Using Reference Files For Fast and Easy Organizing

Reduce the amount of time it takes to find information you use on a daily basis. Here are some ideas for fast and easy access to your most important reference information.
Follow these three principles when organizing immediate reference material:
- Make groups.
- Put in order.
- Keep close.
Having things right at your fingertips makes you highly productive and feel totally in control. Smead recommends using Colored FasTab Hanging Folders with Viewables Labels in a drawer.
Make Groups
- Gather the materials that you refer to most often.
- Separate them into a few categories that make sense to you. Group items by the way you will look for them, such as suppliers in one group, customers in another.
- Assign a different color FasTab Hanging Folder to each category.
Put in Order
- Place materials in FasTab Hanging Folders using the appropriate category colors.
- Create a Viewables label for each type of reference. Apply labels to the large built-in tabs.
- Order the folders alphabetically within each color group.
Keep Close
- File in a nearby drawer by color category