Customer Reviews

File Don't Pile! for People Who Write

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I just bought a bunch of books on file organization (e.g. Hemphill, Morgenstern, Kate Kelly and Melinda Mitchell) and this was by far the best. Why? All the other books concentrated on giving general advice and the motivational aspects of getting organized. Dorff's book is really a specific "how to" book, giving you a step-by-step procedure for designing, creating and maintaining a file system.

The system seems a little intimidating at first; my wife just about laughed me out of the house when I described it to her. But I have completely redone my office files and my home filing system using her method and it works!

I wish she would update her book and include a more computer based approach. Here are my suggested modifications based on having implemented it twice:
1. Start by typing all your folder subjects into the 2nd column of an Excel spreadsheet. Then it is easy to sort them alphabetically.
2. Do everything A-Z and don't worry about using the Prefix Method. If you want to keep a bunch of folders together, just use more than one letter when you create the identifiers in column 1 of your spreadsheet. e.g. MAN101, MAN102 for all your product manuals. Then sort by column 1. In a way, you are creating a "prefix" system within the overall alphabetical system. I moved all my TRR (Travel and Recreation) folders to a different location, but I only have to deal with a single spreadsheet.
3. The 3rd and 4th columns of your spreadsheet are the "see also" and "see" additions to the index that make it work so well
4. In addition to the numbers, add the subject to the folder tabs. Most of the time, I don't want to bother looking in the index. Also, I created a bunch of tables within Word that are just the right size to fit into the plastic tabs. Buy multcolored card stock at your local OfficeMax and you can now created color coded tabs.
5. Print out your excel spreadsheet as your index, leaving some blank rows between each letter, e.g. A101,A102,A103, 3 blank rows, B101, etc. This way you pencil in additions without messing with the spreadsheet.

The system is very easy to manage, once you get it set up. It is flexible and should work for almost any purpose. Her chapter on setting up a way of dealing with "pending" papers is priceless. Even my wife adopted that method to deal with all the papers that she deals with as an elementary school teacher.

If you already have a pretty good filing system that seems to work well for you, just use Pat's system to create an index for it. It shouldn't take more than an few hours to enter all of your existing file subjects into the spreadsheet. Then just create the numbering system and the cross referencing columns.

Every person who has come into my office after implementing this system has commented on how much bigger my office looks with all the piles of papers gone.

If you save clippings and articles that you know will some day be important, then can't remember where you filed them, this is the book for you. If you get a letter from an editor that mentions two different book proposals or manuscripts and you don't want to run to the copy store to make a photocopy, and can't decide which of the two files to stick the letter into, this book is for you. If you have stacks of paper on your desk and on your floor and on your couch, or even on your bed, stacks which you someday intend to file, this book is for you. This book is a hands-on approach to managing the paper flow of anyone who does any kind of writing. In seconds you will be able to put your hands on that elusive clipping that told about the man who invented synthetic testicles for his male dog, because the dog looked embarrassed when he came home from being neutered. Trust me, you will be able to find it! If you're truly a messie, the only difficult part involved in using this book will be remembering where you placed this fabulously-helpful book. But, once you've found it again and followed its suggestions, you won't even have that problem anymore.

This book offers helpful suggestions for filing all kinds of paper, but it is targeted toward writers and doesn't discuss non-paper information like Web sites and email.

uneccesarily informative. read, pat doriff's, 'file don't pile' on filing alone. it's much better. this guide has too much confusing info. don't buy.

I did not realize I was ordering the version for people who write, so it had lots of stuff not relevant to me. Otherwise, seems like a useful tool.