Each of us is faced with the fact that I could not find the desired information in quick time, then got nervous and took another matter.
Effective file management is an important part of time management. Less searches and nerves, more concentration on important matters.
HR Director “Fex.net” Julia Zolotarenko share their lifehacks, how she managed to defeat the chaos in files. The most important step is to recognize the problem: “the mess in the computer prevent me from living. Enough.” And then to act decisively.
1. Extra – in the trash
Collect all files on desktop in a folder “Garbage”. Immediately become easier to breathe. Disassemble this folder once a week. On screen let can be only one file with the list of your life goals. Day start with it.
2. Send to the cloud the most important and big
The cloud helps to solve several problems at once. First, it is convenient that the files gathered in one place, easy to find and they’re always available from any device. Secondly, copy or distribute anything from the cloud much faster than the computer. And, thirdly, security – backup files in the cloud protects against viruses, broken hard drive or loss of drives.
3. All files on the computer on drive D
Remaining on the computer working and keep personal files on drive D. It is designed for operating system files and programs.
4. Develop a good structure
At the root of the D drive or the cloud should be a maximum of five primary folders that describe your life or work. For example, “Personal”, “Work”, “Entertainment”, “Sports”, “Hobbies”, etc. Work can be divided into “Projects”, “Clients”, “Plans”, “Documents”, “Reports”. And in the folder “Personal” folders may appear for e-books, videos, and photos.
Ideally, you should have no more than five main folders and a maximum of five folders deep. Look for this.
5. Give the files short and understandable names
The names of the files and folders should be short and succinct to make it easier to read look. Specify the nature of their content. For example, “Report on the meeting with the client Ivanov”, “services design”. It is desirable to specify the names of companies and people mentioned in the documents. This will simplify the search.
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Also for convenience, the right to specify the date in the file names in the format year, month, day. In folders with a large number of versions of documents it is better to put the date at the end. If the date is important for the chronology of the development of the project, themes or stories – it is better to put at the beginning of the file name.
The most important files let special names. Use characters such as !, #, $ at the beginning of the name. Due to this, the files will always be in the first place, and not alphabetically. But do not overdo, so as not to create a new mess.
6. Do not be lazy to make descriptions
In folders with pictures and videos, create a text file with the description and keywords. For example, where and under what circumstances the photos taken, who is in them. This will make it easier to find “that photo”.
Photo: Rawpixel.com
7. Develop the habit of setting everything in order
Creating a new file or folder, save them directly to where they place in you developed the structure. If the downloaded files are automatically saved to the Downloads folder, making it once a week.
8. Make regular audits
If you have in one folder are hundreds of files, the file structure has grown to 20 levels – believe me, it’s all unnecessary. Conduct content audit: remove ugly and fuzzy pictures, old versions of documents, Reformirovanie folder-doubles.
9. Do archives
If you are afraid to part with the illusion of usefulness of some files – put all the junk in the archives. This will allow you to save some space on your computer, plus archive is easier to move than thousands of files. Conventionally, all important files can be placed in a separate folder “digital archaeologists” and put it in the cloud.
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10. Use file managers
There are many programs that allow you to automatically sort an array of files, mass rename them with the date, place of creation, some common themes, tags. File managers will also tell you what folders you use most often.
11. Teach colleagues file management
If after this article you will impose order on your computer, you still risk being held hostage to the inefficiency of colleagues. Those who create chaos on the corporate servers may not before you leave to explain where they have that lies. Help them to deal with this problem, make it an educational program.
