?By year 2000, we?ll have paperless offices.? Isn?t that what many people were thinking and saying thirty years ago? Electronic mail came along and prediction threatened to come true of messages whizzing back and forth with no paper involved. It was a technological dream come true. However, we?ve traded one problem for another.

The ease of e-mail communication has created a new monster in form of e-mail overwhelm. Seventy-four new messages today, and it?s not even lunch time! Chain letters which promise sure doom if you break them! Urban legends and virus hoaxes ?til cows come home. It?s a never-ending stream of messages, which can be hard to manage. Plus, adding insult to injury, turn of new century has come and gone and we?re more inundated with paper than ever. How can this be? What of high tech, paperless workplace of our dreams?

Paper is a tried and true means of conveying information from one person to another, and it often feels ?safer? to rely on paper systems than to rely on technology. This security blanket effect is cause of e-mail paper clutter. One reason so many people print e-mail is because they?re afraid if they don?t, that they?ll never be able to find original message again. Using steps outlined here, you should be able to rest easy knowing that you can locate a specific e-mail any time you need it, without worrying about printing it off and adding it to pile on your desk.

The first logical first step to combating e-mail overwhelm is to have faith in your technology and stop feeling compelled to print your e-mails. A good rule of thumb is to only print an e-mail if it contains information that is absolutely necessary to have with you in hard copy when you leave office.

Consider fact that when you print out your e-mails, you are defeating entire purpose of having electronic mail in first place.

Imagine meeting an attorney for first time, whose office is a cluttered mess ? papers piled all over desktop, mail and files scattered on credenza, and an overloaded bookcase with stacks of books on top and on floor. Regardless of actual skill or reputation of that attorney, might your first impression be a negative one? Might your confidence in that attorney be lessened as well? In business, first impressions are important.

Clutter in workplace ranges from merely annoying to nearly paralyzing and is always detrimental to productivity. A cluttered work environment also projects an unfavorable image to clients and associates. When desktop becomes a storage place rather than a workspace, it?s time to reorganize! Several factors contribute to a disorganized workspace, but here are three ways to combat saboteurs:

1.Get a good desk. This doesn?t mean an expensive desk. It means one that is right for you and meets your daily needs. Your personal work habits as well as your business activities will determine what style and size desk is appropriate for you. If you refer to books, manuals or publications regularly in your business, a desk with an upright hutch would make sense. You can keep books you refer to daily in hutch. They will be easily accessed, but up off your work space. If books don?t need to be right at hand, a separate bookcase will suffice and you can go without hutch in favor of a larger flat workspace. If you use a computer (and these days, who doesn?t?) and you have ample floor space, consider an L-shaped desk. You can keep your computer on one section and still have a large workspace on other. This configuration allows you to avoid juggling two priorities on same desktop. Another great aspect about an L-shaped desk is additional room you gain for desktop tools such as upright file holders, stacking trays, baskets, portable hanging files, and your phone. Don?t forget all space on your walls. When you can?t build out, build up! Shelves are a fantastic way to display personal items, awards, and photos while keeping your work area clean and functional.