Cut My Documents into pieces, this is my last resort.

September 11, 2008 1:08 PM

Organizing files. I swear this isn't the same question that's been asked 100 times. Help me sort this out, please?

As much as I might like to be organized, I'm not. I've got a kind-of photographic memory, so rather than remembering where something is, I'll often remember where it is in relative space. For example, I have no idea where my remote control airplane is or what it's called, but I know it's YELLOW and it's on the BLUE table by the TAN basket with my relative who died in the Civil War's DEATH CERTIFICATE. And then I can find it. Ok, so derail off, my point is that I can't do this with digital files. I try, but "upper left of that window" doesn't work when I keep adding files.

So I'm asking MeFites to share with me your system for sorting files, AND (bonus question) your conventions for NAMING files.

So I sort of oversee about 7 computers, but basically I'm only concerned with my laptop, and with the data-dump disk on one of the desktops that serves as shared space.

I read Gina's article at lifehacker about her 6 folders, and that's nice, but I want to organize beneath that "documents" folder. I've got personnel files, grants, donor thank-you letters, pictures, media, reports, budget stuff, all sorts of craziness. I need to be able to sort things without 500 folders nested inside each other, so share with me your Highly Effective Digital Organization System. (HEDOS, heh.)

Also, share with me your file naming convention. I try to use descriptive names like "Grant Name Month WiP" and "Grant Name Month Final", but sometimes this fails me.

I'm using Vista Business Basic and MS Office 2k3, and storage space is not an issue. Ideally I'd like to dump everything off this laptop's HDD and use hamachi to access any file I don't need daily (when not in the office.) All sensitive data lives in 3 distinct TrueCrypted files by type (Financial/Personnel/Other).

My current My Documents folder is full of about 35 folders and probably 75 unsorted files. The "public" folder also has another 15 folders and those have subfolders. On the backup drive on the other computer, there's just one folder with my name and a couple sub folders.

Help me sort out my craziness! I really don't like the GTD status sorting either, as that's really just not how my job works.

Thanks MeFi!

(and yes I've read all the related articles, and none quite fit.)

posted by TomMelee to computers & internet (12 comments total)

Well, you did name some categories right there:

personnel files, grants, donor thank-you letters, pictures, media, reports, budget stuff

That could be one place to start -- "personel" for one file, "grants" for a second, "donor thank-you letters" for a third, etc.

Or, if that doesn't work -- say because you have a number of different projects and you do letters, budget stuff, and grants for each one -- then name a folder after one of the projects and put stuff in that. Whichever one of the two would help you find it easier (and, you actually are the best person to answer how that would work).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:37 PM on September 11, 2008

I'm a visual thinker, too, and I use mind maps for brainstorming, writing, taking notes, and organization.

Although I'm a sworn follower of David Allen's GTD (it really changed my life for the better), I use mind mapping software to give me a visual reference for my electronic files. I used Mind Manager, but FreeMind is free and has all the features I need.

I use FreeMind to build a "map" of all my digital folders and files. I move the nodes around according to relationships and generally shuffle things until the navigation is intuitive to me. After I see how a folder or set of files relates (or doesn't relate) to the others, I feel more confident about actually moving that folder and its contents to another place on the drive. You can also choose to leave the files where they are and just use the mind map to draw categories and hotlink to various folders, no matter where they reside.
posted by bonobo at 1:41 PM on September 11, 2008

Vista supports tags, and will allow you tag entire groups of files at once. Like Google says about Gmail: "Don't sort. Search."

Use a simple folder structure to provide you a measure of sanity, then tag the hell out of everything. Need a file (or, a list of files) from project blahblah? Search for the appropriately-tagged files.

The beauty of using the tags is that re-organizing your folders doesn't mean you have to re-train your brain to find your stuff.
posted by DWRoelands at 1:46 PM on September 11, 2008

Don't waste hours of time sorting them into some complex filing system. With full-text search now the norm (on any operating system), dump them into a folder and forget about them. When you need to recall a file, call up Spotlight, or Beagle, or whatever it is that windows uses these days and just search for keywords.

You'll save yourself much pain this way.
posted by chrisamiller at 1:48 PM on September 11, 2008

Filenaming is a highly personal thing. We all have our personal quirks in that departement.

For you - being photographic-memory person - I would recommend using words that easily translates into pictures in your mind. Only you know what words that are. (Instead or "budget 2008" och "finance 2008" use "moneypile 2008")

But you asked about our conventions: I personally use a rather sloppy system. I have a couple of specific folders (private, business, really important files, fitness and training) sub-divided into minor categories (housing, receips, taxes, email-conversations etc)

Naming can only help you that much. I use the search-function in my OS rather frequently - I just limit the search to the folders that I know the document "should" be in. It rather fast, actually. But then again, I'm a words-guy who remembers specific wordings.

Just a parting note: When your unfiled-folder gets above 10-12 items - by Jove - take action and sort the stuff into their proper place. Otherwise it's easy to loose grip and let the files accumulate (I know, I'm guilty to that myself)

Take care.
posted by Rabarberofficer at 1:48 PM on September 11, 2008

So yes, Vista supports tags. I've never really been able to make it work right. Like, it doesn't show me the bar at the bottom of the screen that lets me enter the tags. What am I missing?
posted by TomMelee at 2:44 PM on September 11, 2008

I think I have the same job as you. I have folders like Grants, Acknowledgments, Board Reports, Memorials. I have about 20 top level folders and can envision more if our company were to get more complicated.

Whenever possible I name files or folders within those categories like "2008-09 Board Materials" and then "2008-09 Companyname Giving Report.pdf".

Always year, then month, then day (if necessary), then name. Any files that might go to the outside world (including the board or committees or whatever) have the companyname in the file name.

Thank you letters reside in a database whenever possible. If they have to be written from scratch, they go "2008-09 Lastname ACK.doc" and they get filed in a top level folder like Memorials or Annual Fund or Permanent Trust.

My constant uphill battle is getting other people to use descriptive names rather than things like "Latest Grant Draft Copy (1) (1) Copy.doc"...ugh.

The key, though, is to stop reading about organizational methods and JUST START PUTTING THINGS SOMEPLACE. 75 files? That's like an hour's work. Just start putting them away. I worried and worried about what criteria belonged in the filename and what belonged in the folder and then one day just decided to stop procrastinating and just pick something.
posted by bcwinters at 3:03 PM on September 11, 2008

I am not sure how to fix all your problems, but if you remember colors well, you need dots (and a sharpie) in your life.
posted by spec80 at 3:05 PM on September 11, 2008

... oh god I wish I could delete my comment. Digital files... *horrified*
posted by spec80 at 3:06 PM on September 11, 2008

You should be able to use a mindmapping program to create a visual organisation/map for your folders, and link it so that you can open the folders or even individual files from the map - I know it's possible in MindManager (not free). You can see an example of how it can be used with this guys free templates.
posted by jacalata at 4:24 PM on September 11, 2008

I'm quite a kinetic person (which you sound to me like, more than a visual person, that is you think about things in space, where they are in relation to other things), and it annoys me that Windows moves things around too. I've kind of learned to deal with it, although now I think about it, having pictures on the icon representing the contents (like a picture for My Pictures) has helped me a lot. I don't know about Vista, but in XP you can also change the folder icon for individual folders, so you could for instance have person as the icon for the Personnel Folder. You can download icons from lots of sites.
posted by Helga-woo at 4:35 PM on September 11, 2008

I'm kind of like you, in being rather visual (my library in my office is organized by color, which somehow seems to make them easier for me to find).

What I do with my digital files is this:

If I have a project (something with more than one step needed to accomplish it), all stuff related to it goes in one folder with the project name. Recently, I made a digital slideshow for someone. The photos, the text explaining what they were, and the files where I created the slideshow all went into a folder called "Grams 90th Bday." That folder and every other folder like it goes into a folder called "Projects," until it is completed. Then the folder gets moved to "Completed Projects."

Everything else goes into a folder named after the file's extention, so I have folders with names like KEY/PPT, PDF, TXT, DOC/PAGES, NUMBERS/XLS, and INSTALLERS (for .dmg or .exe files) in my Documents folder.

When things start piling up on me, I just start dumping stuff into a "To File" folder. Then, when I have time, I just open the To File folder and sort everything by extention, and then drag things to the proper folder. For example, the list of .pdf files gets dragged en masse to the PPT folder.

Now, as far as naming the files themselves, I just came up with a naming convention that works for me. I'm a pastor, so here's how I do it:

Sermons are always saved with a file name like this: ser_thisisthetitle_1john_8_sept07.

and so on:
Letters: let_georgebush_iraqwhatwereyouthinking_1mar2004

Memos: mem_
Meeting notes: meet_
Receipts: rec_

and so on.

Now, all I have to do is search for ser_ and I have all my sermons. I click on the "Date" column, and I can find most sermon quite quickly (same is true for let_ meet_ etc.)

I started this years ago, before operating systems indexed files and searching was really slow. Now, with things like Spotlight or Google Desktop, finding stuff is super fast.

It works for me because it makes the filing itself, which I hate, very easy.
posted by 4ster at 4:16 AM on September 12, 2008