We've received a number of questions about filing according to Key Areas, which is one of the recommendations we make in the Time Manager Strategic Planning for Results program. Several of our Web readers have expressed interest in setting up Key Area files for the papers on their desks and have asked for a practical step-by-step instruction on how to do it. 

Unfortunately, there is no one way to do it. Filing by Key Areas in part depends on how many files you have and how necessary it is for you to have them at close access to your desk or work area. Keeping that in mind, here are some ways to approach this taskand it is a task. Don't expect to get this done overnight! 

Let's start with your computer files, because it's easier to file according to Key Areas on your computer. Create a file folder for your personal files (not software files). You can easily do this on a Macintosh, but it's also possible on a PC. if you have Windows 95 installed. Create nine folders, each one labeled for each of your Key Areas. Then make subdivisions within your folders for topics related to each Key Area. Make as many subdivisions as you need. Your subdivisions can, in effect, become your tasks. 

When filing on your computer, it is better to have fewer documents behind each folder. That's the opposite rule for your paper files. With paper files, you can have lots of paper in each folder. 

You have some specialized data base management files for managing your clients, such as Maximizer or ACT, and you can either leave those software icons on your desk top, or you can easily move them to the Key Area that handles your clients. 

Whenever you create a computer document, ask yourself which Key Area it belongs to, and then place it in that Key Area folder or one of the subdivisions you have created behind that Key Area. Not only will this reinforce your concept of Key Areas, but you will also discover that documents are remarkably easy to file and to find. 

In principle, this is the same approach you want to employ when setting up paper files. The big difference is the volume of paper. You can't whip around large paper files as easily as you can click and drag electronic files from one area to another. So, think through your paper files carefully. 

Instead of having Key Area Files 1- 9 altogether, you can put just one Key Area file in a single drawer. For example, I am working on two major writing projects. They both belong to my Key Area # 7. I have one file drawer devoted to one of the writing projects, and a second drawer devoted to the other writing project. So I don't confuse them, I have used different colored Pendaflex folders for each project. This way, when I have several files out because I am using them, it is easy to refile them according to their color. In fact, I have worked thisarrangement with all the subject areas I cover in my TMI programs. If you are filing projects, consider having different colored files for each project. The eye sorts very easily by coloras long as you aren't color blind! 

Then I have one drawer for the balance of my Key Areas. I need to keep a lot of information, but because I have filed according to Key Area categories, instead of subject area, or by person, or by company, or by topic, my documents are both easy to file and easy to find. If you think carefully about it, it makes perfect sense to file by Key Areas. Key Areas are, by definition, the areas where you want to achieve results. Filing by the type of results you want to achieve makes for effective filing. 

Before you rush out to implement this idea, think it through carefully so you don't have to go back and revise something you started and realized will not work. You give up at that point. Planning is definitely important to insure success. 

Next month, we'll talk about setting up your entire office files according to Key Areas. We've done that at our TMI office here in San Rafael, and it has been extremely beneficial for us. 

Janelle Barlow, President 

TMI, USA 

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