The Box-Method Revisited

Last November, 2006, I wrote about the Box Method, an easy, yet not-oft-recommended way to store important documents easily and without fear of document mis-files. I wish to update you on how my box method is doing.

As I said in the that post, I first learned of the box method at freshman orientation at the University of Maryland, College Park, my Alma mater. In essence, the box method is an easy way to secure important papers in one location and is so easy to do, a disorganized frat boy can do it, and never lose the proof he needs regarding that dropped course.

Here's how it works. Every time you get important mail, like monthly bank statements, bills, credit card statements, etc, just put them in a box. Don't try to organize anything. Just throw them into the box. At the end of the quarter, you can then organize the papers into appropriate sections in an accordion folder so that your accountant can go through them do your quarterly income and cost statement. Read the earlier post in which I explain it in more detail.

When I first started my solo urology and male infertility practice, the box method worked fine. At that time, I was seeing ~20-25 patients per week and operating once per month. I had no call. I went to one hospital, no lithotripsy center or surgi-centers, and had huge gaps in my schedule. When it came time for my quartely accountant meetings back then, I had time to organize the box prior to the meeting. Back then, the box method worked well.

Now I see 40-50 patients per week, and do ~10 surgeries per month at my local hospital in Smithtown. In addition I do another 10 cases per month, such as sperm retrievals, litho's etc, at a variety of places, like the lithotripsy center, the surgi-center, or the IVF centers. My days in the office still have breaks, though not long ones as in November 2006, and when I am not seeing patients, I am transporting my younger girl to and from camp/school, making bank runs, writing, planning, & thinking (yes, I schedule "thinking" time--very important), or helping out with the new born at home. On top of that, I am on call for St Catherine's Medical Center in Smithtown, and have been busy with ER and hospital consults. So now, does the box method work?

You betcha! Works better than ever. You see, the busier you get, the more you need the box method. My accountant meeting is tomorrow, and I organized my box in less than 30 minutes while I watched a promo video for a cool new health website called http://www.organizedwisdom.com/.

Get the box. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. It works great.

Thanks,

The IU.