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Where I find a front desk job at a motel?

File, paper, and project management for a freelancer without a desk.

  • I have recently switched from an office job to working freelance. I belong to a coworking space but I don't have my own desk. Any advice for organizing paperwork without an everyday desk space? I thought I would go completely paperless (Evernote, Things for Mac, Dropbox, etc.) but I am finding that I miss having papers in front of me. I find that it's nice to have printed documents for pending issues, reference materials, etc on my desk while they are in progress. I am thinking about making an old fashioned file folder for every project, with pending issues paperclipped to the outside. To do items can be on post-it notes on the outside of the folder. Phone numbers, dates, etc. can be on the inside of the folder. This makes everything easy to access and keeps incomplete items visible so I know they need action. I am unsure about how to actually organize this however. Part of the pleasure of freelancing for me is not having to sit at a desk all day. I work at home, in coffeeshops, and at various desks at the coworking space. I could get a http://s3.amazonaws.com/spacesavers/16357-sterilite-portable-file-box_1_375.jpg to carry with me, although it's big and bulky, and there's still the issue of notes not being visible. I would have to take each folder out of the box to see what is pending. Note: Reference materials, receipts, business cards, and all other paperwork is scanned into Evernote. I am asking only about managing files and notes for active projects. I imagine that once a project is complete, I would scan any handwritten documents (or the entire folder?) into Evernote. How do other freelancers handle these issues? I can't be the first one with this challenge - would love to hear how others have solved it.

  • Answer:

    A good old-fashioned hardsided briefcase: this is, after all, the kind of thing they were designed for. Get one that'll also hold your laptop or tablet and you're golden. You can also get a filebox or small file cabinet for home: I doubt you'll want or need to have your entire collection of files with you every single day; just carry around the ones you'll be working on that day and leave the rest at home.

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How about a rolling briefcase? You can carry your laptop and a lot of paperwork in it.

xingcat

A few thoughts: 1) I wouldn't plan on carrying that file box around every day. It might be good to have at home, but you're not going to want to carry it around. 2) If you're the type to want to get to keep lists and the like in paper form, I would get a http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AQONK/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ and a http://www.containerstore.com/shop/office/paperFileStorage/expandingFilesPouches?productId=10018131&N=74538&Nao=20 for the in-use file folders. I use the linked ones, but there are lots of alteratives. 3) If you have one, or are interested in getting one, a full sized tablet, like the ipad, can be a good portable "second screen" for reference materials and to-do lists that aren't on your primary monitor. No cut-and-paste, obviously, but could be a subsitute for paper reference materials.

mercredi

Seems like an expanding file would be the perfect middle ground between that portable file box and a bunch of loose folders. Then a separate small notebook with pressing/daily to-dos (though I use http://asana.com for the latter).

supercres

supercres

Some of the co working spaces in my area will let you rent a small storage bin or something like that. Does yours and would that work for you? Could you rent an external monitor? But really, cut down on the stuff you need to tote everywhere. Depending on your commute, how about one of those rolling offices / briefcases?

reddot

For keeping paperwork separate for several jobs, I like something like these http://www.centurybusinesssolutions.com/plastic-job-jackets/related.htm. They're expensive, but they hold a lot, and they're clear, so you see what's in them. They're somewhat bulky, but if you're just bringing the one or two with that you need, it might work?

hydra77

I've sometimes used an http://www.itoya.com/Catalogs/Profolio/Profolio_html/I6-200_2.htm for this kind of thing. It's like a binder (only nowhere near as bulky or heavy) with page protectors built in. You can slide a fair number of papers into each section, and it's all clear - so flip through the Profolio, and you can see everything you've got. Another possibility is an http://www.irisusainc.com/p-458-dn-320.aspx. Or the http://www.pendaflex.com/enUS/Products/Desk_Free__Hanging_Organizer_with_Case.html.

jeri

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