Organize Your Folders to Optimize Efficiency
Files proliferate quickly on personal computers and, without a
bit of planning, users can end up hunting through a long list of
miscellaneous files with names that seemed sensible when they
were created, but now appear very mysterious.
Windows automatically saves new text files in My Documents and
graphics files in My Pictures unless you tell it differently-
great for knowing where your files land, but not so great when
it comes time to find them again. A little planning will help
you create an easy to use organizational system for all your
documents.
Using nested folders is an easy way to organize your documents.
Do you use your computer for both personal and business
projects? Think about creating a separate folder for "Personal"
and "Business" documents. Within these folders, divide into
additional categories.
In the "Personal" folder, you may find a mishmash of letters to
friends and family, letters to the editor of your local
newspaper, complaints to companies about unsatisfactory
products, downloaded recipes and website pages about a variety
of topics, and so on. A "Correspondence" folder could be divided
into more folders labeled "Friends and Family" and "Business
Correspondence"; the "Friends and Family" folder could be
further subdivided into folders for each individual, assuming
you correspond regularly; you could add a "Miscellaneous" folder
for those you correspond with infrequently. If you communicate
via email, you could also copy and paste or download your own
emails and the responses you receive, particularly where the
letters contain valuable information. Your "Friends and Family"
folder may also be a good place to store personal photos.
Take a good look at the website downloads and miscellaneous
files you've gathered. Do you have a lot of recipes, or
information about vintage cars or alternative energy resources?
Create broad categories, and then subdivide; "Alternative Energy
Resources" suggests several subcategories: "Wind", "Solar",
"Biodiesel", etc.
On the business end, you may have correspondence, project notes,
background materials, finished and in-progress writings, and a
variety of financial files. A number of organizational options
present themselves; in terms of financial files, do you want to
group them all together in a single folder and subdivide as
necessary? Or do you want to keep the financial files with the
corresponding project files?
Say you do freelance work for several companies, and have a
variety of files for each company. One method of organizing is
to create a "Freelance" folder, then a folder for each client;
subdivide each of these into "General Information", "Projects",
"Invoices", "Correspondence", and so on. The "Invoices" folder
for each client could be subdivided again by year, and contain
all invoices you've sent the client. "Projects" folders could be
subdivided into "New Projects", "Work in Progress", "Done but
not Sent" (for files you need to submit), and "Sent". This not
only helps you saves finished files, but allows you to organize
your work as you do it.
In the "Freelance" folder, you may also want to provide a
"Financial Summary" folder containing one or several files which
summarize the financial information for all clients. While
you're planning your file organization, also give some thought
to how to name your files. It helps to create a systematic way
of naming files. Invoices, for instance, could include "Invoice"
plus the name of your client, the project, and the date
submitted: "Invoice Harvard Stephen Crane 10-20-2005".
Correspondence about the project could be labeled
"Correspondence Harvard Stephen Crane 10-20-2005". It's easy
enough to rename existing files to fit into your new
organization plan; in Windows, simply right-click on the file's
icon, scroll down to "Rename", left-click, then type in the new
name.
Don't forget to back up your files! Burn a CD
to save your information and free up your hard drive in the
process. And apply the same type of planning with your backup
files as you do on your hard drive. A little organization can
make your life on the computer a whole lot easier.