It’s one thing to go out and buy a scanner in an effort to become paperless. It’s another thing to actually be able to find what you need amidst a tsunami of digital files. So here are five tips to tame those digital documents. Remember, scanning is the easy part; consistently finding your documents is the trick. Set up a Digital Workflow and Plan Let’s start at a high level here. There is no need to get too detailed. The point of this step is for you to work outing your hea

Where should I start if I want to get my home office more organized? Start with purging the paperwork pile-up on the desktop. Even though papers from every direction and multiple aspects of your life (work, personal, kids, pets, family, home info, etc.), there are only three categories of information: action, reference, and archive. Action This group includes paperwork and requires you to do something with it, then it passes to someplace else (a file, back to the sender, et

When I became a Fujitsu ScanSnap Squad member last fall, I started scanning nearly everything in sight. It was novel and fun…and I loved the self-righteous feeling of satisfaction from a clear desk and easy access to my documents electronically. But no matter how hard I try, I always end up with at least a few envelopes full of receipts, forms and miscellaneous items throughout the year, cluttering my desk drawer. Since the tax deadline has come and gone, this is an idea seas

Is your financial paperwork a jumbled mess? If you answered "yes," you're certainly not alone. The good news is that there are many simple things you can do to better organize your bank statements, receipts and even your bookkeeping-related paraphernalia. Continue reading to learn more. The task is probably easier than you think. Think about Going Electronic If you haven't already done so, one of the first things to do on your quest to get organized: consider going electronic

Why the Client Called Me: One of my clients is a small architecture firm based in Mill Valley. They have between 5-8 employees, depending on the project. Each employee is remotely-located, but they all share information about the various clients - so they all need access to the same project information. In addition, paper/critical information accumulates in the office from multiple sources - emails, inspector reports, government licenses, product design, blueprints, product

Have you heard the term “OCR” yet? If not - you have now…and pretty soon it will be as common as a “PDF” or a “USB.” OCR refers to Optical Character Recognition, which is a technology that enables you to convert different types of documents (scanned paper documents, PDF files, or images captured by a digital camera) into editable and searchable data. But why is this important? Suppose you wanted to digitize a magazine article or a printed contract. You could spend hours rety

It’s finally here... The annual conference for the National Association of Professional Organizers. This might not sound exciting to you, but I’m all-kinds-of-fired-up! I feel like a geek surrounded by other geeks - it’s the best feeling, really. This week I’ll be speaking about a few case studies using the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner (Friday at 8am - yikes!). That’s cool and all, but I’m more excited about the network of incredible professionals I’m surrounded by here in Atlant

Here’s what I’m learning. It’s one thing to go out and buy a scanner in an effort to become paperless. It’s another thing to actually be able to find what you need amidst a tsunami of digital files. So here are 5 tips to tame those digital documents. Remember, scanning is the easy part. Finding your documents is the trick. Step #1: Set up a digital workflow and plan. Let’s start at a high level here. There is no need to get too detailed. The point of this step is for you to