Don't Be A Paper Pusher

Hello, my name is Jan McCarthy, and I am a paper pusher. This is serious and is quite frankly, the bane of my existence.

I love paper and have a hard time relying, organizing, or feeling confident with electronic copies as a replacement. I like to make notes on my paper, keep it in a place that I can find it when I want it, take copies around with me in case I need it, (like pictures of furniture, copies of hairstyles or color to show my hair stylist), give it to people that I think might benefit or enjoy it, use it in paintings or other creative pieces, or just have it because I like having it. But…….., and here is the rub, I’m also not that great at organizing my paper, so clearly something needs to be done to correct this situation.

I make piles and stacks, and then don’t always have time to file or am afraid to let go of it in case I need it and won’t be able to find it.

In case you still don’t know what I am talking about, let me explain. I get a lot of paper in from magazines, mail, newsletters, bank statements, etc. I also have a lot of paper with notes on it, or print outs I’ve made. Now maybe all that wouldn’t be sooooo bad, because a lot of us still love paper, you know like a paper book vs an electronic one or a magazine where you can tear the pages out and drool over scenes you clearly want to visualize in your future or recipes with pictures that you vow you will make one day vs an electronic one that goes away the minute you shut your computer lid. I’m sure the merits of such would make for a great discussion, but I guess I will hold off on that for another time.  Here is the crux of the real problem and they say the first step is to name it. I can’t, ok, correction, I haven’t yet learned how to deal with paper appropriately. Some people I know have gone paperless. Others have made commitments to keep it out of their house. I don’t think I can go there just yet.  So I’m going to follow what the experts say, (at least I think they do, maybe I should try to find that paper article that talks about this) that the best way to deal with paper is to handle it only once. That means that I can no longer keep moving it from stack to stack, drawer to drawer or place to place in my office or house. It means I would look at it, enjoy it, and file it or take care of it in some other way, such as discard it if it doesn’t serve me. I am going to try to do that with every piece of paper going forward. I will keep you posted. I may end up having so much extra time I can do all sorts of things!

xo, jan