Any advice on organizing digital files?

[richardtgray]

We all have a lot lost files. It's really very hard to organize specially when there are a lot of them already and I can relate to that much.
All I do now is slowly organize them by folders and group them according to their function or category.
So far so good...

[fivefingers]

I also use Evernote to store notes and reference items.

[tsalley]

I am in the process of taming my digital file monster. I've got 1.5 TB of "stuff".

In a lot of ways you can deal with digital stuff the same way you did physical stuff when you started GTD.

1. DUMP IT ALL IN A PILE. Now you could literally put everything in one big file to sort from. I just decided to go through everything systematically. When I complete a folder now, I mark it (i) for inventoried.

2. THROW THINGS AWAY. Seriously, most of us are connected to the web 24/7. Most things are available to us when we want it. I used to save all kinds of garbage that I never use. There also needs to be a plan to review items on a regular basis.

3. Establish some kind of mental system that works for you. Spend enough time thinking this through that you don't realize halfway through that it is not going to work.

. Establish a digital inbox to park documents until you can review them and put the required thought into where they go and how they are labeled.

Some people consider nested folders the enemy. I don't much mind them , I just got tired of clicking 10 folders (no lie) to get to a file. I established a naming system to help with that.

Search is your friend. When I trained myself to use this it was a miracle. Why not let the PC do the work for you?

If you use multiple PCs (or Macs), Dropbox is awesome. It has changed my life. I've been able to ditch my USB I used to leave everywhere.

[Johnhds]

I go through my files at the end of each week. Check each folder and purge non-useful files. Non-usefu files are the ones I have not used or opened in several weeks. I check the file and delete it. I will then make new folders if necessary and title them "Read-Important".

I also use CC cleaner to get rid of unwanted files and registries to keep the computer clean and running.

[Oogiem]

Non-usefu files are the ones I have not used or opened in several weeks.

I'm really curious about this. If I used the criteria of only things I've references in a few weeks I'd be deleting huge amounts of critical info!

I have many files that I only use or reference once a year or so but they are critical when I do need them. I also use digital storage for many archive file things like scanned tax returns and statements.

How do you handle archive items like tax returns and broker statements that may be digital but must be kept for 7-10 years? I rarely need them but if I do I will really need them.

[bardamu]

Hi all,

Just thought as jumped in as I'm in the latest and so far most agreeable (to me) incarnation of my e-filing system. I have a regular GTD physical folder system + tickler (must get back to using the latter) otherwise.

I'm on a MacBook Pro + iPhone + iPad (wifi), and sometimes PC access on the net from school (aka work).

Main GTD system: OmniFocus Mac + iPhone (expecting iPad soon!). After going back and forth, it now seems like the most solid (trusted!) option for my needs.

Being a software hog, I complement OF with:

- TaskPaper Mac + iPhone/iPad for my higher horizons of focus (anything above runway/projects). Syncs beautifully. Recently switched to completely flat setup on OF with only projects and actions, and I love the clean separation.

- The forum's own Todd's Ready-Set-Do! scripts (which allowed a while back my first complete electronic implementation of a true GTD system). I use them selectively, they're linked in my OF tasks for weekly/daily reviews, e.g. the "Empty (files) inbox" script. I'm thus mostly keeping the folder structure of the Finder established by RSD - which itself follows a simple GTD hierarchy. I haven't misplaced anything stored locally since I've introduced that. My email setup mirrors this hierarchy, while implementing the best practices from DA's WhitePaper on GTD in Entourage (although I've migrated back to Apple Mail since).

- RSD scripts also manage most of my PDF/powerpoints "read/review" on the Mac: I haven't found a better option for this (and I have lots of such reading to do).

- Following good advice from the folks over on the Omni forums, I've recently switched my pure text notes to Notational Velocity (free) on the Mac syncing with SimpleNote on iPad and iPhone (also free). Syncs as swiftly as TaskPaper and WriteRoom. Search capacity is beautifully simple.

- Anything that's more than just text and needs to be accessible across platform (which is pretty much everything), I throw in Evernote.

- I've recently started experimenting with Shoeboxed... Haven't seen how their scanning looks yet, but if it's good, that's going to make me happy: there's great satisfaction in throwing all business cards, receipts, etc. into one big enveloppe when emptying one's physical inbox, and knowing that it's just going to go over to an electronic format where it can be tagged for easy retrieval while not taking up useless space (Shoeboxed also links to Evernote).

Oh, and I keep my checklists in OmniFocus, although not the most pleasing experience yet (it should be easier with version 2.0), it's still very workable and convenient.

Cheers!