Use Removable File Folder Labels to Save Time and Money
Some things come and go. Removable labels can minimize the impact.
In roach motels, roaches check in, but they don’t check out! At Grandma Cuddles daycare, Grandma Cuddles believes that’s barbaric. Little children check in, and, of course, after a solid eight hour shift, they check out … mostly. The job incident rate isn’t so high; after all, crochet needles aren’t sharp enough to do permanent damage.
Grandma Cuddles believes in giving each of her charges individual attention. So each little poppet gets assigned their very own file folder, where she keeps track of that child’s special needs. Grandma Cuddles goes through a lot of children in a year, so she has the potential to use a lot of file folders.
But she’s smarter than that. Hunters believe no part of an animal should go to waste, and that everything, even bones and organs, should be reused. Likewise, Grandma Cuddles that nothing should go to waste. When a little child checks out, throwing away the file folder seems like such a shame. So wasteful. So Grandma Cuddles has a better way: removable labels.
When you keep a lot of transient files—files about clients, or projects, or anything that changes frequently—removable labels are the life preserver on the Titanic of your organization system.
Reuse Folders with Removable Labels
Before you get your labels, get sturdy file folders. Don’t skimp. You’ll buy these once, and they’ll last a lifetime. Get the same kind of file folders for all your files so they look nice and neat in your file cabinet.
I’ve tried 1-tab, 3-tab, and 5-tab folders. Even though in theory, having the 3 or 5 tab versions looks nice and neat in a file drawer, in practice, after you add, remove, or move a few folders around, you have two far-lefthand tabs behind each other, and they get out of order and just look messy. So I’ve standardized on 1-tab, reinforced folders with a single tab that goes all the way across the file folder. It produces a nice, clean look in my file cabinet.
Use Removable Labels
Next, get removable file folder labels. My choice is Avery 6466. They come in sheets so you can either write on them by hand, one at a time, or print an entire sheet at once using your laser printer. Grandma Cuddles’s handwriting isn’t as good as mine, so she prints her file folder labels in sophisticated fonts like papyrus or joker man.
Each label goes on the tab in the same place. Since I use one long tab that runs the entire width of the file, I put the label on the far left. The center also looks nice. This way, you can riffle through the files quickly and never need to move your eyes to the left or the right to see the name of the file you’re on.
Label the Front of the Folder, Too
When reviewing multiple file folders at once, it’s convenient to stack them on the desk in a pile. When they’re stacked on top of each other, it’s difficult to glance over and see which file is which, because the tab is at the top of the folder, far away from you on the desk. So I hit upon the solution of labeling the front of the file folder.
In less time than it takes to say “chain gang,” all the paper evidence is destroyed.
Lay out a bunch of your file folders the way you would arrange them on your desk if you were working on them. Then add extra labels to the front of the file folders so you can see what each file is at a glance. That might mean along the bottom crease of the file folder, or along the side, or facing you on the front.
This double labeling scheme makes it much easier to work with a whole stack of paper files at a time.
Do a Sheet at a Time
When you process things in a batch, consider creating all your file folders at once. Grandma Cuddles gets a new cohort every fall. She gives each little child a cute nickname to make it easier to remember: Waif, Knobby knees, Bulgy-eyes, and so on. She first assembles the entire cohort. Then she prints the entire sheet of labels at once, labels all the file folders, and voila, she’s organized for the next year.
Removable Labels Make it Easy To Use Folders
Organization systems like Getting Things Done by David Allen recommend putting all paper in an appropriate file, if it’s going to be kept for any length of time. While this could require a vast supply of folders, removable labels shine here, too. You can reuse the same set of folders for all your short-term folder needs, and reusable labels let you keep the folders in tip-top shape. You can still create a new folder on the fly, without fear that you’ll have to throw it away and use a new one as soon as the next to-do item appears.
Make removable labels a key part of your paper workflow. You’ll be forever grateful. As Grandma Cuddles often says, little children are temporary and… somewhat disposable. But file folders are a valuable resource, and expensive too! At the end of the year, after she culls her crew of the little tots who are unfit to remain, their files can be easily reused. In less time than it takes to say “chain gang,” all the paper evidence is destroyed, and the folder is ready for its next little daycare denizen.
Your files should be reused, too. Use removable labels, and label both the folder tab, and the front of the folder, so no matter how you physically organize the folders, you can always see what’s where. Removable labels turn your physical file folders into a wonderfully flexible tool for keeping your physical space organized.
I’m Stever Robbins. Check out my day-long, interactive, comprehensive New Years program that aligns your life, sets your goals, and helps you achieve them.
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About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
