Category: Paperwork Optimisation

Finally! We start building the core element of your optimised paperwork system, the VIP Directory (Very Important Paperwork Directory)!

Example: My optimised paperwork system

As a first step, I want to introduce my own optimised paperwork system to you.

A real-life example will help you better understand why the VIP Directory is the centrepiece of this system and how everything works together.

Most of my clients have created a similar paperwork system.

However, all our systems and directories are still unique – because we are all unique. We have unique life circumstances and lifestyles, and our paperwork-related requirements, needs, and goals differ.

It would be so nice if you could sit here, next to my side, at my desk, and I could actually SHOW you my paperwork system.

That’s not possible, unfortunately, so I will try to describe it to you.

My optimised PHYSICAL paperwork system consists of

• • one binder that holds the VIP Directory (printout of a Word file) and its direct attachments (some tables, lists, and copies of documents),
  • and a set of 12 binders that contain some specific additional information (For example: The folder ‘Insurances’ contains the original contracts and the latest versions of the policies/insurance updates).

Twelve binders are still too many.

However, for now, I am satisfied with the current situation because we had 66 binders (!) before I installed the VIP Directory. So I have been quite successful at applying the radical optimisation approach, in my opinion.

My goal is to further minimise the physical system by reducing the number of the additional 12 binders. I am not there yet because I will have to do another round of decluttering, and then it will take time to scan all remaining documents before I can integrate them into the digital system.

You can click the link to see the table of contents of the main binder that contains the VIP Directory and its attachments:

​table of contents – main binder of my VIP Directory.pdf​

My optimised DIGITAL paperwork system has the same structure as the physical system:

One main folder (called ‘VIP Directory’) and a set of sub-folders.

These are screenshots of the digital folder structure, just to give you a broad idea.

The first screenshot shows our VIP Directory at the top of the list of our private folders in My Drive (Google Drive).

The second image shows the content of the VIP Directory folder. It includes the VIP Directory itself (the Word file ‘A – VIP Directory’) and the four subfolders B to F.

The other two screenshots present the subfolders within the folders ‘B – Attachments to VIP Directory’ and ‘C – Copies Important Documents G & M’.

What I love about my optimised paperwork system

I know – it’s definitely not perfect. I still need to improve it.

It’s also a constant work in progress. I have to make sure that I add new important information.

However,

Its clear and simple structure makes it easy for me to manage it in everyday life.

• • The subfolders under the main folder ’01 – VIP Directory’ contain ALL our very important information (besides the original documents in the twelve physical binders I talked about, which I still have to declutter and then scan).
  • This means that whatever information I need, I find it in the VIP Directory folder system.
  • And whenever new documents or information need to be organised (because I decided they are very important and need to be kept in my system), I know there is a ‘right’ place to store them within the folder system.

My optimised system is also straightforward enough for my husband to take over and find any information he needs – in case something happens to me.

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Ready to start creating your own VIP Directory?

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

Template VIP Directory

Today, you can – if you wish – download my template of the structure of a VIP Directory.

It offers an example of the table of contents, and it lists a broad selection of suggestions for data and information to add under the typical categories of a VIP Directory.

I believe the template will make creating your VIP Directory much easier – because you’ll not have to start from zero.

However, as I have said several times, your VIP Directory will be unique, and its final version might look completely different from the template version I offer you today.

Ideally, your directory’s structure and content will 100% align with your unique needs, requirements, and interests. It will change over time because you will adapt it to changes in your life.

So, I suggest you take my template as a tool to help you get started.

I can see two ways you can use the template:

• • Use the template as a source of inspiration. – Scroll through the table of contents and then through the suggested categories to see what might be helpful to you. Then, start to create your own VIP Directory somewhere else.
  • Use the template to fill in your data and information directly. – Save a copy of the file on your computer – and start writing in it. You can easily throw out the parts of the template that are irrelevant to you and add whatever makes sense to you.

​CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE. ​

The VIP Directory summarises the ‘story’ of your life’s relevant data and information.

This story can’t be just told; it must be written down. You can choose wherever and however you wish to do that.

You can use a spreadsheet to fill in the story or, as I did, a Word document. You can create a note in your notes app. You can also create a handwritten directory in a paper notebook. – Use the format and container that suit you best.

This is why I prefer to use a Word document as the container for my ‘VIP Story’:

• • I can add new content and change the order easily.
  • I can move through the document quickly and jump directly to the part I want to work on or check. (In the Word settings, if you check the box next to ‘Navigation Pane Show’ under ‘View’, and then click on ‘Headings’ at the top of the column that appears on the left side of your document, you get a temporary table of contents, allowing you to move around in your document.)
  • I can create the ‘Table of contents’ on page 1 of the document, and I can print it out together with the rest of the document – my directory becomes a little booklet. (That’s very useful in my case because my husband doesn’t like to scroll around in digital files. I showed him where I file the printout of our VIP Directory, and I can trust that he will find the information he needs if something happens to me.)
  • It’s so easy to type and write in a Word document that I tend to write a lot when I work on my directory. And that’s good! I believe that in this case, ‘more is better’. The more I tell and explain in the directory, the easier it is to understand – for me but particularly for others – the meaning and purpose of the data and information I decide to include in the directory.

Some final tips

• • Just get started! – You will never be ready prepared. You will never be able to do it perfectly. Don’t try to assemble all the needed information before entering it into the directory. Take any information that comes to your mind or gets in your hands and add it to the directory.
  • Don’t limit or restrict yourself in your writing. – You cannot write too much. Make good use of the sub-sections ‘Notes / To do’s’ – this will clear up your head and help you focus on what you are working on.
  • Don’t try to do it all at once. – Take your time. Yes, it’s a lot of work – but it’s absolutely doable – if you do it one step at a time. Plan short working sessions. Don’t rush. Create a routine that allows you to work continuously on this project.
  • Pause and evaluate what you have created so far. – While you are compiling the content in the directory, stop from time to time. Imagine someone else is reading through the category you are working on. Will they be able to understand your data and information? Do you need to add some explanatory information? What about you? Will the content you just added still be clear to you when you access it again in 6-months-time?
  • Get feedback on your VIP Directory. – Show the directory to your spouse or partner or to a family member or close friend and explain its purpose and content. Do they understand why you created the directory and what’s in there? Do they have questions that help you see areas of improvement? Do you need to change or add something so that others will be able to make good use of the directory in case of an emergency?
  • Update the directory at regular intervals. – At least once a year, or more often if lots of new and important (= to keep) information is entering your home. You can use an easily accessible tray or a box to collect information and paperwork that still needs to be organised. This ensures you have everything handy the next time you update the directory.
  • Be very strict concerning the additional paperwork you collect and store in places separate from the directory. – Commit yourself to only keeping and filing what is absolutely necessary. Remember, your goal is to reduce your paperwork radically – by 50% or more.
  • Do several rounds of decluttering if you struggle to minimise the existing paperwork as drastically as you planned. – Your mind must get used to the idea that most of what you used to keep/file in the past is not genuinely relevant to you and can go without getting missed.

That’s it. 🙂

I think you now have what you need to start the work on your VIP Directory.

However, if you get stuck or have any questions, you know I am here to help.

Just get in touch (margot@letgo-moveon.com.au), and we’ll sort it out together.

One final thing:

If you are not subscribed to my ​Simply Organised Newsletter​, I suggest you ​sign up now.​

The weekly newsletter will bring tips and tricks into your inbox and help you better organise your home, your paperwork, your mind, and your daily life.

AND it will keep you informed about any additional Radical Paperwork Optimisation resources that I will publish on my website in future.

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Ready to start creating your own VIP Directory?

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

It’s time to go into more detail and look closer at the types of data and information you want to collect in your VIP Directory.

Tip: If you haven’t read all the most recent articles in the series ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’ yet, I suggest you do that first before you continue reading.

The three sub-sections that help you organise each category of your VIP Directory:

A – Overview/Summary of most important data/information

B – Information about related physical/digital paperwork

C – Notes / To do’s

Example

Let’s imagine you have a dog called Daisy. You add the topic ‘Pets’ to your VIP Directory. Then, you start filling in the important data and information about your dog.

Your entry in the directory might look like this:

PETS

A – Overview/Summary of most important data/information

Here, you write down everything important to know about your dog.

E.g., name, type, breed, date of birth, microchip no., special needs (food, medication, …), vaccination info; contact details vet, vet clinic, daycare/walker, groomer, boarding service; info about pet insurance, etc.

B – Information about related physical/digital paperwork

In this sub-section, you refer to all additional resources that belong to the category ‘Pets’ that you don’t include in the directory but store elsewhere. You explain where the relevant physical paperwork can be found and where and how you file the digital paperwork related to the topic ‘Pets’.

C – Notes / To do’s

This sub-section is a very important part of the entries in your directory. You should list this section under each directory category – even if you don’t come up with anything to note here at that moment.

This section will remind you to think deeper about each category and consider which data and information might still be missing. Or which parts of the related paperwork still need some organising and/or decluttering work.

While you are doing the first or second round of collecting information to include in the VIP Directory, you will often not immediately find the necessary data, or you will notice that the related paperwork is out of order or that you have accumulated lots of clutter in that category that needs to get sorted out.

Instead of interrupting the work on your directory to do what you realise needs to be done, you quickly write your thoughts down in the sub-section ‘C – Notes / To do’s’.

Then, you can continue to work on the directory entries because you know that you will not forget what you want to do later at a more convenient time.

This real-life example will help to understand the usefulness of the sub-sections:

This example shows, I hope, how useful the sub-sections are.

When I was compiling the information and data I found most important to know about our dogs, I was not completely happy. I noticed that many dog-related paperwork resources need some re-organisation and decluttering.

This is good to know, but it doesn’t mean I must do it immediately. I can do that later when I have more time and energy to focus on this task.

Keeping notes of the to-do’s, however, means I don’t have to remember them; I get them out of my head and can rely on getting reminded of them the next time I scroll through my VIP Directory.

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Are you interested in creating your own VIP Directory?

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

Before you start to work on the creation of your VIP Directory, I want you to consider this

These are the three basic steps of the creation of your VIP Directory:

Step 1 – Create a list of the life areas/topics that are of importance in your life.

This list will become the structure of your VIP Directory, its table of contents.

I suggest you start typing the list into a Word document. This makes it easy to add and change things.

Don’t invest time formatting the document; don’t try to make it look nice. This is not about creating something perfect and final; it’s about writing down the ‘story’ of your life’s essential data, information, and documents – and making this an easy and uncomplicated process.

If you wish, you can optimise the format and outlook later when you have a clearer idea of what the final version of your directory will look like.

For now, just write down what comes to your mind, any area of your life, any topic that you consider important to you.

Step 2 – Pick one area/topic from your list and start compiling the relevant data and information.

What data/information/documentation types are important in this area and must be added to the directory?

In one of the next articles, I will give you the link to a more comprehensive template of a VIP Directory. This template will help you get aware of all the detailed information you want to become part of your ‘information collection centre’.

For now, just get started. Write down the relevant data and information under the chosen area of your life.

It doesn’t have to look nice, it doesn’t have to be complete and perfect. This is the start of the work; you can correct it and add to it later.

Step 3 – Add information about additional documents related to your chosen area/topic.

If all or a part of your personal paperwork is already organised in a filing system, you can decide to leave it as it is for now (and declutter later).

If you start from scratch, you can decide to collect any additional resources related to your chosen life area in a temporary container, like a tray or box. Later, when you know how much additional paperwork you need/want to keep, you can decide on a suitable form of storage/filing.

The three steps applied – A simple example:

Step 1 – Create a list of important life areas and topics

When I started to work on Step 1, I listed these topics: Personal Data /Contacts/ Dogs/ Home/ Car, etc./ Finances/ Heath/ Taxes. I decided that our VIP Directory – and therefore my list of essential life areas/topics – must also include a category called ‘Overview Business M’. That’s because my business is an essential area of my life.

Step 2 – Start to compile relevant data and information for one of the listed life areas.

When I worked on the topic ‘Overview Busisnes M’ from my list, I collected the primary data related to my business. The collection includes, for example, information that I often have to look up, like my tax file number.

Step 3 – Add information about additional resources related to the chosen life area.

At the top of the topic ‘Overview Business M’, I included information about how I organise and file the additional necessary resources (physical and digital paperwork).

I also added some information that would be needed from the person who might have to handle my business affairs if something happened to me and the business had to be closed down.

This is the information I have included in the directory under the topic ‘Overview Business M’ so far (It’s an ongoing process; I’ll have to add more detailed information and explanations.):

 

In my next article, I will present a proven way for you to organise the information on the different life areas/topics in the directory.

I will also provide a comprehensive template of a directory (a Word file) that you can download and use to create your own VIP Directory.

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Are you interested in creating your own VIP Directory?

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

Do you have doubts about your ability to manage your radical paperwork optimisation project successfully?

Last week, I received an email from a subscriber who expressed doubt that he would ever be able to compile a VIP Directory himself.

He wrote that he had so much paperwork piled up, most of it in a very disorganised state, that it seemed impossible to sort it all out and collect only the very important stuff in one single place.

I wrote back to him, saying that he was definitely not alone and that his reaction to my introduction of the optimised paperwork system was a very common one.

It’s similar to the feedback I often get when I start working with a new client on their paperwork.

However, I know better. 😉

I know better because I know what so many clients say after we have finished working on their paperwork.

These are just two typical examples of clients’ feedback:

‘I feel I am finally well prepared for my retirement. And I feel lighter. It was not easy to make all these ‘radical’ decluttering decisions, but I did it. I learned a lot about myself and have built a good relationship with my past. I’m proud of myself and ready to go.’ (J.E.)

‘I feel so much better and more in control of my life now. I think it’s because I finally know what really matters to me. I still don’t like doing my paperwork, but at least the stress and frustration are gone.’ (A.F.)

I bring up these comments to encourage you to keep an open mind.

I encourage you to deliberately decide that you want to have positive expectations for your radical paperwork optimisation project.

I will not lie to you and say that it is not much work and that it is easy to do. That wouldn’t be fair.

Because in most cases it is a lot of work and it is not always easy to do.

However, you can believe me – and my former clients – that it is doable. And that you can do it.

I am 100% sure that you can create your VIP Directory containing your very important information and then successfully declutter all the other stuff that is not important (any longer).

I also want to encourage you by listing the four main benefits of the VIP Directory.

The key functions of your VIP Directory.

I suggest that you not just quickly read through the next paragraphs.

Instead, after reading about a key function of the VIP Directory, take some time to consider how this specific function will affect you and your relationship with your paperwork.

# 1 – The VIP Directory keeps track of and simply organises ALL your important personal information in ONE place.

It minimises the time and effort spent organising and locating important documents.

Having a VIP Directory allows you to access the necessary information whenever required, reducing stress and frustration.

Many of life’s important documents and data are housed directly in the VIP Directory. More complex information is organised in separate attachments to the directory or in designated external storage areas.

This means whatever information you need, you know exactly where to go and find it.

And whenever new documents or information need to be organised (because you decided they are very important and need to be kept), you know there is a ‘right’ place to store them.

# 2 – The VIP Directory is your reliable companion and supports you in your daily life.

As soon as important information has been added to the (physical and/or digital) directory, it’s always available to you, and you can trust that you will be easily and quickly able to find what you need in normal daily life and emergency situations.

You don’t have to keep important information in your head, remember the places where specific information lives, or worry about where to store or find information.

You can feel certain that you will find anything you need whenever you need it. This gives you peace of mind.

# 3 – The VIP Directory supports your loved ones in challenging times and acts as a legacy guide.

Organising paperwork and creating the VIP Directory benefits not only yourself but also your loved ones.

No matter what stage in life you are at, at some point, someone else will need to access and manage your personal documents and information. To help everyone be prepared for this situation, all you need to do is add your legacy information to the VIP Directory to transform it into your Legacy Guide.

It allows family members, caregivers, or designated individuals to access crucial information quickly during emergencies, estate settlements, or other critical situations.

# 4 – The VIP Directory helps you define and re-define your values and priorities.

Compiling a VIP Directory is also a process of self-reflection and self-discovery.

The directory is supposed to contain ONLY the very important, but it should contain EVERYTHING that is very important.

To decide what belongs in the directory (and what not), you need to be(come) well aware of what’s truly important to you, what your values and priorities are, and what your responsibilities (legal, social, etc.) are in this phase of your life. This awareness gives your life purpose and direction.

The process of sorting through your stuff and making lots of intentional decisions and choices is not easy and often uncomfortable – but it’s worth the effort: It leaves you with more self-confidence and clarity.

Also, the VIP Directory needs to be updated regularly because life is always changing. Existing information can become outdated, and new information needs to be added. Updating your directory regularly means that you automatically update your values and priorities regularly.

What do you think?

Which of the four key functions of the VIP Directory is the most important to you?

What are the results that YOU want to achieve that make it worth the time and effort you will invest in this project?

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Are you interested in creating your own VIP Directory?

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

Today, I want to continue to tell you the background story of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation approach.

In another article, I focused on the benefits that having a central collection point for all important paperwork – the Very Important Paperwork Directory – brings into our daily lives.

Now, I want to discuss the benefits that such an organised directory offers to our family – in circumstances that we don’t want but that we can’t avoid with certainty.

None of us knows if and when a serious illness or even death might happen to us, in which case our spouse or another family member will have to sort out our personal affairs.

A properly prepared and organised VIP Directory (Very Important Paperwork Directory) will help them manage this task in a challenging and overwhelming situation.

A little personal case study: Why and how I want to support my family – if and when something serious happens to me.

Fifteen years ago, my father-in-law passed away unexpectedly.

We flew from Hong Kong to Germany to arrange the funeral, and after that, I stayed two weeks longer to support my mother-in-law. And to sort out the paperwork she didn’t know anything about because her husband had always taken care of it.

When I started going through the papers on his desk and in the filing cabinets, I quickly realised how difficult – or even impossible – it is to completely understand another person’s organising system if this person is no longer around to explain it to us.

It took me a while to at least broadly understand how my father-in-law had organised and filed things like bank accounts and statements, insurance policies, personal ID documents, tax and medical records, invoices, contact details, etc.

As I could no longer ask him, I can only hope that I finally managed to sort things out the way he would have it done.

One thing was easier for me to do than it would have been for him: It was definitely easier for me to declutter a lot of papers because I was not as emotionally attached to the information they contained as he would have probably been.

Finally, I compiled all the personal information that was relevant to my mother-in-law in ONE binder.

Five years later, when we helped her downsize into a small apartment, she still had this one folder, which still contained all the information she needed to manage her life.

I had another and different experience six years ago when my mother passed away, also unexpectedly.

My four sisters and I cleared my mother’s house and belongings together. A very tough job. And very emotional, of course.

However, sorting my mother’s paperwork and arranging what needed to be done with it was not difficult.

My mother was a very organised person, and she – although she hated paperwork – had kept all her documents and important papers well sorted in one area of her home.

However, my mother left us one challenging paperwork-related task: deciding what to do with the collection of letters she had exchanged with my father before they got married. ​You can read about how we handled that here.​

Last year, I helped another close family member to organise the paperwork after her husband’s death.

The challenge of sorting through his personal paperwork and finding the documents and information she so urgently needed added to her suffering in this nearly unbearable life situation.

What I learned over the years:

• • These very personal experiences made me realise that it is not enough to organise our paperwork in a way that is clear and logical to us.
  • If we want to support our closest family members in challenging times, we must arrange and manage our papers and information in a way that is also clear and understandable to others.

This is my personal opinion, of course.

However, most of my clients share my view.

When they start working with me, many of them suffer from an overabundance of paperwork.

And often, it’s not (or not only) their own documents and papers that are kept in boxes and boxes in the garage or attic.

Often, it’s inherited paperwork from parents, grandparents or other family members.

My clients took the paperwork into their homes because they struggled to decide what to do with it.

They felt unable to make decluttering decisions because they didn’t know what their late family members would have wanted them to do with all the papers, documents, and information they left behind.

Applying the Radical Paperwork Optimisation approach didn’t make sorting out their loved ones’ paperwork easy, but it made it doable.

One client told me that radically organising and decluttering her father’s paperwork was like ‘having a conversation with him’. She felt that by ‘being courageous’ and finally making decisions about his things, she was ‘showing her appreciation and respect for him’. When all the work was done, she ‘felt relief and peace of mind’.

What about you?

Have you experienced situations like the ones I described in your personal life as well?

Do you share my point of view? Or do you have a different opinion?

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Are you interested in creating your own VIP Directory?

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

Today, I want to tell you the background story of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation approach – and why and how I developed it.

A little case study – My first ‘Important Documents’ Folder

I created my first ‘Important Documents’ folder more than twenty years ago when we made our first overseas move.

Some people compile an ‘emergency folder’.

As the name says, these collections of most essential paperwork are usually only taken out and used in cases of emergency – like when a natural disaster forces you to run out of the house and leave everything behind, or when unwanted experiences like illness or death turn life upside down.

I never liked the name, and my folder had, from the beginning, many more functions than just serving me in an emergency. That’s why I decided to call it my ‘ID (Important Documents) Folder’.

The ID Folder’s original purpose

I created my first ID Folder many years ago to ensure that our important personal documents were safe while we were moving to our far away new home country:

• • A single folder is easy to carry in hand luggage. If the ship with the containers containing all our belongings, including the boxes filled with paperwork, were to sink, we would still have all our important information.
  • At that time, everyone depended and relied much more on physical paperwork than most people do today.
  • We didn’t have smartphones to store and manage personal information, such as contacts, appointments, to-dos, notes, etc., digitally.
  • And not only our ID documents like passports and driver’s licenses were kept in physical form, but most of our important paperwork was also just that: ‘paper’work (information on paper).
  • I had some information stored on my computer, but that was not available while we were travelling (no cloud storage at that time) or if anything happened to the computer.

Since then, we have moved overseas several more times, and my ID Folder has always been part of my hand luggage, travelling with me on the plane.

So, the ID Folder continued to be the central and safe collection point for all our important information, but it also had other functions in our everyday lives, such as:

• • Quick access to important data/contacts/info – for example, if I needed our passport numbers to fill in a form, or our tax numbers for an investment application, etc.
  • Archive for original documents for which we didn’t have a separate storage location—for example, originals of birth certificates, family registers, deregistration certificates from Germany, etc.
  • Collection point for copies of important documents/identification cards, where the original cannot be filed as it is needed in daily life – for example, copies of passports and driver’s licenses, credit cards, Medicare cards, etc.
  • Overviews of the main data of important contracts (with more complex documentation requirements) that were filed away in separate binders or archive boxes, such as lease agreements, financial investment reports, or insurance contracts.
  • Overviews of important contacts (close and extended family, friends, key colleagues, neighbours, tax advisor, real estate agency, handyman, etc.).
  • Collection point for ‘secret’ information such as the information needed to access electronic devices and online accounts.
  • Collection point for ‘In Case of Emergency’ information like advance directives and powers of attorney, wills, funeral guidelines, and instructions on handling personal papers (e.g., my diaries, photos, and other sentimental personal stuff).

The ID folder served me well over many years because I knew I could always find the most important information easily and quickly whenever needed.

However, the fortunate fact that the ships transporting our belongings never sank during our moves had a downside.

Because EVERYTHING always arrived safely at our new home:

Not only my ID Folder but also all these other folders, binders, archive boxes, and filing cabinets filled with paperwork.

And I kept everything.

Wherever we lived, I always had too much paperwork stored in our home.

I just kept it all because I didn’t make deliberate decisions about what was truly important and what was not. To be safe, I didn’t throw out anything (or nearly nothing).

This is no longer the case – because I introduced the Radical Paperwork Optimisation concept in our household some years ago, and

I radically reduced our physical and digital paperwork.

Now, we have the VIP (Very Important Paperwork) Directory, which is the collection point for our very important information (similar to the ID Folder in the past).

In addition to the Directory, we now own only a few slim binders that hold some additional paperwork.

And I know that when we decide to move overseas again in the future, I will no longer have to carry the VIP Directory with me on the plane:

Its digital duplicate ‘lives’ in the cloud and is available to me wherever I go.

What about you?

Do you have a folder or a box or an area in your home that serves as the collection point for your important paperwork and personal information?

And, in case you moved houses in the past, how did you organise the transfer of your important documents and data?

Or, in case you plan to move, maybe downsize, in the near future – how will you ensure that you take along what’s important now (and not what was only important in the past)?

The creation of an ‘information collection point’ like the VIP Directory makes not only our own lives (and moving houses) easier.

In another article, I will tell you the other reason why I am such a big fan of the VIP Directory:

It helps us to take care of our loved ones and support them in challenging times (when something serious happens to us).

What we do today (organising our important information) will significantly help our family do what they need to do (managing our personal affairs) when we can’t do it any longer.

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Do you feel inspired to create your own VIP Directory?

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

The purpose of this article is to briefly introduce the remaining three steps of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation approach.

So far, we have discussed the first three steps:

Step 1: Assess Your Current Relationship with Paperwork

Action: Begin by honestly evaluating your current paperwork situation. ​The free guide, “7 Questions to Clarify Your Relationship with Personal Paperwork“​, provides a practical starting point. Reflecting on these questions helps you understand your current comfort level, identify areas for improvement, and acknowledge any negative emotions associated with paperwork management.

Step 2: Embrace the Commitment to Radical Change

Action: Acknowledge the need for a significant shift in how you manage paperwork and commit to investing the necessary time and effort. Identifying the benefits of an organised system – such as reduced stress, increased efficiency, and peace of mind – will fuel your motivation. ​This article contains a list of benefits/outcomes to help you define what you want to achieve.​

Step 3: Create a Comprehensive Paperwork Inventory

Action: Develop a clear picture of your existing paperwork by creating a detailed inventory. This involves:

• • Physical Inventory: Documenting all physical storage locations and the types of documents they contain.
  • Digital Inventory: Listing digital storage locations (computer, cloud, external drives) and the types of files stored in each.

This step provides valuable awareness of the volume and types of paperwork you possess, setting the stage for effective organisation and decluttering. ​This article and ​this one explain Step 3 and offer some examples.

Very soon, we will explore the remaining three steps:

Step 4: Define Your Criteria for “Very Important” Information

Action: Establish clear criteria to differentiate between essential and non-essential information.

Consider your values, future goals, and the insights gained from the inventory. This step lays the groundwork for confident decision-making, first during the organising and then during the decluttering process.

Step 5: Create Your VIP Directory – The Heart of the Optimised Paperwork System

Action: Develop a centralised ‘information collection point’ called the “Very Important Paperwork Directory” (VIP Directory). This will serve as the primary repository for all crucial documents and information.

• • Organise by Life Areas: Structure the directory based on relevant life areas, such as personal identification, financial information, healthcare, and legacy planning.
  • Physical or Digital: Opt for a physical binder or a digital folder structure based on your preference.

The VIP Directory becomes your go-to resource for essential information, ensuring easy access – and peace of mind.

Step 6: Radically Declutter What’s No Longer Relevant

Action: With your VIP Directory established, systematically discard any remaining paperwork or digital information that does not align with your defined criteria.

The goal is to reduce your total paperwork by at least 50%, freeing up physical, digital, and mental space.

The good thing about Steps 4, 5, and 6 is that they ‘work hand in hand’:

For each area of your life,

• • you first define the criteria for the very important information in that area (Step 4).
  • Then you gather that information and add it to your VIP Directory (Step 5).
  • After that, you are ready to discard the remaining paperwork that you accumulated in that life area (Step 6).

This means that a probably huge project – organising and decluttering all your physical and digital paperwork – gets naturally divided into a series of smaller and more manageable sub-projects.

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The Radical Paperwork Optimisation Process can help you create and enjoy a better-organised and more relaxed daily life.  

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

During the past weeks, I had a couple of Zoom chats with subscribers and answered several questions that came in via email from other readers of my Optimised Paperwork Newsletter.

Based on these conversations, I decided to include the most frequently asked questions and my answers in this

Radical Paperwork Optimisation – Q&A Collection 

#1 – Why should I invest time and effort in a Radical Paperwork Optimisation project?

Anyone at any stage in life can benefit from a radical reduction and simplified organisation of physical and digital paperwork. We all tend to accumulate too quickly too much personal information – which unnecessarily complicates our daily lives’ organisation and management.

You will particularly benefit from a Radical Paperwork Optimisation project

• • If you have been suffering from paperwork overload and/or disorganisation for a while and have decided that now, at the beginning of your retirement, is the right time to clear it all up – and get rid of the stress, frustration, and overwhelm.
  • If you believe your paperwork is actually well organised but think that you kept too much, that it takes too much space, and that it steals too much time and energy from you every day.
  • If you want to start your retirement with a practical, satisfying and empowering project that will make you feel well-prepared and organised for this new phase in your life, and confident and competent to manage it successfully.
  • If you plan to downsize in the near future and know that you will have to reduce and reorganise your belongings and personal paperwork now and want to get well-prepared for the move into a smaller new home.
  • If you want to take active care of your spouse/family and support them in any emergency or unforeseen event. Creating a comprehensive, well-sorted, and easily accessible collection of your essential paperwork and information will provide peace of mind for them—and yourself.
  • If you are determined to leave the past behind and focus on your future – without having a clear idea of it yet. The radical focus of the paperwork optimisation process on what is very important to you will help you better understand your values and priorities and create inspiring plans that give your retirement life purpose and direction.

#2 – How can excess paperwork hinder a successful transition into the next stage of your life?

While often exciting, many significant life changes can be pretty challenging.

Too much and/or disorganised paperwork can become a burden, hindering your ability to approach the next phase in your life with clarity and peace of mind.

These are some of the negative consequences of an excess of personal paperwork:

• • It consumes valuable time and energy. – Searching for documents amidst clutter steals time from enjoyable retirement activities.
  • It creates stress and frustration. – Feeling disorganised and struggling to find specific information when you need it quickly can lead to unnecessary stress and anxiety.
  • It hinders proactive planning. – Managing life changes like downsizing or longer travelling periods becomes more challenging if paperwork is not organised and easily accessible.
  • It burdens your family in emergencies. – Finding essential documents becomes difficult for your family during critical times (e.g., if you get seriously ill) if it’s unclear where you keep and how you organise your personal paperwork.
  • It limits the enjoyment of the present. – Clinging to paperwork and information from the past distracts you from the present and can prevent you from fully embracing your new life and its opportunities.

#3 – What is the ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation Approach’?

This approach simplifies and optimises paperwork management, focusing on what truly matters.

It consists of three core principles:

• • Radically Focus: Focus your attention solely on the documents and information essential for your current and future life.
  • Radically Organise: Systematically organise only the vital paperwork in a designated, easily accessible location.
  • Radically Declutter: Confidently discard everything deemed non-essential – freeing up physical, digital, and mental space.

#4 – What are the benefits of this radical approach?

By embracing this approach, you can anticipate:

• • Mental and emotional relief – Reduced clutter decreases stress and creates peace of mind and a sense of control.
  • Maximised space – Physical and digital clutter decreases, opening up space in your home and on your devices.
  • Efficient time management – Locating and managing important information becomes easier, freeing up time for enjoyable activities.
  • Clarity and confidence – Knowing what to keep and where it is empowers you to manage personal affairs effectively.
  • Proactive future planning – Transitions and unexpected events become easier to navigate with organised paperwork.
  • Reduced family burden – Loved ones can easily access vital information during emergencies or challenging situations.
  • Enhanced enjoyment of the present – Letting go of the past allows you to embrace and appreciate your retirement fully.

#5 – Why is organising prioritised over decluttering in this approach?

Traditional organising methods often advocate for decluttering first.

However, this approach prioritises organisation for these reasons:

• • Focus on Essentials – Starting with selecting and organising the most important documents makes the organising (and decluttering) process more manageable and less daunting.
  • Clarity for Decluttering – Once essentials are organised, identifying and discarding non-essentials becomes easier and less emotional.

#6 – What is the ‘Paperwork Inventory’, and why is it important?

The Paperwork Inventory is a crucial step in the optimisation process.

It involves:

• • Creating a comprehensive list – Document all physical and digital paperwork locations within your home and devices.
  • Categorising information – Group similar paperwork types to better understand your current situation.
  • Noting storage areas – Specify where each paperwork category is located for future reference and organisation.

This inventory provides a realistic view of your current paperwork situation, highlighting areas requiring attention and enabling informed decisions for the next steps.

#7 – What is the ‘Very Important Paperwork Directory’ (VIP Directory)?

The VIP Directory acts as the central hub of your optimised paperwork system.

It’s a single location (physical or digital) housing all your essential documents and information.

Key features include:

• • Comprehensive Overview – It provides a clear picture of your crucial paperwork and its organisation.
  • Simplified Structure – It’s easy to create, maintain, and adjust to your evolving needs and priorities.
  • Enhanced Accessibility – Information is readily available when needed, eliminating time wasted on searching.
  • Peace of Mind – Knowing your vital documents are secure and accessible fosters a sense of calm and control.
  • Valuable Legacy Tool – You can easily transform the directory into a Legacy Guide, offering your family clear instructions and access to the necessary information.​

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The Radical Paperwork Optimisation Process can help you create and enjoy a better-organised and more relaxed daily life.  

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

In a recent article, I discussed the first two tasks of Step 3 of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation Approach. Read more here.

In this article, I focus on the third task of Step 3:

#3 – Create an inventory of your DIGITAL paperwork.

Why is it important to compile an inventory of your digital information?

‘Digital information management’ is a vast field.

There are thousands of hardware alternatives, software offerings, applications, and tools from which to choose.

There are no strict or clear rules, strategies, or guidelines for organising digital paperwork, and everything constantly changes.

And we all manage it differently.

How we save, store, retrieve, review, and use our digital information varies extensively.

Also, how much we have digitised our personal information varies from person to person.

Some of my clients, for example, have no digital paperwork; others have all or nearly all personal information transferred to their electronic devices and maybe even use file management software to organise it efficiently.

Many clients work with a ‘hybrid’ solution: Parts of their personal information are stored in physical form on paper, and other parts are organised in digital form.

Some clients simultaneously store and use digital information on various electronic devices (phones, tablets, laptops, etc.); some use external devices and/or cloud services for storage and backup, while others keep all their data on their PCs.

It seems impossible to define ‘the right’ solution for digital paperwork organisation – probably because there is none.

So, the whole topic of ‘digital information management’ can feel very intimidating.

Most of my clients don’t like it. (I am also not a big fan.😉)

And it could be relatively easy for us to ignore this topic, at least for a while.

Digital paperwork is intangible (we can’t directly look at and touch it). As soon as we move away from our devices’ screens, it becomes invisible.

This means digital information (and digital clutter!) is far less confronting than physical paperwork – it’s much easier to ‘hide’ the huge amounts of digital information most of us have accumulated over time.

However, I strongly recommend you take the time and effort to compile an inventory of your digital paperwork.

As with the physical paperwork, you need a clear overview of the current digital situation as well – before planning the ideal future and how you want to get there.

How to compile a simple inventory of your digital paperwork:

Again, no special equipment is required to compile the inventory.

Create a simple table in your notebook or a spreadsheet on your computer/tablet (see example below).

Gather your devices (computer, tablet, phone) and check all storage locations (folders and applications, cloud services, external storage devices).

Don’t try to create a complete list of all digital data, files, and documents.

That would most likely be too much work and too time-consuming. And it wouldn’t make much sense because we tend to change our digital filing systems so often that a painfully created detailed list would quickly become outdated.

Focus on exploring your digital landscape and take as many notes as you need to broadly describe and understand what you currently have and how it is organised.

Imagine you wanted to tell a friend about your digital information system. How would you describe it?

Example:

This is what a simple digital information inventory could look like:

I quickly created this inventory only for demonstration purposes and didn’t expect to find anything interesting in it.

However, as my notes (the right column) show, spending just one hour describing my digital information systems yielded some important insights. I now know that some areas need radical organising and decluttering!

So, I hope that this simple and quickly compiled example helps you see – and agree – that we need an inventory of our digital information – in addition to the physical paperwork inventory – to clearly see our starting point.

The next steps of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation process use the insights we gain from our inventories to help us make firm decisions about the ideal state of our paperwork and how to achieve it.

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The Radical Paperwork Optimisation Process can help you create and enjoy a better-organised and more relaxed daily life.  

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

The Radical Paperwork Optimisation approach involves 6 steps. (Read more here.)

Step 3 is another necessary awareness exercise, but unlike the first two steps, it’s very practical.

It’s no longer about thoughts, feelings, and desired outcomes; it’s all about the facts of the current situation:

Step 3 – Compile an overview of the types and amounts of paperwork you currently have in your life: Your Paperwork Inventory.

The information and data you collect in this step will build the foundation of Steps 4 and 5 of the approach.

Compiling the inventory is straightforward and doesn’t require special equipment or knowledge.

You can use a notebook to collect handwritten notes, type the inventory in your notes app, or create a simple Word document or spreadsheet.

Yes, this step will take some time and effort.

But it is so valuable!

It will help you gain the clarity you need to make confident decisions and take powerful action in the coming steps.

Because –

if you don’t have a clear picture of the current situation, you will struggle to make clear decisions on your journey into the desired future.

How to create the Paperwork Inventory

#1 – Schedule some time(s) for this exercise in your calendar.

#2 – Create an inventory of the PHYSICAL paperwork you keep in your home.

#3 – Create an inventory of your DIGITAL paperwork.

In this article, I want to discuss #1 and #2 of Step 3 of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation process.

#1 – Schedule some time(s) for this exercise in your calendar.

The amount of time you will need depends on your personal situation, of course.

It depends on

• • the amount of paperwork you have accumulated,
  • the number of various types of paperwork you have,
  • the number of locations where you store the paperwork.

No matter how much paperwork you think you have, you will find out you have more than you thought. 😉

That’s why I recommend you don’t try to compile the complete Paperwork Inventory in one go.

To get started, plan a 30- or 60-minute session.

After the first round, you will know better how much time you want to schedule for this exercise in total.

#2 – Create an inventory of the PHYSICAL paperwork you keep in your home.

a) Create a simple table with 4 columns on a notepad or the computer.

Column titles: room, storage area, what, notes. (See example below.)

Tip: Give the column ‘notes’ enough space. Because – the more notes you take now, the more clarity and certainty you gain for the decisions you’ll have to make later.

b) Start in an ‘easy’ room – containing only small amounts of paper.

For many people, the kitchen is a rather ‘paper-neutral’ space. For others, however, it is one of the most paper-cluttered rooms in their homes.

Go to a room that’s ‘easy’ for you and look around.

Then, start taking notes.

• • Where in this room have you stored any paper? – Write it down.
  • What type of paper is it? What is it about? How much is it? – Write it down.
  • Any thoughts coming up? – Write them down.

Tip 1: Don’t start decluttering or reorganising now! Instead, just take an inventory. (You can keep track of any decluttering or organising ideas for later by adding them to the ‘notes’ column.)

Tip 2: Take photos of the areas where you find papers. They can help you remember what you have when you go through your list later. And serve as ‘Before’ pictures. At the end of your Radical Paperwork Optimisation Project, you can compare them with the ‘After’ pictures (which will be fun and make you proud).

c) Go to the next room and continue writing down any paperwork-related insights. And then to the next room.

Don’t skip any rooms.

The last room should be the most ‘challenging’. (Often, that’s the home office. Sometimes, it’s the attic or garage.)

EXAMPLE

A simple example will make it easier to understand the workflow and the purpose of the Paperwork Inventory exercise.

The image below is a snapshot of the starting point of my Paperwork Inventory exercise.

I did it in 2020 when I started my personal radical paperwork optimisation project. (It was the turning point in my decades-long struggle with too much paperwork!)

I continued with the pantry (even there, I found some papers!), the living room, the bedroom (no papers), and the hallway. (I skipped my husband’s office because the papers there (a lot!) were his business.)

My last and most challenging room was my office. I needed 3 hours and 15 pages on my notepad to create a broad overview of all the paperwork I kept in cupboards, filing cabinets, boxes, binders, hanging-folder drawers, and shelves in my office.

Let me quickly put the data I assembled in the kitchen in a readable table:

However, even this small and simple example shows why we need a Paperwork Inventory to understand better what’s currently going on.

Even the paperwork in my ‘easy’ room proved that I had kept many papers that were no longer useful and just took up space. Space that I could use for things relevant to my daily life.

More importantly, what I collected in my simple spreadsheet,

1. 1. the facts about my current paperwork,
   2. and the thoughts I had about the facts,

helped me gain the insights I needed to define the ideal future situation, make firm decisions, and take effective and efficient action.

I won’t evaluate my findings here now because that’s part of the next step of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation process. 

I hope this example helped you get a clearer idea of what a Paperwork Inventory is and what a physical paperwork inventory looks like.

In another article, I discuss the inventory of the DIGITAL paperwork we all so easily and massively accumulate on our devices.

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The Radical Paperwork Optimisation Process can help you create and enjoy a better-organised and more relaxed daily life.  

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.

A personal example of the successful application of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation Approach.

How I re-organised and decluttered study materials

Some years ago, I decided to spend half the weekend decluttering the nine thick binders containing all the materials I had accumulated during my MBA studies (which I had completed a couple of years earlier).

I carried the first binder to my desk – but I didn’t open it – yet.

My first step was to make decisions ahead of time.

To decide which of my study papers were still so important to me that I wanted to keep them.

To make it easier to define what was still very important to me, I asked my favourite decluttering question, ‘Does it serve me?’ and its three sub-questions, ‘Do I need it? Do I use it? Do I love it?’

These were some of my considerations:

Did I use them? – I hadn’t touched the study binders since we moved into our house seven years earlier, so I clearly didn’t use them.

Did I need them? – No, probably not. I mean, I had completely ignored them for so many years! The research-related papers were probably no longer up-to-date anyway. Or the information could be easily found on the Internet if I needed it.

Did I love them? Hmm, this was not so easy to answer. I believed I probably didn’t love 90 per cent of the material in the nine binders. But what about the reports, exam papers, and essays I had compiled with so much time, energy, and effort?
This was all very important to me at that time!

But today? And in the future?

This took me a while, but finally, I decided that it was important to me now to keep a tiny selection of all the stuff that had been important to me in the past.
So, I decided to keep one thin folder with two or three examples of personally written study papers.

Then, I opened the first binder and started the work.

While going through the nine binders, I knew exactly what to look for (two to three of my study reports or exam papers).

It still took me a couple of hours.

Browsing through the papers brought up so many memories: people, events, and experiences I had forgotten about. Yes, it was good to remember all of this one more time, although it also felt a bit sad.

In the end, I picked only one exam paper I wanted to keep because it (still) had a special meaning to me.

I remember crying when I threw all nine binders into the paper recycling bin, but shortly after, I just felt great relief.

I was happy because I had properly said goodbye to a phase in my life that had been very important to me – but no longer was.

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The Radical Paperwork Optimisation Process can help you create and enjoy a better-organised and more relaxed daily life.  

My article series, ‘Radical Paperwork Optimisation and the VIP Directory’, provides you with all the information and tools you need to start and complete the process successfully.

Continue reading HERE.