How to Organize Your Digital Files Like a Pro
Are you a digital packrat? Most of us are, and it’s easy to become one. Digital files don’t take up physical space, so we’re not tripping over them walking across the room. But if you can’t find a file you know you saved “somewhere,” you might be a digital packrat.
Good file management can save you time looking for your files, it can relieve the stress of a cluttered desktop, and it can help you be more efficient by keeping similar or related files together. Without good file management, you may not be able to produce a document when it’s needed, and you may find yourself duplicating efforts or missing connections between data points. Spending a few minutes figuring out how to manage your files can save you hours down the road.
Getting Started with File Management
Even if you’ve been using your file system for a long time, or operating for a long time without a file system, you can still create a great file structure. Starting here will have you thinking about how you use your files. What files do you need to keep and for how long? How do you think of them when you go to look for them – by the topic, or by the date you used it?
Most people sort their files into folders grouped by large topic, with subfolders for smaller topics. I’ve used a date-based system at work, but it was because that was how we generally looked for the files when we needed them. Consumers don’t usually think like that, when we want a file, we want it by topic.
You can start by creating the folders you want to use in your Documents folder. If it’s too intimidating to move all the files into their folders right now, just do a couple. As you create or acquire more files, put them into the right place immediately. Repeat this phrase: My desktop is not a catch-all.
Some of the folders you may want to create are “Employment records,” “Vital records,” “Finance”, and “Family” just for starters.
Sorting and Decluttering Files
When you start sorting your files into the folders, you might find that you have duplicates that have the same name except for a number in parentheses, like Paystub 01122024(1). That usually indicates that they’re the same file. YOu can look at the file size to see if they’re the same, or you can actually open both files to compare them. Another indicator of duplicates is the phrase “Copy of” before the actual file name.
If you had haphazardly set up a folder system, you may find duplicates with the exact same name in different folders. File systems will let you do that, because the path isn’t the same. You can’t put two files with the same name in the same folder, but you can put them in two different folders. Do the comparison and get rid of the one you don’t need.
YOu can do a search from your file manager to see if a file exists in more than one place. You should be able to see a list of all its iterations as well as the folders where they live. This is also a handy thing to know if you’re sure you have a file but you didn’t put it where you thought it should live – I do this quite often.
Now that you have the folders set up and you’ve gotten a handle on the clutter, you don’t want to let it get like that again. YOu want to do this regularly, or it absolutely will get out of hand, even if you practice putting things where they go. You can set a calendar reminder to clean up your files. I do this about every three months, with a super deep dive annually. That super deep dive doesn’t take very long because the quarterly purges and sorts do a good job of keeping things in line.
What happens when you run out of room on your computer? Well, there are several things you can do. You can get a bigger hard drive, but that’s going to require transferring everything to the new drive. Another option is to use an external hard drive for things you don’t need very often. An SD card or use a thumb drive might be a good option for files that you need regularly. You can also use cloud storage services like GoogleDrive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
The other consideration is your critical files – if something happens to your computer, where do your critical files live? Every critical file needs to live in at least two places, one of which is NOT on your computer. I use the 3-2-1 method: 3 copies of critical files, in 2 different places, 1 of which is outside of my house. I have a video describing it here.
File Security Basics
There are some files that are fine for the whole world to see, and some that only certain people should see. If they’re your files, you get to decide which is which. That also means it’s your responsibility to make sure only the right people can see them. There are two ways to protect files: password protection and encryption. Password protection is okay, but for serious protection, you need to learn how to encrypt certain files, and I have an explanation about it here.
Your Turn
If you haven’t been taking care of file management, don’t be scared. You can do this, and it’ll make your life so much better, I promise you! Start small, like I encourage you to do with everything you are starting new. Your well-managed files will save you so much time, reduce stress, and improve your productivity. Run an audit on your current system and see what needs improvement. If you’re interested in sharing the files you have with others, I’ve got a post on that here.
I’d also like to hear about your favorite file management tips in the comments below!
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