If you've ever spent time pulling together all the papers you need before an out-of-town trip, you'll appreciate the need for these files. The idea is that each time you have a new future event or project, you should assign the respective papers to a specific folder. Whenever you get any paperwork pertaining to that event or project, put it into the folder. When the date approaches for the event, you can pull all of the paperwork for that event out of the folder and take it with you. That then opens up a folder for use with the next project or event that comes up.

How should you label these folders? If you're using an organizing software program such as Taming the Paper Tiger (http://www.thepapertiger.com), you'll receive preprinted labels marked "Action 1," "Action 2," "Action 3," etc. There are a couple of reasons why this is an efficient numbering system: 1) The labels are general and don't need to be changed when the contents change; 2) You can tell by the label "Action" that it's a folder that you need to pay attention to; 3) Your events or projects don't need to be in alphabetical or chronological order within this system, rather they can be placed in order of importance.

If you're not using an organizing program, you can create your own filing index in a database, spreadsheet, or word processing program. You should set up fields labeled something like File Number, File Name, Description, and Action Date so you can develop an index for your files as you create them. Using the method described above, your first temporary action folder would be labeled "Action 1," which would be the File Number. The File Name would be a brief description of the event or project, such as "California Trip." Use the Description field to be as descriptive of the file contents as possible, so you can use the Find feature in your program to locate the file if you can't remember what you named it. Put the date of the event or the project due date in the Action Date field. You can print out an index and keep it in a file marked "File Index" in your Permanent Action File (discussed in last week's column). Then you'll quickly know where to put papers for your temporary actions as they come in.

As far as organizing the files in your file drawer, don't overlook the simple effectiveness of using different colors. You can use, for example, red folders and/or red tabs on these folders, to highlight the action folders. And if you use a different color for your temporary action files, you can easily re-file the folders using color as the separator.

Once you've created your temporary action files, your desktop should be relatively free of clutter. Pat yourself on the back and treat yourself to a reward. You've done your part to make the world just a little more organized.