Now that we’re getting to the meat of Organizing your Digital Life, one of the things that you have hopefully realized is that all the paper around you has to go. Keeping paper copies while trying to maintain a digital system is completely impossible. One of the main cornerstones of any modern office or home is accessibility. Being able to access your information from anywhere in the world is one of the greatest benefits of modern living. You do however have to have it all in a filing system.
1) Get quality equipment – As with all things, having quality equipment is a great way to ensure a better outcome. if you purchase, for example, the top of the line television, and have state of the art PVR, but cables that are substandard, you will end up with a substandard television signal. Similarly, if you are planning to scan your documents to a cloud system it is important that the Cloud provider is one you can trust. I’ve spoken before about the Benefits of Cloud Systems (Hyperlink) but in this case, I would recommend going with one of what I call “the big four” Cloud Service Providers. Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive and DropBox are the biggest names in the business and will be able to offer you the best plan for the best rate.
The other aspect is the hardware that you use. in a previous job I was assigned a particular scanner that I used for eight hours a day, three years straight. The Scanner never broke down, and because of that, I was such a fan that I bought one for my own scanning when I started planning out my own digital filing system. I’ll be honest, I was taken aback a bit by the price, which was a little over $500.00 but I did buy the scanner because I knew that it was quality equipment and it would last forever. It has lasted all this time and I absolutely love using it.
2) Make time, don’t find time – many many years ago I read a book by Dave Marinaccio called “All I Really Need to know I learned from watching Star Trek”. In it he goes over all the various lessons that he learned while watching the TV show (original version if you’re wondering). The one lesson that really hit home with me was that “If something is important to you, you make the time”. I do my scanning and filing on a regular basis and one of the questions I get asked most often is “How do you find the time to do it?” In reality, I don’t find the time, I make time. Being well organized is important to me, and as such, I always make sure that there is time to Organize my Digital Life.
3) Find a space that works for you – This is a critical step. If you need a place to do your work then you need to find where that is. If you are in a space where you will be easily distracted or walk away from working constantly, that isn’t the right spot. The spot also isn’t just the physical location but the time as well. I do 90% of my scanning and filing work after my kids go to bed. Once you find your spot to do your work you will find it happens really easily, and you will want to be able to go back and work some more.
4) Make it a regular event – I’m a stickler for scanning and backing up my filing system. I’m fairly routine about it so my next recommendation is to ensure that you take time regularly to scan your documents and make sure that your filing system is sorted properly.
5) Have a file system in place – Sorting files that have been scanned is much easier when you have a filing system in place. if you set up a system beforehand which you can easily access and manage, then you will be able to drag and drop in the various different folders without having to stress out about where your files are supposed to go. I understand completely that not everything will fit into a specific folder, so what I do is create a Miscellaneous or “Other” folder. If I find that there are a few things that are similar in my “Other” Folder, I create a new folder for them and move them out of the other folder
6) Use a standard naming system – One of the easiest ways to get electronic documents lost or confused is to name two similar documents to completely different things. If you have a gas receipt, call it a Gas receipt. I’ve talked before about my 4 Effective Methods for a Personal File Naming System (Hyperlink) so having a standard system is really important.
7) Be consistent – One of the things that I do on a regular basis is scan my files, name them and back them up. By doing these three things on a regular basis you will be able to maintain a consistent filing system.
A large part of Organizing your Digital Life is making sure that any of your hard copy files are turned digital. It may take some time at first, but it will be worth it in the end. You can’t predict when you will be required to produce a copy of something you thought you were long finished with. It could be something mundane like a new school asking for your child’s last four report cards, or something extreme where a gas receipt will provide you with an alibi (Okay that might be very extreme but hey, you never know right?). Good luck! And to paraphrase a famous Vulcan, scan long, and prosper.
How many documents do you have to scan?
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