Efficient naming and sorting of computer files
For how fundamental naming and sorting computer files is, it’s incredible that there’s so little emphasis put on it in professional settings. Do you approach naming and sorting your files methodologically?
Professional efficiency is a topic of deep interest to me and I’m not even sure why. I love knowing keyboard commands and think it’s a fun game to see how much time I can save myself per week with a new trick. Lately I’ve been going on a deep dive of a better way to keep my computer files organized. It’s incredible to me that it isn’t more commonly discussed in professional settings and find there’s surprisingly little about real methodology to it. One creates a single file and keeps that file updated. It’s possible but not optimal to have multiple copies in varying states of doneness so the name and location of that file are critical to efficiency later on.
Naming of files
The first step to creating a working system is focusing on what you name the document. To do this you need to think about what will prompt you to locate the file in the future. For different topics, it may be different things: for a marketing asset maybe you need to search by project or what if it’s something that happened a long time ago and you remember the asset but not the associated project?
If the file is something you have created or worked on the creation of, then name it as “title_project abbreviation_date of edit.file type” So, for example, if I create a brochure for a product launch of a product titled Cloudy, then the file title would be: brochure_cloudylaunch_8Jan21.file type. The file type obviously comes automatically but is very helpful in locating files later. The date I specifically suggest being day and then the three-letter abbreviation of the month followed by the two-digit year. This helps in three ways:
- Anyone anywhere in the world knows how to read “8Jan21” since in America, we write month/day/year.
- Everyone can see it’s a date instead of some other internal numerical logic like asset number/sorting number that is common within invoicing.
- When searching for files through the search function, you can easily type in “Jan” to find the file even if you don’t remember the specific date.
A date also helps so you archive meaningful changes in separate documents with the most recent ones easy to find. Anyone who makes many changes to a powerpoint knows the dreaded “...final_final” or “...final_v4”. This also solves that problem because the final is defacto the most recent or last version.
Folder logic
In your computer you will have your normal documents with a separate folder for Archived material (placed in a shared location or on your computer). Create folders for files in production, with normal project and area segmentations such as bills or invoices, Social Media, etc. This is highly subjective so examples may only serve to confuse you. You will have to make some decisions like does a project invoice get put into the respective project folder or a separate invoice folder. Either could work because, with the file logic like above, you would name it “invoice_projectname_8Jan21.pdf” and be able to find it in either location. You just have to choose what’s right for you regarding how you use the invoices.
How to keep track of loose ends?
Now to keep track of 100 different to-do items it’s useful to complement this logic with a list-making service like Trello where you can create to-do lists with checklists, due dates, etc. It’s common to use these services as a team but remember to create one for yourself so you don’t have to write everything down by hand (unless that’s more helpful to you).
I have heard it recommended to have a to-do folder where you locate all the currently undone items that need follow-up. I find this confuses things more than offers solutions because then you have to move around the documents so much and the undone items are only allowed to be documents and don’t factor in random things like remembering to clock in your hours worked. Instead of doing it like this just keep a well organized personal Trello board and you are good to go! I can write a separate article on how to maximize your efficiency in Trello if it’s interesting.
And remember to use shortcuts where possible so, if you know what the document is called you can search for any part of the title and results will come up. You don’t have to remember the whole title.
Hopefully this gives a new perspective on how to tackle file organization. Let me know in the comments if this was valuable.
For a much deeper discussion here’s a great article from a great source in efficiency: https://www.asianefficiency.com/organization/organize-your-files-folders-documents/
