[.ca] File...Don't Plile!: A Proven Filing System For Personal ... (ISBN 0312289316)

Yes and No:
I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend, who'd described to me its analysis of personality type as it affects the question of organization. I found Dorff's analysis of the kinds of problems different personalities experience with organization pretty persuasive, and amusing, too. The only problem was that while I felt identified, I didn't find her solutions very amenable to my ways of thinking and working. To be honest, this book offers a system that would work in my house, or mind, for about five minutes. I was exhausted just reading what I was supposed to do. If you're the type of person who has lots of things on the boil, organizes your own workspace, and your organizational skills aren't matched by the need you have *for* organization, I'd recommend Julie Morgenstern's Organizing From the Inside Out instead. If you have some support for the organizational structure you wish to introduce (for example, if you work in a company where someone else does the filing!) this book offers a pretty flexible and practical model.

This is a life saver:
If you are a major paper person (and I am), this is the format for you. When you read the book, it does sound complicated and like a lot of work. When you actually do it, however, it is the simplist thing ever. I kept saying to my husband, "I can't believe how little time it takes to get this stuff filed!". It actually encourages me to file because it's so simple. And it doesn't require upkeep everyday. In fact, I probably only truly file every 3-4 weeks. In addition, the book only takes a few hours to read, so if you decide you like what you're doing better (if you do, tell me about it) you haven't really wasted much time. It's a very easy read, and a very simple system for filing and retrieving a variety of papers on a variety of topics.

I've used this system more than 10 years & love it!:
I bought this book when I was buried in papers and had a chaotic filing system. I was attracted to the subtitle, "A Proven Filing System for Personal and Professional Use," and not wanting to reinvent the wheel, decided I would faithfully follow this system step-by-step for a month. If I didn't like it, I didn't have to stick with it. That was more than 10 years ago. I followed her easy 5-step plan and it works beautifully. It only looks complicated when you skip around the book. Recently, I had some furniture delivered to a consignment shop and the store owner called and asked if I could possibly find my original receipts. I told her to hold a moment, and within seconds, pulled the receipts from my files and told her how much I paid. She said, "You must be a very organized person to have found those so quickly!" I said, "No, I just have a very good filing system!" I liked that once I planned the major file categories, I had quick visible results by sorting the papers into the appropriate boxes. So my mess was cleaned up right away as I was implementing the system. The system's easy to maintain as well. I also like the fact Pat Dorff's a librarian who understands the filing needs of folks like me who save paper in our many areas of interest. One reviewer recommends Julia Morgenstern's "Organizing from the Inside Out" instead of this book for filing. I've read Julia's book twice and am in the process of implementing Julia's system for overall household organization. However, when it comes to paperwork, I much prefer Pat Dorff's system. I find Pat's system strategizes the paper problems better, is easier to implement and maintain, and is more flexible when new categories come up. Also, Pat has an extensive discussion of all sorts of filing problems, such as presorting, you can't decide how to label an item, an item is too big to fit in a file folder, etc. Finally, Pat's numerical system nicely deals with the lining up the tabs problem, while Julie's straight-line system (all tabs lined up in the same position) looks nice, but is harder to on the eye to use, and wastes the folders with center tabs. Summary of my experience with this system: Great for filing, retrieving papers, & keeping the place neat for over a decade!

Fits all of my needs!:
I implemented this system about 6 months ago - both at work and at home. I have found that it was easy to do and maintain. Once I started, it was addictive. I couldn't wait to tackle the next pile or old file and get it shipshape. It has made a huge difference, because now ALL of my papers are filed...doesn't matter if its paperwork on my van or an article about scrapbooking. I find my system at work to be a real timesaver. Although I save many files on the computer, I still need paper files. My next goal is to use this system for categorizing and saving files on the my computer. Directory A would have an index file and sub-directories A001, A002, etc (I just need to be sure to leave enough zeros so that my files will sort numerically).

Finally! A paper system that makes SENSE!:
I, due to my extreme procrastination, am just getting my feet wet with Pat Dorff's system, but it's the only system that I've discovered so far that seems to shed a different light on why previous filing systems haven't worked. How long can we shove something to do with "Bank" (involving more than one! LOL) in just a few folders and expect to find it in a moment's notice?! I want to be able to find ALL of my filing paperwork in less than a minute. Can it be done? I'm sure it can, but the system, once it's set up, is going to allow the person to BE in control, not the other way around. I, at age 35, have been disorganized all of my life. It has cost me time, money, embarrassment, etc. Some people that I've talked to think it's kind of comical that I'm trying to get my life organized. One of the things that I like about this book is the fact that a person has a way to organize other subjects, not just VIPs (very important papers). For example, I have different interests that involve paper. If I don't have a good filing system to look back for reference, then how am I going to locate them? Also, if a subject isn't no longer needed, then other material can take its place (i.e. the coding system). It's a real pain to have to keep re-filing papers due to changes -- the regular alphabet system. One way I have decided to handle the "Personal Business" part of it, even though the files will probably go beyond 35, is to not worry about the number and just keep adding (PB36, PB37, etc.). I think it's okay to bend the 'rules' a little bit to fit one's own needs. I have a lot of paper that I can categorize as "Personal Business," because I sure don't want to put it under "Miscellaneous" anymore! I have to get away from that word... As the author writes, just reading the book and not 'doing' anything afterward isn't going to get the papers in their rightful places. That's the biggest step: Getting Started! Once that is done, then the other papers will fall into place. I will post back once I've gotten the filing system down and make any notations of any hints that I come across. Happy Filing!