Using Three Ring Binders

I've got 18 three ring binders on my shelf right now at work and several more at home. Office colleagues sometimes ask me about why I'm always carrying a binder into the meeting instead of the proverbial legal pad and when I use a binder versus a file.

If I were to answer in reverse order I'd say whenever I decide in my workflow that I need to save a piece of paper I almost always start out by putting it into an alphabetized file. But as soon as I start to get paperwork around a project or a theme that has more than one category I reach for a binder with tabs.

I've found that if a project or reference area needs two categories it will probably need more soon so I keep several blank tabs or binder dividers at my desk (I prefer the Avery Clear Label Index Maker Presentation Dividers designed for laser printers). I also keep a shortcut to the Avery template Word document on my desktop so I can quickly go into the file, type up the new labels, and then print and apply them in a few minutes.

I find that flipping through large files with several pieces of paper that fall into multiple categories is not the most elegent way to respond to a question. However, when you are consistently able to turn right to the right piece of paper at the right time in a meeting or when someone stops by your desk your credibility goes up.

Incidentally, the GTD idea of keeping a small labeler at your desk for files also applies to binders. It just makes things look more organized when the spine of every binder has a uniform label.

Personal Productivity, Personal Productivity Tools, Time Management, Effectiveness, GTD, Getting Things Done