Well, if you’re like me, you’ve probably bought enough items online that you are the proud parent of a junk-filled mailbox. And, after 20+ years of shopping, my mailbox is a fat, hungry bastard. If you have a busy life to boot and have a variety of activities or interests, you will get tons of information coming your way as well. For the icing on the cake, emails and house phone calls and mobile calls are flying in, and it can get pretty hairy and overwhelming fast. The key is to have a system (for your mail and life) and to be ruthless in tossing unimportant items. So, here are a few QUICK and easy tips for dealing with the ever exploding amount of stuff that flows in.

1. Organize your attack.

Grab the following: the trash can, your pile of mail, a basket (for reading), and a basket you should label (ACTION) and a ruthless attitude.

1. Sort

I recommend touching each piece of mail once. You should sort the mail into categories:

• Not mine: (put in bins for others in the household)


• Trash: (clearly junk and you have no use for it now or ever) and it goes right into the bin or shredder first if has sensitive information or you are just paranoid


• Reading: (magazines, journals, etc.); Put in reading baskets in the loo (aka bathroom), near your bed and the couch. Anywhere you might read. These are important, but should not be confused with action items.


• Action: These are items that require you to do something and should be go directly into your ACTION box (this sorting process is another blog entry). Possible items are items with a due date and those without.
  a. Due date: Whatever the item is, if it has a due date, put the date right into your paper or electronic planner or calendar; put any associated To Do items onto your To Do list. And if you need to keep the mail item until the due date, put it in the ACTION box and toss afterwards. If any item must be referred to again (a bill, receipt, note), you can take the item out of the ACTION box and place into your file system.

Examples: A wedding invitation for Aunt Biddy came in the mail. She’s marrying Mr. Booby on July 30th, 2008. The date should go onto your calendar and you should write to-do’s on to your list: buy gift, arrange flight/hotel, buy card, etc. On your To-Do calendar, either put a date associated or highlight to show these are important items.

Other possibilities would be bills. You put the due date on your calendar and then the to-do on your priority list. When the bill is paid, you can file the bill away in your file system.

b. Items without a due date: These may still be important items and you may need to create a due date for each so they actually happen. But some may not be as vital relating to a catalog item you might want to buy, a note from a friend you must respond to or a coupon for Banana Republic. The key is to find the practical task that is associated and write this information on your to-do list and to keep the associated information (if necessary to keep–otherwise toss) in an Action file/basket.

FINAL POINTS:
-This whole process should take a MAXIMUM of 5 minutes AND should occur in the first 5 minutes that you open your house or apartment door.
-And finally, in order for this system to work, you must LOOK at your to-do list, constantly be reworking it and also your calendar. I have a Blackberry (or a Blueberry, which I like to call it), but that is only if it adds to your life and doesn’t drive you mad. This is another topic, for another time.