What is the best way to organize computer files?

This question goes unanswered for most computer users I know.  It’s just something that isn’t addressed.  Every once and a while attempts will be made to move stuff around, but not a lot of thought, planning or structure is either put into the activity or remains after a short while.  Digital clutter can be just as annoying as actual personal clutter.  Not being able to find stuff on your computer is just as paralyzing and wasteful of your precious time.  So, how does one organize all the digital pieces?  Let’s look at a few good ideas from the play book of Getting Things Done by David Allen.

Deciding on topics

How many topics you will have depends on how much information do you have and what is the subject of that information. Just like in GTD each subject should have its own topic in MyInfo. As a general rule, if a topic has more than 100 documents, it is a good idea to split this topic. For example, if you are a hiking enthusiast and your Hiking topics gets more than 100 documents, you can split it into Hiking – Gear & Equipment and Hiking – Routes topics. MyInfo has no limit on how large a topic could be, however very large topics are hard to reorganize and it is not as easy to find the necessary information.

The easiest way to decide how many topics you need is to create them only when they are needed for a particular document. For example, if you encounter a document about traveling and have no topic dedicated on this subject, you create a new Travel topic and put the document there.

Moving information into topics

Your ultimate goal is to move all information scattered on your hard drive in your personal-reference information system. So be sure to check for:

• Documents, brochures, invoices, reports, white papers, software/hardware manuals, and all other files, which are not big enough to deserve their own folder on your hard-drive
• Old e-mail messages in your e-mail client, which hold some future value, but you do not need them currently
• Links in your favorites/bookmark system, which you have not used in a while, but may need in the future
• Instant Messenger (ICQ, AIM, MSN) history and chat logs, which contain some valuable information
• Any other information or small files, that you do use currently, but may do so in the future

- http://www.milenix.com/gtd.php

Mac, Linux and Windows Files

There is a post at ask.metafilter.com that really resonated with me. I use Mac, Linux and Windows, and need to jump from one system to the other.  This post gives some simple perspective:

I use the same structure (and partition, for that matter) for both Linux and Windows:

A partition only for my files. You can start with one directory if you don’t feel like going through the hassle of repartitioning.

One directory for personal, one for work, one for consulting, one for media. Also, one ‘incoming’ directory, where I download everything. If I run out of space, the incoming directory goes first. Anything that hasn’t been categorized is gone. One ‘keep’ directory for things I download that I might need again, and probably won’t be able to find.

Many, many directories under each. For instance: personal/financial/taxes/2004/2004_1040.pdf
media/pics/kids/2005/Nov2005/thanksgiving/

Under Windows, I set the data partition to be my ‘my documents’ directory, and set up all applications to load and save there. Under Linux, I just link a ‘data’ subdirectory under /home/me.

I think the key is to point every application you use to the same place, and never use the defaults. I also find it helpful to create directories for future use, even if they might be empty for some time. Then there is no excuse for being lazy and saving everything in the same place.

I’ve been using the same system for years, and it is very easy to upgrade, switch operating systems, restore from backup, etc.

- posted by bh at 7:46 PM on November 27, 2005

For further discussion, check out the How To Organize Computer Files discussion at DavidCo.com.  There are many perspectives to consider.  Remember there are many great ways to organize and as with any system, stay with it is key.  Develop your own and improve your organization.  Good Luck!

Why do we present the way we do?  Can we present slides better? Smarter?  Nancy Duarte has written an incredible book about the ins and outs of good slide presentation.  A great practical blend of science and art.  Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations

Listen to the Author

Slide:ology Presentation by the Author

1. Create a new full page document
2. Copy and paste your business card into the new document
3. Make 3 copies of your card on the page
4. Print it on the color printer
5. Cut out the cards and hand in 2 copies
6. When finished, try a Photoshop tutorial at Good-Tutorials.com.

Business cards are small 2 x 3.5 inch representations of ourselves to the world.  What can you included in  your card to help relay who you are?

Watch the video lesson

• Include your logo
• Include name
• Include graduation year
• Include top three multiple intelligences
• Include color picked from the color theory exercise
  
• Include your goal for life
• Include your picture, which I will give you Monday
  

Creating a web site is very exciting.  How do the pro’s do it?  They create a template or mock up of the site’s look and feel first.  They usually do this in a graphic program like Adobe Illustrator.  It is like a story board of your plan for the site.  Once completed, a designer shows this to the client for revision and / or approval.

Where to start:

1. Find a web site to copy, maybe from CSSZenGarden.com?
2. Create a folder titled, “portfolio”
3. Create a folder titled, “media”
4. Create an Illustrator document titled, “my portfolio.ai”
5. Save your “my portfolio.ai” document into the portfolio folder
6. Place the web address of the site you are copying or emulating, example: http://www.csszengarden.com
7. Place the images and text into your “my portfolio.ai” document

Creating a web page template can be easy with Adobe Illustrator. Watch the video to see some of the basic elements to get started. If you find yourself either under-inspired, looking for a new challenge or a bit overwhelmed by the program, try a tutorial at Good-Tutorials.com. They are small, fairly simple tutorials that help demonstrate the power of Ilustartor. Best of all, they are very visual!

Exploring color can be exciting. What do colors mean?  How do we interpret colors?

• Take this Color Theory Quiz
• Explore colors’ meaning at the Color in Motion Web Site
• Create color combination with the Color Scheme Generator 2

We are going to experience the project creation design cycle over the next couple weeks.

• Rough draft on paper
• Illustrator template
• HTML structure
• Design elements
• CSS design
• Publishing

What are your favorite designs at Csszengarden.com?  CssZenGarden is a web site highlighting the capabilities of CSS, Cascading Style Sheets.  The HTML file is the same on each page.  It is the CSS that is unique.  Only the CSS has been changed by the web designer.  It is a beautiful place to visit to be inspired and gather ideas for web design.

1. Find three designs that appeal to you.
2. Write at least two sentences describing why you like these designs.
3. Create a blog entry titled: My Favorite CssZenGarden Designs.