You’ve got all the pieces, now let’s put the puzzle together!
Are you starting to feel like you’re getting this R.A.F.T© thing?! We are going to walk through the process in its entirety again to help with that. As I mentioned in “Contain the Piles,” the very first thing you do is gather all of your incoming paper each day and put it in a vertical holding container.
From there, schedule some time in your week that you can R.A.F.T© through it…
- R = Read. All items that are leisurely reading go into one container…or two containers, but they are specifically for Reading.
- A = Act. Each paper that requires you “Do” something…make a call, pay a bill…goes into your Action System. Write a post-it note of how long the Action will take…i.e. “Schedule Dentist Appt. 15 minutes.” This will help you when you sit down to work on your Action items.
- F = File. All papers that have actions that have been handled, need to be kept for reference, or go to supporting the household and family members, get filed into your Main Filing System. **
- T = Toss. If you no longer need it or it is junk, Recycle it or Shred it immediately.
Start in present time!
You’ll hear us say this often because it so incredibly helpful. Don’t try to tackle all of your paper piles at once. This will cause you even more pain. Get comfortable with this new system first with the new papers coming at you and then you can work through one pile at a time. Or if you would like the support of an organizer, please contact us. Wherever you are at, be kind to yourself and pat yourself on the back for each step you take.
Download our Paper System Flow Chart to be your guide…
**Filing is its very own topic. So much so we will be spending a whole week on it. Check back next week for the goods!
* This post is part of a series, called Paper Flow. Please see posts around it for the full story.
This post relates to our Do It™ system.
Download our Systems Cards HERE to learn our systems SEE IT.™ MAP IT.™ DO IT.™ and S.T.A.C.K.S.™
