Too many books, papers, articles and references than you know what to do with? Want to clear a little clutter? Here are 8 questions to determine what's safe to toss and 6 guidelines on what to keep.
"To Toss..."
Let's take a moment to consider how to make your life and work space better by eliminating the excess now.
First of all, just because things are interesting to you is not a good enough reason to keep them arround. For example, everything that could in theory be used at the right time under the right conditions, sometime between this very moment and the time you plan to retire from working, should be tossed. To help you determine what those items are, here are 8 questions to ask:
Grab any and all piles of papers, books, articles and references that you have been holding onto for reading and take each one in your hand as you ask yourself:
• Is it a duplicate of something I already have?
• Is it current and up-to-date?
• How often will I need to refer to this information?
• Is the information relevant to my work or life?
• Will it add something new to what I already have in my collection?
• Can I get it somewhere else should I need it?
• Do I have time to read this information?
• Do I need, or simply want this?
Be honest, be ruthless and make the decision now to toss what is safe to toss.
And now, what "Not to Toss..."
In addition to making decisions on what to toss, the following 6 guidelines are important to deciding on what not to toss, so carefully review these so you know when it is time to keep things too:
• Replication would be very difficult.
• There is only the one copy available.
• It is a vital piece of a project or client file.
• The document is your original creation.
• The information will be needed again soon.
• The law requires you to keep it.
On the last note, for items that you are required to keep for legal reasons I have found that there is a lot of good information on the web on that subject. Yet, if you run across something you're just not sure about, my advice is to speak with your accountant or other tax professional before making the final toss.
Tip: Remember to protect yourself. Shred documents containing personal date or confidential information on you or your company.
Let's take a moment to consider how to make your life and work space better by eliminating the excess now.
First of all, just because things are interesting to you is not a good enough reason to keep them arround. For example, everything that could in theory be used at the right time under the right conditions, sometime between this very moment and the time you plan to retire from working, should be tossed. To help you determine what those items are, here are 8 questions to ask:
Grab any and all piles of papers, books, articles and references that you have been holding onto for reading and take each one in your hand as you ask yourself:
• Is it a duplicate of something I already have?
• Is it current and up-to-date?
• How often will I need to refer to this information?
• Is the information relevant to my work or life?
• Will it add something new to what I already have in my collection?
• Can I get it somewhere else should I need it?
• Do I have time to read this information?
• Do I need, or simply want this?
Be honest, be ruthless and make the decision now to toss what is safe to toss.
And now, what "Not to Toss..."
In addition to making decisions on what to toss, the following 6 guidelines are important to deciding on what not to toss, so carefully review these so you know when it is time to keep things too:
• Replication would be very difficult.
• There is only the one copy available.
• It is a vital piece of a project or client file.
• The document is your original creation.
• The information will be needed again soon.
• The law requires you to keep it.
On the last note, for items that you are required to keep for legal reasons I have found that there is a lot of good information on the web on that subject. Yet, if you run across something you're just not sure about, my advice is to speak with your accountant or other tax professional before making the final toss.
Tip: Remember to protect yourself. Shred documents containing personal date or confidential information on you or your company.
RSS Feed