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Let’s Handle That CHAOS © 2005, Pam Hughes
Believe it or not, CHAOS can be a good thing. That is when it stands for a Centralized Home Administration Office System. Let me explain it by answering the who, what, where, when, when and how of it. Who needs it?Well, you might need it, especially if you have trouble tracking the papers that come into your home, or if you are always searching for your bills or important papers, and seem to be running behind schedule much of the time. What is it?It is a structured, organized, central location that provides a simple process for handling paperwork and for scheduling appointments. Where is it?Depending upon your paper flow volume, it can be anything from a small niche in your kitchen to a desk in your home office. When do you use it?As all paper and scheduling information comes in to your home it should flow through the Center via a consistent process and in a timely manner. Why do you need it?Organizing via the CHAOS Command Center saves time, energy, money and most of all peace of mind as you realize that all the activities and papers of the day can be accounted for. How do you create it?· Pick a specified location with an in-box conveniently located to deposit all new material that you receive. · Use a central scheduling calendar or day planner (depending upon your preference) in which to immediately place any scheduling items. · Use separate bins for action items, pending, reading and filing. à Action items – group like things (by type & priority) together and schedule a time to deal with them. Then send them on to the correct bin – pending, filing, purging. à Pending items – schedule time each week to review each item, decide on any action, and move the items forward in the process. à Filing items – schedule time to file as required to keep items retrievable. à Reading items – keep handy to take with you, schedule additional reading time if needed, clip only important items for filing, and purge the rest. Review the stack weekly for relevance. · Keep on hand a separate bin (waste basket, with shredder if needed) for purging all that unwanted paper. · Have a box or drawer with checkbooks, calculator, stamps, stationary, envelopes and desk supplies.
There, you’ve got it! Not too bad. So, when someone asks you how you handle all the CHAOS in your life, just answer, “With a CHAOS Command Center, of course!” “Genius is one percent inspiration
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