Different types of letter tray and some tips to keep your desk clean and organized
If you wish that your letters/ papers could be stored in organized manner, then you must consider buying a stylish as well as dependable letter tray . It would undoubtedly be a great and useful addition to your desk. It would make filing/ organizing/ sorting of papers/ letters much easier. You can find them in wide variety of types/ styles/ designs/ features/ sizes etc. They can store paper of different sizes (letter/ legal/ A3/ A4/ A6). You can get single/ double trays depending on your requirement that suits you best. You can do some research to narrow down on available options.
Stacking trays are best suited for limited spaces and are available in different materials (high-impact polystyrene/ steel mesh). You can store varied items like business cards/ mails/ A4 size papers/ other documents. It is nested & helps in saving space while providing sufficient storage. But if you fancy organizing your important documents in style, then leather trays are ideal. They boost functionality and offer outstanding visual impact. It would enhance overall appeal of office. For people who want modernized look for their office can go for 1-3 tier variety of mesh wire mail letter tray to give your office a neat, clean as well as organized look. It is a very attractive way to keep your things organized. You can also have a tray with removable shelf organizer or also use these together or apart that suit your requirement and situation.
Letter tray , usually available in 1-3 slabs help in sorting and organizing paperwork that gives maximum. You can easily get one in hardwood/ polystyrene/ steel mesh/ glass/ leather etc. It would easily stack on any desktop and would hold your legal/ letter/ A4 size papers/ documents/ mail/ business cards etc. It saves lot of space on your desk while providing adequate space for all your papers.
Types of single/ stacking letter tray :
• Leather Letter Tray : made in leather with suede interior finishing offers elegant as well as sophisticated accessory that holds letter/ legal sized papers.
• Simple Wire Letter Tray: open and visual access to files with rubber pads (non-skid) is an economical solution. You can get pack of stackers to create multi-tier substantial basket.
• Mesh Letter Tray : 1-3 tiers smooth construction offer clean, contemporary, simple flair to home/ office environment and can hold up to 5 lbs of papers.
• Glass Letter Tray : thick-glass offers stylish furniture that gives workstation a very elegant look.
• Hardwood Desk Tray: traditional, open design in dovetail construction with oak/ mahogany finish offers old-fashioned but stylish look.
A clean desk signifies creativity and imagination whereas a messy desk not only shows that you are lazy but you would also be wasting lot of time looking things instead of being creative. You must keep your desk organized and keep it clean. Some tips that can you achieve it and maintain it includes:
• You must learn to manage papers as it creates maximum clutter and there must be a fixed place for everything. You’ll need:
• Inbox: a standard stackable letter tray where you must put all those documents that do not have any place like memos/ print-outs/ random things that have placed on desk by other people.
• Incubate box: stack another letter tray on top of Inbox to place items which are “on hold”.
• Action & Tickler file: Keep papers that require your action like forms that need to be filled/ documents for proofreading etc.
• Current projects rack: file rack/ file box can be used for holding folders (one folder per project).
• Filing cabinet: completed projects/ general reference items/ anything you may want to relook can be placed here
• Dump boxes (trash can, recycling bin, shredder)
• You are now start cleaning your desk:
• Put all the papers in Inbox tray and go through every paper one by one. Check if you can act on it and if it requires very less time, do it.
• Delegate it to others if required.
• Defer it if it requires lot of time in your Action and Tickler file
• If file is not required, trash it/ recycle it/ shred it.
• Place in Incubate tray if you want to work on it later.
• Review is very important part and you can do it daily/ weekly/ monthly depending on availability of time and amount of work.
• Post-it notes get lost easily and they don’t look very good, you can rather use a small notebook or GTD tools like hipster PDA/ KGTD
• Trash the printouts after completing associated action
• Keep empty file folders in addition to label maker within reach
• Get into habit of cleaning your desk at end of day
• Throw away those extra pens
• Resist that free crap you get at conferences/ internal office events like pens/ stickers/ magazines/ brochures/ postcards/ anything that would litter on your desk.
• Take the books that you don’t use to home
• Eating away from desk would not help keeping it clean but would give you mental break from your work as you can enjoy meal without disturbance of phone/ computer.
• Limit number of photo frames on your desk
You can also use letter trays to manage papers at home. It is not only office where things must look organised. At home also, papers must be properly organized so that you don’t have to waste any for searching required papers. You can label three trays as ‘IN BOX’, ‘ACTIVE’ and ‘TO BE FILED’. Place all incoming mail/ documents/ flyers in ‘IN BOX’ and for speeding up sorting process, you must open all the letters and toss envelopes/ junk mail that you don’t need before placing them in ‘IN BOX’. ‘ACTIVE’ tray would contain paper work requiring attention at later date like bills that have to be paid/ documents that require review.
To manage flow of papers in best way, you must schedule at least 10 minutes every 2-3 days so that you can address papers in these trays. ‘TO BE FILED’ tray must be used only if you don’t have time to complete paperwork right away. You must schedule time for filing paperwork every week.
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