I know that this isn’t the coolest thing I can talk about on a tech blog, but in reality, it can be one of the most important things. Everyone has so many files coming at us every day, and if we don’t have a method to manage all of them, it can quickly get out of hand. Having a sound filing system is something critical that we all need to have. Think about it like this; If you got 50 hard copy documents, you might be able to keep track of them if you put them somewhere that you know you’ll be able to find them again. The problem shows up if you pull up the document and pages are missing, or they aren’t where you put them down. For digital files, it’s even worse. If you mislabel them or misfile a document, then the likelihood of finding the file is nearly impossible, depending on how well organized your system is. I have talked before about the difference between the filing System and the folder tree. The importance of having an actual system for getting your documents from where ever they come from (be it hard copy or digital) and putting them into your system is a critical function of having a filing system.
1) Scan your documents regularly – Your files have to get into your system somehow, right? I still get a lot of paper documents handed to me, but for this, I’m also talking about documents (Pdf’s etc.) that get e-mailed to you as well. Scanning your documents into your system is an essential step because it’s not just about making your hard copy files digital. It’s also about how you use your naming conventions to decide how your documents get filed. When you scan a hard copy document, the file needs to be named, so that’s an easy step as a part of this system. The trick is with the Digital files that get e-mailed to you. I go through this every month when I’m paying my bills. I get my bills e-mailed to me and pay them online. Then, I save the e-mails and the page on the website that says the payment went through as PDFs. This makes it so that I have a record of those payments, but those files, when they go into my system, have to be named and files appropriately. When I save them, the computer comes up with a ridiculous name like “22-76—snedh-2343” or whatever, which I then delete and put in my naming convention. Could you imagine if I went through a hundred or so files with incomprehensible names? I wouldn’t be able to find anything. I also make sure that when I pick a time to regularly scan in all my files so that the pile of papers doesn’t get too big. As I’m writing this post, my stack is starting to get to the point where I will have to go through it. Taking time regularly saves you from having to slog through too much work at one time.
2) File your documents regularly – Something that I do with my filing system so that It’s not too complex for me when I’m scanning is to put all of my new files in a central folder to be distributed later. It makes the process a little easier in the short term, as I don’t have to find a resting place for every single file when I’m trying to scan them in. I usually reference the folder name where I want the file to go into the file name so that when I go back and decide to mass organize my loose files, I don’t have to think too hard about where the files need to go. I can take a bunch at a time and put them away in the various subfolder. While you certainly can put away each file one at a time, that seems like a bit more of a tedious process and makes for more work. What I like to do is scan everything to one spot and then organize it later. If I organize them right after I’m done scanning or come back to it a little later, it doesn’t matter. They are A) already in my system anyways and b) have SOME level or organization because they have the folder names on them so they can be quickly sorted later.
3) Check your Misc. folder regularly – I’ve talked about the benefits of having a Miscellaneous folder. Sometimes, you need to scan documents into your system that will not automatically have a home. One-offs and things that you don’t yet have a folder for are the kinds of files that I’m talking about here. Of course, Saving the files there if you don’t already have a spot for them is only half of the equation. The other half is going into your Misc. folder every once and a while and seeing what’s in there. If you have set up your naming conventions properly, you will start to see patterns. Some files will look like they naturally fit together. If there are enough in your filing system (and this is totally a judgement call), you can create a new folder in your filing system for them and move them out of your Misc. folder.
You know it’s funny. Even though I am on this site talking about Organizing your Digital Life and making sure you have a straightforward filing system, even I find the filing process a bit tedious every once in a while. That being said, I still think that having a comprehensive (and comprehendible) system is essential for Organizing your Digital Life. We are spending so much time online, and nearly all of our documents are coming to us electronically that we need to ensure that where those files go is somewhere that we can easily find them later. Filing can be stressful, but it will become much less stressful if your naming convention is consistent and you sort your files regularly.
What filing Habits do you have?
Let me know in the comments section below. If you like this blog post and want to see more, you can follow me on Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @jasonlovefiles) or Subscribe to my blog to get new content delivered directly to your mailbox.