How To Get On Top of Your Personal Paperwork: 4 Tips That Really Work

Let’s get on top of it before it drowns you.

Researched, written by Amber & The Team
Updated on April 17, 2023

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Even in today’s increasingly digital world, you might find that in your business or your life, you have tons of paperwork that are cluttering up your desk and your entire life.

If personal paperwork is driving you crazy, then you need to make sure that you are getting on top of it before it drowns you.

But when looking at your personal paperwork pile makes you want to pull your hair out, you need some tips to get fully organized.

Thankfully, this article is going to help you figure out the tips that you need to get control over your personal paperwork.

So let’s get going!

Get Organized

One of the first ways to get started with getting on top of your personal paperwork is to get organized.

You might still have a ton of paperwork and things that you need to do with that paperwork, but you need to make sure that you have it organized.

Because what feels less stressful in your mind: a desk filled with a stream of unending paper? Or a desk filled with paper that you have stacked and organized?

So take as much time as you need and organize your paperwork.

You might decide to organize it by the urgency of the paperwork, the importance of the paperwork, or even by what you need to do with the paperwork.

But just make sure to get all the paperwork you have put into organized piles.

This will help you do two things: first, you will be able to take an inventory of your paperwork and see what you have, and then know where it goes.

You can also get a good look at your paperwork and throw out anything that you don’t need.

Digitize What Can Be Digitized

The world is getting more and more on the computer nowadays, and chances are a lot of that paperwork you have would serve your better and would be better organized as files on your computer.

So if you need to buy a scanner or type data from the physical papers into the computer yourself, do so if you can.

Then you can organize these papers on your computer however you like, and then you can throw the physical copies away or keep them if needed.

But if you do keep them, then you can place them out of the way and know that they might be the next to get thrown away if you find yourself not needing the physical backups.

Replace Any Important Paperwork Promptly (Such As Pay Stubs)

Of course, as you start sifting through the mountain of paperwork and organizing it, some important paperwork might not get inventoried, might get thrown away, or you may have thought that you had the paperwork printed out, but you don’t have the physical copy.

If you find that you are missing a few pieces of important paperwork, then don’t panic, but focus on replacing the missing pieces promptly.

For example, any physical paystubs that you have need to be replaced promptly.

Thankfully, if you remember the data, you can use various online tools like Form Pros’ online paystub maker to replace your physical paystub with a digital one that you can reprint.

Don’t panic, but do your best to replace any missing paperwork, and then place the copies in an area where you won’t accidentally misplace them the next time around.

Take Your Time And Move Slowly

Finally, don’t be afraid to take your time.

Whether you have a small stack of paperwork you have just been putting off taking on, or a massive stack of paperwork that has been intimidating you since its creation all those months ago, the process is the same.

You need to take on each piece of paper in the stack one by one, and then keep on going until the pile of personal paperwork is complete.

Don’t be afraid to take your time, because getting on top of your paperwork is no easy feat.

Instead, work on the pile every single day, and once it is done, put steps in place to make sure that your paperwork doesn’t get out of control again.