1. Get rid of "stuff"

Paper, publications and possessions require maintenance; maintenance costs time, energy, space andmoney. How long do you really need to keep your old project files, seminar flyers, reference materials,and association or business journals? If you haven’t needed it in the last year it is likely you never will. Dispose of seldom or never-used items. Ask yourself, "What will happen if I let this go?" If the answer is "Nothing," get rid of it. Keeping it requires the same decisions over and over. Remember: It's okay to make a few mistakes; that's a small price for the contentment of having less "stuff."

2. Limit your reading material

Realise that you can't read, know, or retain all the information you receive. (That's why we have public libraries and the internet!) Set up a read folder or other limited space for holding unread information. Pitch the oldest material (read or not) when that space is full.

3. Touch it once!

Be decisive: Handle paper and emails only once and move on. If later action is needed, put it in an action file or day file system. Indecision is "organisational death" - yet most people aren't even aware of their inability to make decisions. Don't shuffle papers with the vague "I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-this-so-I'llput-it-here-for-now" Syndrome. Make a decision – Do it, Delegate it, diarise it, Dump it or File it.

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