File Drawer Organization Part 3 - by subject or alpha?

In the last few posts we started talking about how to organize your files in your drawers. We covered the tools of the trade and types of files. In theory you might have pulled them all out of the drawers so that you could group them by frequency of use (and trash a few). Whether you did actually separate them or only in theory, thinking how you're going to organize them when you put them in the drawer is an effective next step.

This is where 'the way I've always done it' might not serve you. Perhaps you have client folders and 'running the business' folders intermixed in the same file drawers. Every time you look for a client folder you have to bypass, but look at, all the business operation folders too. If the client folders are in one drawer

and the business folders are in another, would that yield more clarity for you? Would the separation help you access files you want more quickly. After all, the only reason to keep papers is to be able to find and use them.

Some other subjects to stimulate you thinking of your own subject types:

• Prospects, external clients, in-house clients, affiliates, Board Members
• Finance, business plan, professional development
• People that work for me, people that I work for
• Projects, research, technical bulletins, conferences

Along with identifying categories for your files is the decision to go alphabetic. Even if you use broad subject types, within the larger folder you will want find individual folders. The fastest way to do this is to alphabetize. Say you decided to have clients in one drawer and business operations in another. The content of each of those drawers will be most easily accessed if alphabetized.

Tomorrow I'll close this topic on Organizing Your File Drawers with a few tips for identifying files within the drawer.

Part 1 of File Drawer Organization: click here.
Part 2: click here for part 2.
Part 4 - the conclusion.