Looking anxious, Diane* brought me over to a hidden spot between her dining table and credenza and gestured to several large tote bags. They were packed full of mail, paperwork, and notes collected over several months, perhaps even years.

“I feel so ashamed that I’ve let it pile up this much,” she admitted. “Maybe I should just shred it all!”

“Sure,” I said encouragingly, “but I don’t think that’s what you want to do, is it?”

Diane admitted that, tempting as it sounded just to get rid of all the papers, that’s not the way she wanted to handle the backlog. It was too haphazard a solution and she knew there were things in there that she needed to deal with and possibly even important papers she needed to save, such as legal documents and tax records.

But the opposite approach — go through everything with a fine-toothed comb — seemed an insurmountable task.

When you’re facing a backlog — whether it’s papers, clothing, toys, mementos, or whatever — you need a framework to help you see past the mountain.