Just for the record!One question regularly asked by newcomers to comping, and indeed by old hands when they occasionally find themselves overwhelmed by comps in a particularly busy month, is ‘how do you manage to keep track of everything?’
Well, like so many aspects of our hobby, it’s entirely up to you. The important thing though, and I’ve said this many, many times in these articles, is that the method you use is one that you personally are completely comfortable with. It’s no good deciding on a complicated system of filing and cross-referencing for example, if you’re the world’s most disorganised person. You probably don’t need telling that a filing cabinet with folders for every day of the year, coupled with a daily diary and computer spreadsheet, will give you optimum control. Or that a comprehensive coding system whereby you can tell at a glance which entry of the many you made won a particular prize, what colour envelope you used, the time and date it was posted, and what you had for lunch that day, might be desirable. Indeed it might, but time for a reality check here.
If you struggle to find enough hours in the day for comps already, is a time-consuming state-of-the-art filing system really going to help you? Obviously, some kind of order is going to be an improvement on the precarious piles of paperwork that are currently dotted around your home, but it needs to be tailor made to fit in with your own circumstances. Is it worth, for example, setting up a system that tells you which pillar box you used for a given comp, and what picture was on your postcard, if you’re never likely call on that information, or use it in the future?
Record-keeping is one of those areas in comping where we’re forever being urged to ‘do the right thing’, or where every so often we’ll read of someone’s own all-singing-all-dancing system that makes our own modest method seem pathetic in comparison. And when the class swot proudly trumpets one day that not only did they win a really nice baseball cap using a postcard with a red flower on it, written in orange crayon, posted second class on a foggy Friday morning some 71.5 hours before the closing date, it’s tempting to swoon in awe and vow to start logging your own entries in the same methodical manner with immediate effect. But wait! That same ‘bells and whistles’ system will emphasise with the same unerring accuracy exactly how unsuccessful a particular entry has been, and how depressing is that going to be? And for every prize won in a thoroughly organised manner, trust me, there’ll be many won by ad hoc, last minute, long forgotten entries where the sender barely had time to write the winning postcard, let alone accompanying card-file notes, painstakingly cross-referenced by prize, promoter and handling house.
If you’re an extremely well organised person, with the time and inclination to do it properly, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a complex filing system. I know that some compers wholeheartedly enjoy this aspect of the hobby, and good luck to them. But for the rest of us, a much simpler system should suffice. A simple wallet for each month, perhaps. A ring binder or box file for your slogan work. And perhaps another folder for all of those miscellaneous bits and bobs – the odd EF you’ve kept where you’re quietly confident so want to retain the T&Cs, receipts etc. that may be called for if you win a prize, notes of Order-of-Merits to compare against the official results. But even this needs to have the ‘personal touch’ – don’t risk things getting out of control and disorganised by keeping too much. Do you really need a copy of every EF going back years, for example? Go through your folders regularly to keep them up-to-date, and ONLY keep the things that YOU think will be important. And not what some so-called ‘expert’ tells you should be.
A couple of people have asked me what system I myself use. Well, I’m happy to tell you, but in a totally non-prescriptive manner. If it gives you some ideas for a system of your own then that’s great, but the chances of my own method working for someone else without at least some personalisation and embellishment are minimal. I don’t pretend that it’s a perfect system either, it’s designed to make sure that I don’t miss a closing date and that’s about it. For me, much of the fun in comping lies in the postman turning up with an unexpected LWE from a long-forgotten competition. Personally I can think of nothing more soul-destroying than crossing out prizes as notification dates pass, so I deliberately don’t keep records of competitions entered and the like. It’s all about informality and surprise for me, it may be something completely different for you of course, so again we come back to the overriding message here. That some sort of order will most likely help you in your hobby, but the system must be designed to suit YOU.
So then to my own admittedly informal system… prepare to be underwhelmed, and no sniggering at the back! It works for me 99% of the time though, and that’s good enough. I could, of course, strive for a foolproof 100%-accurate arrangement, but the extra time, effort and paperwork needed for the sake of that extra 1% would be completely out of proportion. So I’m happy to take the risk – safe in the knowledge that Chatterboxers can usually help out on the rare occasion that my trusty system doesn’t quite come up to scratch. Pop along to www.competitions.com.cn if you haven’t done so before, check out all the friendly banter and advice, and you’ll see what I mean!
My own comping ‘office’ consists of just four items. One of those little drawer sets that you can buy from any stationer, indeed most hardware stores during the current ‘decluttering’ fad (mine’s A4 size with three drawers), two box files, and an A4 plastic wallet. The drawers are labelled as follows: comps where qualifiers are still needed, tiebreaker comps next month on, and non-tiebreaker comps next month on. All self-explanatory I think! One of the box files houses my tiebreaker efforts – in no particular order I have to say, as I enjoy a good rummage and it’s amazing how often I stumble across an idea from a completely unrelated comp that can be adapted to suit the promotion that I’m working on. The other box file is used to keep miscellaneous ‘archive’ comping stuff just in case it’s needed for reference purposes. And the plastic wallet is used for the current month’s comps – deliberately designed to be portable so that I can tackle the contents in a spare five minutes at home or work more easily than if they were entwined in some grander filing scheme.
At the start of every month, I go through each drawer to ensure that comps closing during the new month are put into approximate date order and moved to the ‘current’ folder, and both box files to make sure that paperwork no longer needed or relevant is thrown away. This monthly exercise also serves as useful double check and memory-jogger. Some people may see this as a duplication of effort, which a more targeted or finely honed system would prevent, but I’ve developed this particular system over the years to suit me. The relative informality of the system mirrors my approach to the hobby generally, so needless to say it’s not going to suit everyone. But I’m sure that you get the idea! Admittedly not a computer program, spreadsheet, card file or Post-it note in sight – but if these are the kind of things that you yourself are more comfortable working with, then go for it. I’ll say it again (for the last time, promise!) – YOUR filing system needs to work for YOU. It has to be something that YOU are comfortable with, that can evolve to suit YOU, and that YOU can realistically operate effectively and efficiently.
So while I hope that some of the suggestions and ideas here have been helpful, there is no use in me suggesting rigid rules, or of detailing a definitive ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way.
Over to you then – and good luck!
Smid x
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