Yesterday was filing day and if you are anything like me, filing day is more like a week of procrastinating the filing before finally putting on Project Runway and digging in.
I finally dug in last night, and I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was. I know…what??? Filing and fun in the same sentence? I didn’t think it was possible either.
But it was and for the following three reasons.
1. I had done my filing pretty recently, and had enrolled in a lot of paperless programs with various financial institutions. That really cut down on the amount of work. Even though it must be noted I now I have to do electronic filing–the bank doesn’t keep the statements online for that long, so I have to file them away in the Admin folder on my hard drive.
This file looks a lot fuller than it really is, I promise.
2. I have files named hilarious things– like “Ongoing Legal Difficulties.” Now, most of what I file in that file has nothing to do with “Ongoing Legal Difficulties” and really has more to do with just general gubernatorial interactions. But every time I get to file something in that file it brings a smile to my face. Why be dry? Let’s mix it up! Name the files whatever you want! Just as long as you know what’s in there.
3. I love my filing cabinet. When I first got 4-drawer file cabinet–which was a big step*–I knew I wanted to spray paint it. Who wants a giant drab gray monstrosity in their office? I was inspired by some filing cabinets my friends Kat and Nick have. Their filing cabinets have contrasting colors for the drawers and frame. It took me awhile to decide, but finally I went with pink drawers against a green frame (two great colors that taste great together).
It did take quite a bit of spray paint to coat the whole thing. Spray painting is also pretty hard work, but it was worth it. I finished the look by printing pictures of clouds to put in the label spots. The boyfriend argued that no one would know the contents of the drawers, but I pointed out that I was the only one that uses it and I know the contents of the drawers. I won that one.
This photo of the 2007 Sleepwalkers Theatre company is one of my favorites!
In sum
Every bit of fun you incorporate in your filing ritual will help lighten the load!
* I remember when my friend Dharushana asked something like, “Is 25 too young to get a filing cabinet?” I said “No!” and then proceeded to procure a larger one for myself. I had been working with this wooden one that fell apart every time I opened it. That was a mess. I remember my father’s advice, “Invest in a good filing cabinet.” And I learned firsthand why. You really don’t want it to fall apart all the time–your papers go everywhere! So I invested in a good filing cabinet with room to grow. Finally I had a file for the notes on my still forthcoming soap opera novel, my photocopies of books on plants and, of course, all those folders full of dry stuff like medical bills.
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