What should I do with my piles of business cards? They are scattered all over my desk and I can never find the one I am looking for when I need it!
To set up a contact management system that works with your personal organizing style, first decide which business cards you really need to keep. You may have collected a lot of cards over the years but consider which ones are still up to date and relevant.
Next, determine your preferred method of retrieval. Do you remember people by their first name or last name? Type of business or business name? Or where you met them? Maybe you are more visual and it is the business card color or design that triggers your memory of that person? Your natural tendencies will determine which is the best method for sorting your cards.
If you are a visual person, choose a storage method that allows you to easily see the cards as this will trigger your memory. Some common storage methods include:
Sort by Category:
- Use an empty business card box and separate the categories using post-it-notes as dividers; or
- Put the cards in a three-ring binder with clear plastic pages and use dividers to separate the categories.
Sort Alphabetically:
- If you have a Rolodex with alphabetical dividers you can sort cards by last name, first name or business name.
If you are comfortable with technology and want to create a database in your computer, you can scan the business cards using a business card scanner or enter the information manually into your computer. This way you can sort the information however you like and arrange the information to best suit your organizing style.
As with any organizing, you will want to consider what works best in your specific situation and set up a system that will be easy to use and maintain. It may take a little longer to set up but this will save you so much time in the future!
