# Managers: Help Me Track Correspondence!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-help-me-track-correspondence/229064>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 13, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-help-me-track-correspondence/229064 "2004-02-13T17:15:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-help-me-track-correspondence/229064/1 "2004-02-13T17:15:05Z")

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Can SDopers in management (or doc control) help me find a logical way to track correspondence, comments to correspondence, comments to the comments etc., etc. Is there some trick to “taming this paper lion”? A good method may prove critical for retrieving historical records, for example.

In addition to comments to the comments, one individual may issue a second round of comments! Where do you begin? Are there some tried and true tricks of the trade and/or rules of thumb? …Thanks! - Jinx

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-help-me-track-correspondence/229064/2 "2004-02-13T17:27:16Z")

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what kind of correspondence? Electronic? Paper? Do you have outlook? Track them in their in separate folders…At any one time I have several folders for each class I teach…studenyt emails, comments, cc’s everything goes into those folders. Easy reference…Paper comments…I dunno, filing cabinet maybe?

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**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-help-me-track-correspondence/229064/3 "2004-02-13T20:25:14Z")

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First step…categorizing.

I work in broadcasting. I have one folder for each client. Every piece of information on that commercial order goes into the folder. Cancels, revisions, adds, conversion from :30s to :60s…all in the folder.

I rarely look at it again, but boy, when the sh-- hits the fan, I can go right to the folder and pull out and prove what I did and when I did it and why I did it. My paper trail has covered my butt on more than one occassion.

So, you need to figure out how you want to split your correspondence into categories.