Question: I have been trying to become “less papered” in business and home and have not found any references in your material that covers this aspect of organization.

David Allen: What to store simply as paper and what to bother putting into digital form is purely a matter of how you want your library structured. There’s an infinite set of possibilities about that. Once you’ve filtered appropriate actions and projects and someday’s from your material, all the rest is simply up to logistics for data storage and retrieval. Make sure that you are OK with short-term paper-based materials being filed.  Otherwise if you feel it’s too much trouble to scan or store, they’ll wind up in a stack instead.

For more GTD tips on Reference filing, grab David Allen’s free article in our store. There are also a few great videos on GTD Connect about filing, including  David Allen talking about the best practices of “clean edges”.  And you’ll find an audio podcast available only on Connect where David talks about how he manages his financial files. Not a member? Try the 14-day free trial.

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“Your filing system should be a simple library of data, easily retrievable–not your reminder for actions, projects, priorities or prospects.” – David Allen

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“When in doubt, throw it out. When in doubt, keep it.” – David Allen

OK, so what you should really be keeping?  This is a standard records retention list that we got a few years ago from our accounting firm in California. There may be better ones out there, or more specific to your location. It should in no way constitute final judgment for your own accounting and record-keeping. We’ve heard that it is quite a grey area, and can differ from state to state.  It might help with some general guidelines, however.

Type and Retention Period (years)
Accident reports and claims (settled cases)— 7
Accounts payable ledgers and schedules— 7
Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules— 7
Audit reports of accountants— permanently
Bank reconciliation— 1 [Read more →]

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Living in an apartment in Manhattan I have very limited space, and I cannot possibly keep the amount of file cabinets that I otherwise might. Unfortunately I have been the opposite of a pack rat: I routinely discarded material, and later regretted it. Having been a horrible organizer all my life, despite full court press attempts every couple years, I basically had a box of everything “important” that I added to, and once in a while retrieved from. Then I would cull the box occasionally, and there was no space–literally–for sentimentality. [Read more →]

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