Filing Reference in Categories??

S

sofiabella

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Hi-
I am just getting started w/ GTD and hope someone can help with a filing question. I have an enormous amount of work on my plate right now and am drowning in things to do and paperwork. My Mom recently passed and she had a small business that I am now taking care of, along with my full time job, and handling the property where her business is (with other tenants so technically property management)... *and* I am the trustee for her estate so I have that responsibility as well. I am trying hard to get a grip on everything so that I can somehow pass some of it off, but because I am responsible for it all I need to make sure I have control of it before passing along.

As I am trying to implement one thing I am stuck on is setting up my reference filing system. Davids book says to make it very simple, one system for everything A-Z which makes a lot of sense... but I'm wondering for me if it makes sense to separate the main categories and then A-Z w/in them. For example; Personal a-z; Business a-z; Property a-z; and Trust a-z. I would hate to set it up only to change it later so I would love some input from people that have had experience with this system.

Thanks!
Sofia
 
That's what I would do. You certainly don't want your personal homeowner records tangled up with the business property, for instance. Also, I can see where handing this off might involve putting a box of files in your car and taking them to, say, the property management company you just hired.

So yes, your approach makes sense to me.

Katherine
 
sofiabella said:
Davids book says to make it very simple, one system for everything A-Z which makes a lot of sense... but I'm wondering for me if it makes sense to separate the main categories and then A-Z w/in them.
Click to expand...

The rationale behind David's recommendation is to minimize the number of places that something isn't, in the event that you forget where it is. It seems to me like separating your files like you suggested doesn't contradict this principle, since there shouldn't ordinarily be any overlap between your file areas. So, to me, this doesn't seem any different in principle from having separate files at home and at the office.

That being said, and considering the additional factors Katherine mentioned, I'd agree that splitting your files this way makes a lot of sense.

Tammy
 
I'm in a similar situation

My father in law recently passed away. My wife and I created a separate file for all the estate matters with a notebook in the front of it with projects and next actions for getting the estate to the closing point. The whole GTD methodology has really helped put some order and calm into a difficult situation. Separate files are the way to go....the bonus is that either one of us can open up the notebook, and pick up the project and make progress. Good luck!

Mark
 
GTD filing rule of thumb.

wordsofwonder said:
The rationale behind David's recommendation is to minimize the number of places that something isn't, in the event that you forget where it is. It seems to me like separating your files like you suggested doesn't contradict this principle, since there shouldn't ordinarily be any overlap between your file areas. So, to me, this doesn't seem any different in principle from having separate files at home and at the office.

That being said, and considering the additional factors Katherine mentioned, I'd agree that splitting your files this way makes a lot of sense.
Click to expand...
So we have a very useful GTD filing rule of thumb:

Separate your files into main categories when there is no overlap between these categories. Within main categories use A-Z filing.
 
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