Despite the computer, the cell phone and dictation equipment, most of us are still fighting the paperwork battle. And, in many cases, that battle is being lost. While there is no sure way to eliminate excessive paper from your business life, there are ways to minimize the damage. To wit:

Try not to handle any piece of paper more than once. If it’s a letter answer it now. If it’s a memo that contains important information, read it now, and underline important points so that you won’t have to read all of it again. If you can delegate a response, do so now. The trick here is to be decisive so that you can get the paper out of the way.

Answer by telephone if doing so will take less time.

Don’t ask for it if you don’t need it. Many “for your information” copies of documents are courtesies rather than necessities. If it isn’t essential that you see it, get yourself off the distribution list.

Get into the habit of processing routine paperwork at the same time every day. It will become a habit that prevents you from procrastinating over paperwork. Others will soon become aware that this is the time of day when you are not available.

Remember the old saw, “A place for everything and everything in its place.” It can create a great deal of time for you.

Periodically check a report that you prepare. Follow it through the “system” and ask yourself these questions:

Is it read?

Who uses it? And for what purpose?

Is the same, or similar, information being compiled by any other department or individual? There is little point in duplicating effort.

You may find that several reports are ignored, only glanced at cursorily, or passed on, only to be filed or destroyed.

Take a critical look at your correspondence, especially organization letters and memoranda. Is time being spent dictating, transcribing and delivering interoffice mail when a phone call or a handwritten note would be enough? Could a printed routing slip or attachment memo be used? Does your correspondence contain complete information the first time, thereby eliminating any need for additional correspondence to clarify what you meant?

Have someone presift your mail for important material that needs your attention. The rest can be attended to later, delegated, or filed for information only.

Make marginal notes on incoming mail so that someone else can answer it for you.

Three Ways to Boost Your Creativity
How’s your creativity? We’re not talking about the kind that lets you sculpt, paint, or write. We mean the kind that helps you solve complex problems when you develop creative and imaginative solutions. If you feel as though you’re not creative enough, try these suggestions:

1. Work on your attitude. Most people are bound by routines. When the routine gets good enough, they tend to become satisfied. The creative person keeps an open mind to new ideas. One trick: Take time occasionally to write down all the possible ways in which a common problem might be solved. Stretch your imagination. Ask others for their suggestions. Suspend immediate judgment; don’t pay any attention to how ridiculous an idea may be. It may bear up under the stern test of application.

2. Get the facts of the situation. Don’t jump to obvious conclusions. What is “obvious” may prove wrong on closer examination. Force yourself to see all there is to see. Challenge the obvious way of doing—or seeing—things. Focus your attention on things you have always taken for granted.

3. Transform old facts into new ideas. When the facts are marshaled, analyze them. Study everything (every procedure, every policy) and ask what makes it valuable. Then combine the reasons and reorganize the facts. Turn them upside down and inside out. Chances are, you will see new relationships, which in turn lead to new ideas and creative solutions to old problems.

This process won’t always work. It may even yield completely worthless ideas. But you will have at least stimulated your creative processes. At best, you may solve a nagging problem.

The Right Time to Meet
If you suspect that your business meetings are being needlessly prolonged by small talk and other forms of procrastination, you can speed them up by changing your timing. Try these techniques:

· Schedule meetings for just before lunch. Hungry people tend to get down to work fast.

· Hold meetings toward the end of the day and take advantage of people’s desire to get home on time.

Breaking Bad News
Things don’t always go well in the real world. Sometimes you have to give bad news to one of your people—a promotion didn’t pan out . . . he has to come in on Saturday to finish a rush job . . . the raise that was counted on isn’t in the budget after all.

How do you do it? To avoid impairing effectiveness and to help the employee deal with the bad news constructively, try these tips:

Don’t break the bad news just before a worker has to begin a demanding job. Even if the challenge can be coped with successfully, the mental wear and tear will take its toll.

Don’t break it at lunch or just before lunch, especially if the disappointment could lead to serious consequences or is unexpected.

The end of the day may be the right time, particularly if the employee is likely to do a lot of resentful talking to coworkers. It’s a good time, too, if the bad news means the worker needs time to choose alternatives to take corrective measures.

The end of the day is not good, however, if the bad news is something that the employee can do nothing about. It’s best not to send the individual away to brood about it at home.

The best time for criticism in many cases is early in the day. This gives the employee time to think it over and also affords the opportunity for a second discussion later on. Even if there is no second discussion, the manager’s normal interactions with the employee during the remainder of the day will help stabilize the situation and soothe the worker’s ruffled feathers.