Ask Flex / Drowning in paperwork
Drowning in junk mail?
You can turn a lot of it off at the source, so there's less to sort every day. The FTC points to two places, which are DMAchoice.org for catalogs and ads, and OptOutPrescreen.com for credit card and insurance offers.
Turn it off at the source.
Stop the credit card offers
OptOutPrescreen.com, or call 1-888-567-8688. The credit bureaus run it.
Stop the catalogs and ads
DMAchoice.org. There's a $6 fee, and it lasts 10 years.
Sort over the recycling bin
Junk never gets to touch the counter.
Shred the offers
Anything preapproved with your name on it.
I keep getting junk mail from these senders: [list them]. Write one short, polite note I can send to each that asks them to take my name and address off their mailing list. Leave a blank where my address goes. Then tell me the usual place to look on a catalog or a mailer for its own opt-out instructions.
Before you paste work stuff into any AI, check what your company allows.The Paper Pile Word Search
Nine office words are hiding in the pile, plus one bonus word. A two-minute breather.
Find the words Learn this in the Lab, free
A free group where you learn to use Claude for the repeat parts of your job: email, reports, forms. Start with a 15-minute chat that maps what Claude can do in your job.
- Free
- No coding
- Works in Claude
How long should you keep mail?
Most of it can go the week it arrives. A few kinds need keeping. Flex has a page on it.
How do you get rid of paperwork?
Scan what you need and let go of the rest, one small stack at a time. Flex has a page on it.
What if I'm drowning in a pile of paperwork?
Sort it once into three stacks before you do any of it. Flex has a page on it.
Want to hand this to Claude?
Start in the Lab with the free 9-to-5 Job Triage: a 15-minute chat that maps what Claude can do in your job. Everything inside is free.