In my heart of hearts, I’m a file management guy. One of my first jobs in the industry I’m in now was in Document management and making sure that my company’s files were in order. It’s something that has stuck with me to this very day. I like keeping my files in order simply because It’s a way of keeping my mind in balance. If I have too many loose files rolling around my filing system, I get distracted by it. You may find the same thing (you may not), but I think that we all should have a very well-structured filing system for all of our digital files. Luckily It’s elementary to set up and just as easy to maintain. If you’re wondering why it’s essential, I have some compelling reasons for you.
1) It makes things easier to sort – When I scan my documents into my filing system, I do them a bunch at a time. This means that when I’m done scanning, there will be quite a few loose files in my filing system. If the files don’t have proper names or file destinations where I’m going to put them, then I will never be able to find where they will go. If this situation sounds familiar, you may also know the general frustration of seeing a few hundred files and having no idea what the hell they are. That drives me nuts, which is why the file’s name has the date (for easy organization), the folder it’s going to go to, and some description of what the file is. A great example of this is “2021-10-15 – Bills – Phone bill,” which has everything that I need. The trick with the naming conventions is to make sure that they stay consistent.
2) It makes things easier to find – Even I will admit, the times that I go back and look for files that I’ve put into my filing system are drastically outweighed by the times that I’ve never looked at those files ever again. That being said, I have been SO grateful for my file naming system when I have had to go back into my filing system to find some random document for whatever reason. If ever you need to go back and grab some files, it’s always better to have invested the time to create a system that includes naming conventions so that when you get there, you don’t need to worry about where the files could be. You will be able to go in and grab them.
3) It makes things easy to move or get rid of – I know I haven’t talked much about what to do with your files after you don’t need them anymore, but I will be over the next few posts. The fact of the matter is that (sentimentality aside) most of the documents in your filing system do have a lifecycle, and that lifecycle will end one day. This means that you will have to figure out what files you want to get rid of and when. If you decide to make it based on an actual date, then having the date of the documents in the file names will make things much more manageable. If you want to establish your criteria for deletion off of things you no longer use (Say you switched phone carriers), then having all the documents from the previous carrier in one place (a folder) would also be good. Having the folder contain everything would make it easier to delete it down the road.
Your filing system is more than just the folder structure. It’s the naming conventions, and it’s the process for how you get your files into and out of the system. You will need an existing system for getting everything in and out. If you don’t, then it’s entirely possible you will misplace files, folders or accidentally delete things that you don’t mean to. Developing your own system will make it so that your system is easy to use, easy to manipulate, and easy to structure going forward. I know that I’ve not been specific on what a structured file tree would look like, and to a degree, that’s on purpose. I understand that some people’s requirements for file trees will be different from mine, and you need to be able to develop your own system so that when you do start filing, it makes sense to you.
How do you sort your files?
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