For those who are thinking about starting a digital filing system, some advice on how to proceed may be just what the doctor ordered. There are a few pieces of equipment that you will need to get yourself going. Having the correct equipment is vital if your filing system is going to be successful. I know that building and maintaining a personal filing system can sound complex, but it can be relatively simple in reality. Quite naturally, the first thing that you will need is a pile of paper. I say “Pile of paper” because I’m assuming you’re going from hard copy to digital. That being said, if you have a pile of digital documents that you need to have sorted, then you can achieve the results either way. If you are working with digital documents, you may not need this first piece of equipment, but I have found that there are very few systems that start as purely digital.
1) Scanner – I love my scanner. I have talked about scanners before, but I have to reiterate that you will not be able to get your system digital without one if you are starting with a paper system. I realize that you are probably rolling your eyes right now, like, “of COURSE, Jason, we know that!”But if you had read some of my other posts about it, would you know that it’s all about the quality of the scanner that will make your scans turn out properly. With a good scanner, your scan clarity won’t be an issue. Also, if you get a good scanner, you will be able to use it successfully for years without replacing it.
2) Cloud Account – All of your Digital files have to go somewhere, right? Over the past ten years or so (as of this posting), having a cloud account has become more important. Partially because it’s nearly impossible to keep all of your data on one device, but also because the consistency across all of your devices comes in handy. With our society going more and more mobile, having access to cloud accounts or even having our cloud accounts is a critical component of maintaining a consistent filing system. Of course, getting your files into a cloud account is only the first step to maintaining your digital filing system.
3) Folding System – I will admit, a system of folders to manage your data isn’t a piece of “equipment” per se, but you do need to be equipped with a comprehensive foldering system nonetheless. The reason is simple; the fewer decisions you have to make about where your files go when you’re adding them to your system, the faster you will be able to create and maintain your system. Now, what kind of system you want and how detailed you want it to depend on how much time you’re willing to spend on it. If you’re a filing geek like me, then there can be no end to the amount of detail you may want to add to your system. Alternatively, you may have neither the time nor the inclination to put much detail into how your files get sorted, so a more basic filing structure will suffice. I’m going to break character for a minute here and say that, in reality, It doesn’t matter how detailed your folder structure is. All that really matters for your personal filing system is knowing where your files have to go and how to pull those files up again should you need them. You’ll forgive me for skipping out talking about file naming conventions, but for this post, we have other stuff to talk about.
4) Shredder – This is the last step (sort of) for the transition of your hard copy to a digital filing system. Ninety percent of the paper that I deal with in my filing system is shreddable. Once I have the hard copy system document in my digital system, there is very little reason for me to hang on to it. When I was first setting up my filing system, I didn’t have a shredder. I quickly got frustrated with the piles of paper that I had scanned but had no way to get rid of them once I did. I had no reason to keep the paper, and the piles that I was trying to get rid of were going nowhere. When I eventually got myself a shredder, I spent a whole Saturday gleefully putting as much paper as I could through it and hauling large bags of shredded paper out to my recycle bin. Now, when I add hard copy documents to my filing system, it’s a matter of sort, scan, file, and shred.
5) File cabinet for leftover hard copy – So when I said that the shredder was “sort of” the last step for your hard copy documents, I was telling the truth. Most of the hard copies I do shred, but for the rest, you do need to have an organized (or organizable) placed to put them. I may have mentioned in a previous post how I keep all of my legal documents in hard copy format, and I do. I keep a filing cabinet where I have all of my papers that I need to keep a hard copy of. The important thing is that the way I organize my hard copy files reflects how I manage my digital files. That way, no matter where I look for my filers, they will be organized the same way.
I fully realize that, at the beginning of your filing journey, the amount of stuff you have to do can seem overwhelming. Having the right tools is an excellent start to getting yourself going. Indeed, you need to sort out a bunch of other things to build your filing system. Something like a file naming convention, a schedule for figuring out when you’re going to get everything set up, and how often you’re planning on adding to your filing system. These, however, are things that I will deal with in a later post. For now, getting your equipment together is one of the main factors for success in creating an effective filing system.
What equipment would you use for your filing system?
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