In my latest job, working as Lead Developer for Mailock, I attend a lot of meetings. In spending more and more of my time in meetings I have come to realize 2 key things - One: Most (if not all) meetings could stand to be a bit shorter. Two: Business meetings seem to breed business cards.

I am currently writing a series of posts on how to simplify meetings, and below propose a simple solution to all those business cards you may have collected.

3 Steps to Business Card Nirvana

1. Organize your “Keepers” - Those business cards that you really want to keep (be ruthless) should be organized neatly - stick them in a business card book, or file them neatly in your organizer; make sure they are put somewhere you can reach easily.
2. Transfer the Card Details to a Computer - Go through each card and transfer all the details into a computer file somewhere - Use the Contacts section in your Email client, type them into a dedicated contact manager like Act! or put them in a central database. If possible, put them somewhere that can sync to your mobile phone, so you need only manage one address book. Do this for cards you will bin, and the cards you’ll keep.
3. Get rid of the unwanted Cards - Bin the, recycle them, shred them (if you need to protect privacy) or get creative with them (see below) - just make sure you only ever keep the cards you really need.

A Great Use for Unwanted Business Cards

I tend to recycle all of the cards that I get given (and now I actively try to refuse them if I can), but Dr. Jeannine Mosely of the Institute for Figuring has a great idea for those of us with too much time and far too many business cards…

Build a Business Card Menger Sponge!