{"id":3960,"date":"2021-09-16T18:23:01","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T22:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldline.ca\/blog\/?p=3960"},"modified":"2023-10-13T15:54:44","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T19:54:44","slug":"september-tech-challenge-organize-your-virtual-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldline.ca\/blog\/september-tech-challenge-organize-your-virtual-files\/","title":{"rendered":"September Tech Challenge: Organize Virtual Files"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month\u00a0we bring you tips for organizing your\u00a0virtual files and documents to minimize digital\u00a0clutter and\u00a0stress!<\/i><\/p>\n

Recently, I spent a happy half-hour re-organizing my OneNote notebooks. It had been on my to-do list\u00a0for a while, but kept getting delayed\u00a0in favour of more \u201curgent\u201d items.<\/p>\n

I discussed my accomplishment with a colleague who agreed that the urgency to organize files and documents is low since she’s\u00a0never NOT been able to find something she\u00a0needs. But,\u00a0she\u00a0also agreed that there\u2019s a difference between being able to find what you\u2019re looking for, and being able to find what you\u2019re looking for quickly and without stress<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cwithout stress\u201d caveat is what really motivated me to start cleaning up my files. When a client messages me, \u201cCan you send me the latest version of XYZ?\u201d, I respond with, \u201cNo problem!\u201d, followed by a smiling emoji who looks smugly in control of all their documents. What the client doesn\u2019t see is me frantically searching for a paper bag to hyperventilate into while my brain is screaming at me, \u201cWHERE IS IT? YOU DON\u2019T KNOW WHERE IT IS, DO YOU?! YOU\u2019RE NEVER GOING TO FIND IT! WE\u2019RE ALL DOOMED!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the stress is a bigger time and energy waster than the searching itself. So, with the goal\u00a0to reduce stress (and save the paper bags for the kids\u2019 lunches), I\u2019ve gathered a few tips on how to best approach organizing\u00a0virtual documents and minimize digital clutter:<\/p>\n

Choose one location for each project or client<\/h2>\n

Do you have files, documents, and notes for a single project spread across Sharepoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, your desktop, your downloads folder, your iCloud Drive, your Notes app…\u00a0This is a good time to choose one file management system in which\u00a0to store\u00a0everything to do with that one project, and move it all.<\/p>\n

\"files

Gather all your files, documents, and notes for one particular project or client, store them all together in one location, and give each file and document a name that makes it easy to identify what’s inside<\/p><\/div>\n

Organize the files in that location in a way that makes sense to you<\/h2>\n

The first time I opened OneNote, I was excited to make use of this new, uncluttered space. I dove in and started creating\u00a0notebooks like I was Hilroy\u00ae preparing for a back-to-school sale. Before long I had created ten different notebooks for one single project. Trust me when I say that\u2019s too many notebooks.<\/p>\n

\"file

Organize your digital files in a way that makes them quick to find<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s OK to jump into a new file or document management system with both feet and try it out. But if you’re subsequently\u00a0looking at your files with no idea what’s in half of them, it’s time to analyze\u00a0how<\/em> you’re using this system by asking:<\/p>\n