Set up a mail center at your desk

(myorganizedbiz.com) – When you sit down at your desk, do you have everything you need in close proximity? Are you constantly getting up to look for the last place you put an item? If you interrupt yourself multiple times to do something as simple as process your mail, you need a new system.

To make things easier on yourself, it’s best if you always process your mail in the same place each time. That way you can keep appropriate supplies on hand and important pieces won’t get lost.

I used to grab my mail on the way home and drop it on the coffee table. Other things would get put there, too. Drinks would spill, things would get knocked off. And pretty soon, I couldn’t find that doctor’s bill or tax statement.

Now I always drop the mail on my desk. Even if I don’t have time to open it, I put it where I can easily find it. Sometimes I’ll pull out the junk mail, sometimes I won’t. But if I want to see if a check has come, I only have to look in one spot.

What do you need to process your mail?

• A letter opener
• A trash can
• A pen
• Stamps
• Envelopes
• Checkbook
• A place to put pending bills or outgoing mail

Those are the main things you’ll need. You may want to have a calendar nearby if you like to make a note of when bills are due, a stapler to keep statements together, and paper clips to keep from losing bill payment envelopes.

Keep them all within reach of your mail area so you don’t have to go to the other room to look for something. The more times you stop and look for things, the more time you waste.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at what you should actually do to keep on top of your mail.

Image: Newscom