like taxes, you notice that it’s important, so you keep it.
So again, for the papers that make it past pre-sorting, they need a holding place. Here, you have lots of options. Choose one that makes sense for your brain and your household. The holding place can be a tray or a pretty folder. You could use a multi-tier tray and separate items that are urgent and time-sensitive versus unimportant. You can clip like items together with like items – all bills and taxes together. You can use an extra-large envelope or a banker’s box to hold papers. Do what makes sense for you.
The most common obstacle folks confront when identifying and designating a holding place for their paperwork is that they select more than one. Without knowing it, they’re holding paper by the door, in kids’ backpacks, on the kitchen counter, in the home office, on the dining room table… it’s everywhere all at once. This creates multiple steps for you, the person executing the paperwork system. It’s how things get missed or lost. You have one hamper for your clothes. You need one holding place for your paper. It’s totally fine if it’s held on the kitchen counter, the key is to consciously choose one holding place for everything and teach others that this is where they should put papers for review.
I highly recommend making your holding place as the same place that you’ll process and make decisions about your papers. This cuts down on the number of steps needed and will make the decision making easier for your brain. Try to avoid making the holding place for papers on the kitchen counter then tell yourself that you’ll pay bills and RSVP to events in the dining room. Instead, give yourself permission to centralize paperwork piles AND paperwork processing into the same location. Decide that where papers land and where papers are processed are one and the same location. Feel free to make an attractive or functional space for the sole purpose of holding and processing paperwork.
Step two in simplifying your paperwork process is to actively commit to a time to process it. I can’t overstate how important this is. Frequency matters. So, before I dive into the how, I want to remind you that you’re in control of your life and your home. I understand that there are lots of reasons folks delay processing paperwork, and I encourage you to explore why you may be hesitant to do so. If life is financially unstable right now, you may turn a blind eye to bills. If you’ve had a medical test done, you may be afraid to see what’s inside the results letter. These are valid fears and concerns, so sit with your trepidation. Get curious about what’s going on in your body and in your brain. Comfort yourself for feeling whatever your feelings may be. Practice noticing what’s happening in your nervous system and use compassion. Know that there’s always a solution, and that the message inside the paperwork actually empowers you to make the next best decision for you. Not opening the bills doesn’t mean the debt goes away. Not opening the results doesn’t mean the diagnosis doesn’t exist. Instead, it’s data and feedback to help you decide what your next steps could be.
Back to frequency. If you avoid paperwork because it’s dull, it is. So is laundry, but you get it done. Perhaps you pair doing laundry with listening to your favorite podcast or watching your favorite show. Perhaps you reward yourself with clean sheets or a cup of tea while staring out the window. You can identify a reward for completing your paperwork process, and I highly encourage you to do so. Get your brain stimulated in advance by going for a walk beforehand or turning on some music. Identify ways to get through the mind-numbing, detail-oriented working of sorting, scanning, and shredding papers.
I process my paperwork on a weekly basis. I don’t want to spend long stretches of time with paperwork, so I process paperwork each week. Check in with yourself to see if you need to do it more or less frequently. Remember, more frequently equals less time spent overall. Less frequently equals a longer session and more focus required. There’s no right way, only your way. Set a schedule and incentivize yourself to stick to it. Use a timer to limit the number of minutes spent and give your brain a clear sense of when the task will be complete. If you self-file taxes, set a series of quarterly or monthly check-in sessions to reconcile your books. You can also pair paperwork with another task. For example, put a load of laundry in the machine, then process paperwork for the 43 minutes that it takes the load to wash. There. Done. Two tasks paired and completed. Both move your household forwards, and that’s your reason for doing the chore in the first place.
By implementing a clear and defined schedule, you free up brain space in between sessions. There’s no voice in the back of your head, or mental clutter, that’s subtly shaming you for not doing it. You’ve identified when you’ll do it. You’re actively breaking down a larger project into smaller sessions that are more manageable. The biggest obstacle that I see with step two is that folks tell themselves that they’ll either wait for inspiration to strike to process paperwork or they’ll wait for a consequence like a late fee or the missed deadline. Neither waiting for inspiration nor a consequence works in your favor. You must decide when to execute processing paperwork. It’s an essential household system and ignoring it doesn’t benefit you or your team. Whomp whomp! Isn’t the truth a downer sometimes? If there’s another magic solution, please let me know!
So, to recap, identify your holding place and set a schedule for when you’ll process it. The last step in simplifying your paperwork process is to identify your filing place. Think back to our laundry analogy. Clean laundry, once it’s been processed, goes back into the closet or drawers. Where does paper go? Giving something a home creates predictability for your brain. You don’t go looking for clean clothes in the garage, because your brain already knows they’re in the closet. You’ve taken out the guesswork and guessing where something is drains your capacity and energy levels. It’s another reason why designating clothes as half clean/half dirty and leaving them in limbo causes confusion. You’ve made one decision to drop the clothes and need to make a second decision of whether to wash them or wear them again. Giving an item a home removes the need for the second decision.
The most common filing places are either a digital location or physical filing location. To select the most appropriate filing place, think like a professional organizer. We select an item’s resting place or home by starting at the end. What’s your ultimate goal when saving an item of paper? Is it to be able to access it in your home? To access it on the go? To have others be able to access it easily? A majority of paperwork does not need to be saved. Back to takeaway number one, a majority of information can be accessed digitally these days, especially in the realm of finances. Important information will come back around and know that you’re quite resourceful. You’ll save time, energy, and brain space by saving less paper in the present and trusting that if – and rarely if – you need it, you’ll be able to contact the originator of the information for a copy.
I save a majority of paperwork in a digital format these days, and I’m careful about what I choose to scan. Scanning is helpful, yet it takes time, so I use a decision filter to select what items I’d like to digitize. Papers that fall into the main categories of health, finances, or taxes are an easy yes. All other papers have to earn their right to be scanned. In terms of my physical filing, I have three standard size filing boxes. One contains my mom’s paperwork, one contains our physical tax copies, and one contains all other essential paperwork. Within this box, I separate papers into broad categories: one folder for each family member, a folder for health care, a folder for car-related paperwork, a folder for finances, a folder for essential documents etc. Because I save less and less paper each year, my filing place doesn’t need a ton of smaller category folders. Again, think about your end goal, then decide what format of filing makes sense for you.
So, whether you go with a digital or physical filing place, or both, use a decision filter to create broad categories for the papers you’ll keep. You can certainly create sub-folders, but since we’re going for simplicity, start broad. For example, 2022 Taxes is broad. You know you won’t find 2019 information in there. You won’t find information about your dental procedure in there. Naming conventions vary, the key is that you’ll want to follow the same format you choose in the digital and physical sphere.
Alright, so you’ve got a holding place (which is the same as the processing place). You’ve got a schedule for processing papers. You’ve got a filing place. Lastly, you’ll want to set a time limit for how long you’ll keep paperwork, so that it doesn’t get cluttered. Confirm with your own financial advisor for sure, but my general guideline is several years for taxes (because I own a business) and only one year for most other paperwork like health care and general finances. Both FedEx and UPS offer safe, reliable, locked paper shredding, and I encourage you to utilize these types of bulk shredding services for any backlog you have.
The goal here is to get unstuck and plan from this day forward. Gather up old papers and put them in a box to create a clean slate. Set a timeline to revisit them but give yourself permission to see past paperwork as its own project. Simplify your paperwork process beginning this week. It’s three steps, and just like laundry, if you tackle it once a week, you’ll see immediate success, make progress, and grow your confidence to go back and do it again next week. Talk to y’all soon.
Outro: Did you know that I write a weekly Fair Play-themed blog? Head on over to apleasantsolution.com/blog to follow along. I’m breaking down each of the 100 cards of Fair Play in random order sharing how we handle the card in our household. Thanks for reading, and of course, thanks for listening!
