Have you ever found a lead on a scrap of paper after the prospect purchased from your competition? Are you spending time recreating proposals because you can’t find a similar one you wrote a few months ago? Do you run out of the door for an appointment at the last minute because you couldn’t find the brochures you really wanted to take? Are you feeling overwhelmed? If so, here are six simple steps to help you increase sales and decrease stress:

1. Make a date with yourself for getting your act together. Plan a minimum of three hours when there will be no interruptions. Decide on a reward for yourself when you’re finished! Do anything you can to reduce your stress during the process – put on music, grab your favorite beverage, and get plenty of trash bags and recycling bins!

2. Take everything off your desk except what you must have or do. (A photograph or memento that reminds you of the reason you work is definitely OK!) Practice The Art of Wastebasketry?. Research shows that 80 percent of what you keep you never use! Tossing or keeping is not a moral issue, but it is a practical one! So how do you decide what to keep? Ask “What’s the worst thing that could happen if I didn’t have this piece of paper?” If you can live with the results of your answer, toss it or recycle it..

3. Get the right tools for your business. Half of any job is using the right tool! Put three trays on your desk: (1) In, (2) Out, (3) File. “In” is for new mail – papers you have not yet looked at. “Out” is for items that need to go elsewhere, such as the post office, or to another room. “File” is for papers you need to file outside the reach of where you sit. Eliminate paper whenever you can with electronic tools, such as a contact management program and a financial management program. If you have difficulty finding your electronic files, check out www.Enfish.com.

4. Implement The FAT System?: File, Act or Toss. Clutter is postponed decisions?. The good news? There are only decisions you can make about what to do with any piece of paper: (1) File it in a Reference File in case you need it in the future, (2) Act on it immediately or in the near future, (3) Toss – or recycle – it.

5. Create an Action Filing System. Look at each piece of paper on your desk. Is the ball in your court to do this? That’s an Action File. Action Files come in two varieties: 1) Temporary -- tasks that have to be done once, and will come to an end, such as “Annual Review.” Sort these by date or by project name in your most accessible desk drawer. 2) Permanent -- tasks that you do over and over again, such as “Prospects to Call,” “Calls Expected from Prospects,” “Palm Pilot Entry” ”Discuss with Manager” and “Expense Reimbursements.” Keep these in a file on top of your desk for a visual reminder.

6. Create a Reference Filing System. If your existing filing system isn’t working, start over! Keep the old papers, and as you need them, merge them into the new filing system. Use a filing system program such as Taming the Paper Tiger (www.thepapertiger.com). It creates and prints a file index, as well as file labels, and allows you to automatically cross reference files. With its powerful search engine capability, you can retrieve anything you file in five seconds by using a keyword search.

Will this system turn you into a perennially “clean desk” person – unlikely! Messy desks are the natural outcome of a hectic pace. A place for everything and everything in its place – forget it, but it is half right! A place for everything means than when you want to clean up your office to meet a client, or just because you’re just sick of the mess yourself, recovering is no big deal! Some quick decision-making will clean off your desk in a matter of minutes and bring back a sense of control.

© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com