In August, I dealt with the Supreme Paper Mess in my study. After I was done, my treat was to unwrap the adorable little document box I'd gotten at the Container Store some weeks before and put it on my desk to work as my new paper catch-all, the rule being that when it's full it's time to file.
It took three weeks for the box--a 12 1/4" x 10 1/4" x 4" affair--to get slightly overful. By that time, my desk had slid towards its former slovenly appearance as well, so this weekend I turned my attention to set things to right.
It took about 20 minutes to clear my desk and another hour and 45 minutes to file the things from the document box, which is about right: I seem to be able to file about 2" of paperwork an hour. In the end, I was completely caught up and ready to move on to the next thing on my List.