How to open mail and manually file

- As an administrative professional, you'll be the one that handles incoming mail and packages. You're likely to receive an assortment of mail like junk mail, letters, gifts, et cetera. You may be asked to physically open each piece or just sort for your executive. So here are a few things you can do to keep them organized. Set up colored folders for mail. For example, you may have red for priorities. Anything that needs immediate attention could be put in this folder. Yellow would be reading material such as magazines, newsletters, and fliers. Green can be any letters that you receive from customers, vendors, et cetera. Blue would represent finances so any bank statements, bills, invoices, et cetera. Label the outside of the folder so your executive knows what's in each folder and can pick the priority he or she decides to review them in. When you get the folder back, it will either be completely empty or have notes on the items for you take action. This way, you'll know exactly what needs to be done with each folder so it makes it a win-win for both you and your executive. Plus, you don't have to sort through a pile of mail. Each executive is different in how they would like their mail given to them so you may also be asked to stamp date received, pending, et cetera. Apart from opening and sorting the mail, there are still some organizations that still do require actual paper filing. Whether electronically filing or manually filing, both have the same concept. Here are a few things that you can do to help keep both organized. Label, be sure to make a label for the hanging file folder and the folder that goes inside so you can easily find it. The same goes for an electronic folder. You will want to give it a specific name so you know everything that goes in there belongs there. Colors, depending upon your company, you may file things by last name, first name, company name, or project. Color-coded folders can help if you have multiple types of filing to do. And when you see a certain color, you know what action needs to be taken. Keep copies, if you're manually filing, a good way to make sure you always have the documents is to make a copy and give the copy to your executive. This will ensure that you have the originals and they don't get misplaced. In both situations with mail and filing, the system you put in place needs to work for both you and your executive. It also needs to adhere to any company policies and procedures around document retention. Taking these simple steps will make the task of sorting through mail much easier and more efficient.