If you don’t use a system at all, then you could suffer from the effects of information overload:
losing important information
wasting time on trying to find things
ending up with piles of physical and virtual stuff everywhere
One technique you might like to apply to your files (be they paper or electronic) is the 5Ds. Try applying these and see if you can reduce your information overload.
The 5 Ds– Adapted from John Caunt (1999) 30 minutes to manage information overload, London: Kogan Page
Discard
Deal with it (Make a DIN! – Do It Now!)
Determine future action (SIFT it – Schedule It now For Tomorrow)
Direct/distribute it (a. why are you directing it? / b. What do you expect recipient to do with it?)
Deposit it (file it)
