Press Releases

August, 2001

Office Records, like snowflakes in a driveway, tend to accumulate - espeically if you're keeping track of documents, photos and notes for an ongoing project. As the project proceeds, the records related to that specific project keep building day by day, until you often find yourself asking "what should I save and what should I throw out?" Sharon Mann an organizational expert at Esselte - a leader in office solutions and known for its Pendaflex brand of filing and organizational products - offers the following organizing tips on how to set up a "tickler file" and make life easier.

"You can reduce your stress headaches by simplyfying the way you organize your paperwork and related project material on a daily basis by setting up what is known as a "ticker file" to temporarily store papers for future use," advises Mann.

Mann suggests the following: First place a hanging folder in your drawer and also place five interior folders inside the hanging folder. Using interior folders is important because they are specially designed to separate documents inside hanging folders, and the tabs on interior folders are cut shorter so they won't hide hanging folder tabs. Interior folders also do an excellent job of sub-dividing related records inside hanging folders. Whenever you access the file, you won't have to weed through a mass of unorganized papers; instead, you simply pull the interior folder that contains the information you want whild the hanging folder itself and the rest of the records stay neatly in the drawer. Another suggestion is a desktop project organizer that is color coded and will keep documents separated and stored on your desk. Mann recommends choosing Pendaflex Hanging Folders because they have an innovative built-in InfoPocket® designed to hold smaller items such as photographs and CDs in the same file with standard paper. Also the Pendaflex Project Sorter is color coded with 10 sections that can be customized to your need.

Next, label each interior folder with a different day of the week. Then, as the week progresses, drop "papers for review" and other project items such as notes and memos into the respective interior folders. Be sure to review all the mateial at each day's end.

Each Friday, sort through the entire file to determine what to save and what to transfer to the permanent file. You can also determine at this point what to discard, but be very careful about the things you throw away, making sure you won't need those materials later on.

"Creating and using tickler files will certainly make your life easier," says Mann, "because a tickler file provides an instant "drop spot" for your current project records, allowing you to quickly organize project material the moment it comes across your desk."

Sharon Mann is an organizational expert for Pendaflex the world's leading maker of innovative organizing products. Sharon also serves as president of the Pendaflex "I Hate Filing Club" (www.pendaflex.com) a dedicated group of nearly 100,000 office professionals who dislike filing, but enjoy finding new ways to become more organized and more productive.

About Pendaflex

Pendaflex is one of the world's premier manufacturers of organizational solutions, bringing innovation, efficiency and style to workplace and home settings. Committed to simplifying consumers' lives. Pendaflex produces a broad range of filing and organizational products, as well as provides solutions and resources through www.IhateFilingClub.com and www.PendaflexLearningCenter.com. Located in Melville, NY, Pendaflex is the principal U.S. filing brand of Esselte Corporation, a $1.2 billion office products company with subsidiaries in 27 countries and distribution in more than 120 countries. More information about Pendaflex can be found at www.Pendaflex.com