Category: Paperwork Optimisation

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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If you are interested now in starting your own Radical Paperwork Optimisation Project and creating your own VIP Directory, you can decide to take the first step now: the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter 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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If you are interested in creating your own VIP Directory, you can decide to take the first easy step now – the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter 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,’ which is usually intended exclusively for situations of illness or death.

I never liked the name, and besides, my folder had many more functions from the beginning, so I decided to call it my ‘ID (Important Documents) Folder’.

I could also have called it my ‘Safety Net Folder’ because that was its original purpose:

to ensure that our important 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 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 them to do then what they need to do (managing our personal affairs).

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Do you feel inspired to create your own VIP Directory?

It’s easy to take the first step of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation Process – the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter 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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Are you curious now to start your own Radical Paperwork Optimisation Project?

It’s easy to take the first step – the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter 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

#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 retirement?

While exciting, retirement brings significant life changes. And challenges.

Too much and/or disorganised paperwork can become a burden, hindering your ability to approach this new 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.

#8 – What support is available to help me with this process?

Optimising your paperwork doesn’t have to be a solitary endeavour.

My support options include:

• • Free Resources A – The ‘Retirement Readiness Check’ and the ‘Optimised Paperwork Newsletter‘ offer valuable insights and actionable steps.
  • Free Resources B – You can ​book a personal meeting with me​ (free 30-minute Zoom call) to gain profound clarity on the radical approach and its suitability for you.
  • Free Resources C – You can also email me your questions whenever you feel stuck or confused (margot@letgo-moveon.com.au). I will always respond with suggestions, tips, and ideas.
  • Coaching with me A  – ​The Simply Organised Power Hour​. This one-on-one coaching session provides guidance and help with creating your personalised action plan. ​
  • Coaching with me B  – ​The Simply Organised Roadmap​. This comprehensive coaching package offers 100%-personalised support and guidance throughout all six steps of the optimisation process, ensuring you successfully create your VIP Directory and achieve your paperwork optimisation goals. ​

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Get started now with your personal Radical Paperwork Optimisation project – take the first step: the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter 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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Get started now with your personal Radical Paperwork Optimisation project – take the first step: the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter 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 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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Get started now with your personal Radical Paperwork Optimisation project – take the first step: the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter 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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Get started with your personal Radical Paperwork Optimisation project – with the Retirement Readiness Check.

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter here.

All clients who have applied my radical approach so far confirm that the unconventional order of the work – first organising, then decluttering (read more about that here) – has made things easier for them.

They successfully dispose of a lot – usually more than 50% – of their physical papers and digital information and data.

Are you curious about the application of the radical paperwork optimisation process in real life?

Let’s have a look at a (very simplified) example:

Imagine you sit in front of a 20-cm-high pile of papers.

Before you sat down to confront the pile, you had already decided what information you considered to be ‘very important’ to you from now on.

(This is a very personal decision that only you can make. For example, I might decide that all the birthday cards I ever received are still very important to me, while you decide that from now on, only the cards from the most recent year are very important to you.)

You are determined to pick only those pieces that meet your various ‘very important’ criteria from the pile and get them organised by storing them in a designated place (Example: All birthday cards will go into a small box.). Anything else will go into the recycle bin.

Now, you take paper after paper in your hands and immediately decide if you will keep it.

Making the decision about each piece of paper is simple (although it’s still not always easy) because you must answer only one question:

‘Is it very important to me now?’

And since you have already clearly defined what’s important in advance, providing the ‘right’ answer is not complicated.

Your paper pile is quickly shrinking. And the recycle bin next to your chair is getting fuller and fuller. 😉

Why my approach prioritises organising over decluttering.

Have you ever sat down and tried to devise a great plan for your retirement life?

A plan that aligns with your passions, interests, skills, capabilities, dreams, and aspirations?

And then you got stuck?

If so, you are definitely not alone.

Designing an inspiring plan for their retirement is a big challenge for many people who are approaching retirement or have recently retired.

Of course, there are many ways to determine what you want to do in retirement.

At the end of this article, you will know more about an additional and quite unusual approach to developing your retirement life plan.

The CHALLENGE of creating a retirement life plan from scratch. And the RISK of creating it solely based on the past.

Many people hesitate to start planning their retirement because they don’t know how to do it. How to ‘create’ a purpose for the next stage in their lives.

Or they decide to start planning, sit down, and stare at the wall, forcing themselves to make lists or mind maps. They get frustrated because these exercises often feel artificial and/or useless.

Others direct all their attention to their past, hoping their past experiences, actions, successes, ambitions, and preferences will give them the information they need to plan their future.

However, the past can only tell us about our past potential; it doesn’t say much about the possibilities and opportunities the future may offer.

The OPPORTUNITY to use the radical paperwork optimisation process to create an inspiring plan for your life in retirement.

Depending on what and how much you have kept over the years, sorting through your paperwork can feel like sorting through your life.

And that can feel challenging!

My suggestion is that you take up the challenge.

Reorganising and decluttering the personal paperwork you have collected over a lifetime can help you better understand the most important person in your life – you – and what this person wants the future to look like.

The BENEFITs of the radical paperwork optimisation process

In a recent article, I presented a list of the beneficial results and outcomes of the Radical Paperwork Optimisation approach.

You can find the introduction to the radical approach HERE and the list of its benefits HERE. ​​

Today, I want to have a closer look at the benefits that the process itself – the organising and decluttering work – offers to you:

The radical paperwork optimisation process helps you leave the past behind and focus on the future.

Sorting through all the paperwork you have collected over a lifetime brings up many memories and emotions, both good and not-so-good.

Making decisions about what you want to keep from the past gives you the opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate all your life experiences deliberately, the happy and the challenging times, the accomplishments and the failures.

Then, after giving your full attention to all the reminders and leftovers of the past once more, you are now free to let go of what you no longer need and want to leave behind.

You will have a better understanding and stronger appreciation of the person you are now: your unique strengths and capabilities, specific knowledge and skills, all the precious experiences and insights, and all the other good stuff you gained in the past and definitely want to take along in the present and future.

This allows you to move into the new stage of your life with more lightness. More clarity. And more confidence.

The radical paperwork optimisation process helps you design your future intentionally.

It is not easy to sort through all the paperwork, to focus only on what is very important to you, to select exclusively what is truly relevant to you now, and to decide what is no longer needed.

However, while you force yourself to decide, again and again, what you no longer need and want to leave behind because it is no longer important, you become increasingly aware of what you truly value in your life and what you want to have in your future.

You find it easier to make decisions and create inspiring plans – plans that give your retirement life purpose and direction.

What do you think?

Can you see how radically sorting through your paperwork can help you feel more excited while you are developing your retirement plans?

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Get started now with your personal Radical Paperwork Optimisation project – take the first step: the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free.

It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter –which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process. Into a well-organised and relaxed retirement!

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter here.

The Radical Paperwork Optimisation Approach (read more here) is super effective in helping us radically organise our physical and digital paperwork.

It makes us well-prepared for a relaxed retirement.

Benefits/outcomes of your Radical Paperwork Optimisation Project

I recommend you invest some time in identifying the specific outcomes and benefits you want to experience at the end of the optimization journey – before you start your Radical Paperwork Optimisation project.

Knowing where you want to go will help you stay motivated and committed even if the journey takes a bit longer than planned or becomes a bit more uncomfortable than expected.

Consider these potential benefits/outcomes of your Radical Paperwork Optimisation Project:

Mental and emotional relief

By radically focusing on organising the very important paperwork and radically decluttering the no longer relevant paperwork, you will also experience a significant reduction in mental clutter. This approach helps you relieve stress and gain peace of mind, allowing you to enjoy a (more) relaxed retirement life.

Maximised space

Clearing out physical paperwork frees up valuable space in your home, making changes like downsizing or moving into a smaller living space much easier. And reducing clutter on your devices creates digital space and order.

Decluttering no longer relevant paperwork also increases your mental space and capacity.

Efficient use of time

With a downsized and well-organised paperwork system, you will save significant time and energy previously wasted on worrying about or searching for important documents. This efficiency allows you to spend more time on activities you enjoy.

Clarity in important information

Focusing on only what’s very important makes it much easier to distinguish essential documents from non-essential ones. This clarity ensures that you retain only what’s necessary and can quickly access critical information when needed.

Proactive future planning

Organising your paperwork effectively supports better planning and managing life changes, such as downsizing or handling unexpected events. This proactive approach simplifies transitions and ensures you’re better prepared for anything that might come up in the future.

Support for your family in emergencies

Having a radically optimised paperwork system ensures that your family can easily access necessary documents in case you get seriously ill or even die. This reduces their stress and confusion during already challenging times, providing them with a clear roadmap to manage your affairs.

Enhanced enjoyment of the present

By eliminating unnecessary paperwork, you free yourself from being tied to the past. This allows you to fully embrace and enjoy the present and future, engaging in new experiences and activities without distraction.

Regained sense of control

Organizing your paperwork efficiently gives you a strong sense of control over your life and affairs. This feeling of being in control brings confidence and peace of mind, making the transition into retirement smoother and more empowering.

Simplified legacy planning

Well-organised paperwork makes creating wills, trusts, and other legacy documents much simpler and more efficient. This helps prevent legal complications and ensures your legacy will be handled according to your wishes.

Increased self-awareness, self-appreciation, self-empowerment

(This is my favourite benefit/outcome. And it often gets ignored or overlooked.)

Organising and decluttering your paperwork in the suggested radical way requires much practical work. It can also be emotionally and mentally challenging.

To get from start to finish, you need to be(come) curious, courageous, compassionate, determined and decisive.

And that’s exactly what makes the whole exercise so valuable. And powerful. And empowering.

It’s not just that your paperwork will be clutterfree and efficiently organised at the end of the process.

You will enter retirement knowing exactly what you want in this phase of your life and being well-prepared to get it.

I know – this was a long list to go through.🙃

But I didn’t manage to make it shorter because I feel all these benefits are so important.

What about you?

Have you discovered some benefits of a radically optimised paperwork system that haven’t been on your radar before?

Write them down!

Knowing your reasons is so important because it will help you a lot while you organise and declutter your paperwork.

If you are constantly aware of the desired outcomes, you can re-motivate yourself and keep going when things are not so fun.

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Get started now with your personal Radical Paperwork Optimisation project – take the first step: the Retirement Readiness Check. 

You can download it for free. It will automatically sign you up for the Optimised Paperwork Newsletter – which will then guide you through the paperwork optimisation process.

Download the free check & sign up for the newsletter here.