Hari's Corner

Well, if I spoke about files now, most people would immediately understand it in the computer sense, so I use the term real-world rather reluctantly. Of course, physical files are very important in spite of the world going the electronic way, as a lot of official documentation and forms still involve paperwork. And in a sense, getting your personal stuff organized is a very important step before launching into a career as I am finding out.

If you've stacked all your important papers with useless and temporary papers in a corner of your wardrobe or a shelf, it's high time to get organized. Let me share some of my tips because I think doing these can really help you get a sense of comfort and a grip on your own affairs.

Step 1: Separate the documents by areas of your life

Make a quick categorization. To get you started, here are some categories you might want to separate your documents into:

1. Education-related papers: your original degrees, certificates, mark statements, achievements, recognitions and so on.
2. Career-related papers: relating to your career; for example, appointment letters, resignation acceptance letters from employers, insurance policies, conduct certificates and so on. Note that this category excludes WORK-related documents. Work-related stuff should never get mixed up with your personal documents.
3. Bank and credit card related papers: your bank account details, forms, pass-books, correspondence with and other information from your bank, credit card related papers and so on, but not including regular bank or credit card statements.
4. Property-related documents: for instance, original land or house documents, documents relating to vehicles you own etc.
5. Bills and other statements: for instance, bank statements, credit card statements, mobile phone or land-line usage bills, bills relating to any other service you use frequently.
6. Other important documents: any other important or permanent one-time original records; for instance: birth certificate, original driving license, original identity cards, Government or local authority-related papers.

Of course, you could make your own categories, but I think the above would be sufficient to get started.

Step 2: Buy files and folders

Now buy some regular cardboard files and a couple of water-proof, briefcase-like folders. The expensive briefcase type folder is for the important original documents. The files are meant for regular documents like bills, statements etc.

Step 3: Make copies of all your important documents

Make at least one copy of all your important papers (education or career related) and preferably get them certified or notarized by a Commissioner of Oaths (or Notary Public) or a Gazetted Officer. This may cost a bit, but at least you have a back up of all your important original documents and you can use these documents as proof whenever you require to produce an original certificate or document.

Step 4: File away the documents patiently and systematically

This is a one-time job, but it takes time. However, doing this correctly will ensure that in future, you have no problems finding any particular document.

In the permanent waterproof folder carefully store your original documents, but separate them by type. If necessary use another folder for the certified copies of the originals, but this is not strictly necessary.

Now the bills and statements can be filed away in the regular files, but again use one file for one type of document. For example store your bank statements in one file, your credit card statements in another and your mobile phone bills in another.

Make sure you arrange them in reverse chronological order and keep the latest dated one on top all the time so that filing the next statement is much easier.

Keep a regular diary or notebook

This is not strictly related to the filing of papers, but a natural extension of getting organized is having a diary or notebook for keeping a brief log of your everyday activities. This need not be detailed or romantic (think Anne Frank's diary), but purely for the sake of business. For instance, if you've deposited a huge amount of money in the bank, make a note of it. If you've received a cheque from somebody, note it down. If you've done something important at work or solved a problem, note it down. Terse and brief, but understandable notes can be really helpful. A diary can serve a dual purpose: as a reminder and engagement book as well as a record of past transactions.

Finally, avoid being an organization freak

I should practise what I preach, but being new to this, I suppose I am a bit overenthusiastic about it at present. But I am sure that as I go along, I will achieve a happy medium between getting oneself organized and achieving peace of mind. Over-organization and control can mean anxiety, restlessness and tension at the slightest lack of organization. For instance, if you haven't made a record or note of something you feel you should have, your mind won't let you rest until you do. I think this is something to be avoided at all costs.

I guess there are levels of organization and getting too deep into it can make one lose sleep and lose sight of larger objectives in life in the long run.