I always love finding out new ways to organize digital files. Usually people underestimate the importance of having an easy to understand (and organized) system so that their files don't get lost in the black hole that is our computers. Though I never really considered anything like this method. I might need to sit down one Sunday afternoon and give this a try.
Agree.. in addition, my friends and I use FolderChanger - It can better organize files and documents by using a proper folder system. Search "Folderchanger" with google. It works great.
Nice system that can be improved by removing the first level of folders (A-Z) and keeping all the main folders in the root since they will be listed alphabetically anyway.
That's what I was thinking - although I guess this way you don't have to scroll through countless folders to get to the ones that begin with T. You could avoid empty folders by only setting up the Letter folder when there is something to store in it
And if you do that, in the root folder, press the letter you'd like to go to and the file explorer will scroll to the first folder or file starting with that letter.
This is a Terrible way to file. What happens when you forget which title you have named a particular file. It might work with this guy's files because he has so few files (that's also the reason he can get where he wants in 2 clicks). For anyone with a normal amount of files this method will quickly become unworkable.
Not to mention files category. I am a software developer who constantly reads and write personal files and also workout and cook for my son food and maintaining a diet and i have files for budget...why would i want so many files with different interests and categories in the same folder just because they share the same first letter!! In my opinion you categorize them under meaningful titles is a better idea. Like: Health & Food - Fitness - IT or Tech or Web Development - Finance or Money ...etc. Then when you are looking for a file with a specific nature you know that it's most likely will be under one of those categories because why would you put a file that includes a food recipe under money or IT.
First thing which struct me when he showed the folder under C. Why is "Content Outlines" under C? Why not O for "Outlines"? They you have "Completed Contacts" which is under C because they are Completed? So presumably you have "Underway Contracts" under U? Now you have to remember not only what the item is called, but the qualifiers you give for it. Worse, if you have action qualifiers such as underway, completed, active, etc. why aren't you applying them to everything. Why is it "Content Outlines" and not "Completed Content Outlines"? So either, you end up with a hundred "Completed" folders making C useless, or you'll have to remember every folder as having a qualifier or not.
Doesn't work for me. I would like the ability to back up all my info about "Scouting". I would rather look for a Scouting folder and then copy that one knowing I have everything to do with scouting contained within. The above method would send me around looking for different files until I thought I had them all.
That's an excellent point and one I should have addressed in the video. Even if you guess wrong the first time around, trying your second option is usually still faster than following a long list of sub-folders which may not get you to the file either. Thanks for bringing this up!
I use 'Search Everything'! Be it whatever folder structure. Using a search tool helps. Its lightning fast as it doesn't scan the content just the names & path. Works like a charm..
I was going to say the same thing. It's simply a large search engine that contains every folder and file on your system. Type in any key word you want and it lists everything with that word, or two words, etc. Then double click your choice and bingo, you have it in front of you.
My wife, who is an administration assistant loves your method, I do as well, I have hundreds of different file names and I cannot find things, because they are scattered. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas
Wow, this is great, i was really confused not knowing how to start organizing my boss's documents but i have finally found the answer to my confusion, thank you very much.
This looks like the best method for me. I was an administrative assistant when we were called secretaries and files were my job. This is how we had things set up. Alphabetical with very few subfolders.
I have ADHD, i have files within files, within categories, quick file search files, within drives duplicated, triplicated all different names for quick searching, going back 20 years, what a mess - i will give your ABC method a try - thanks
Amazing way to save you files , thanks for sharing ! I have a lot of stuff to save everywhere and it make a lot of sense doing it in this way , LOVE YOU UA-cam ! LOVE YOU WHO MADE THIS VIDEO !
Tags are better than folders. If you can break them down to their barest essence and apply a lot of them, then when it's time to search for a file, you can begin to narrow things down. If you had a vacation in Mexico in 2015 and you want to organize your photos, you have three tags right off the bat: vacation, Mexico, and 2015. Say this is a yearly thing for you, and you can't remember which year you went swimming in a cenote. You can leave out the year, and include other descriptive tags, such as "swimming" and "cenote". And boom, you found your photos. And this approach is very powerful. Let's say you want all photos, videos, and documents that involve you and your family swimming, regardless of context. You don't have to sift through some arbitrary folder structure. You just search for all files tagged with 'swimming' and you have it. The only caveat is that you have to be good about labelling. It's time consuming at first, but once your tags are set up, they should be quick to reuse. And it assumes you have a file system or cloud storage service that supports tags. If you don't, you're out of luck.
You are most welcome, Joan. Yes, the simplicity of this system seems laughable at first. But ask those who've used it for years and they tell you there is no better way!
I use the Windows search feature at the top right of the explorer window. It allows me to group similar files into folders but also provides me with the ability to look up any specific file or subfolder from my root directory. This makes more sense logically than if I were to file them with the ABC method, especially if I should forget the name of what I'm looking for.
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION - What business are you in? What do you need to keep track of? INCOME perhaps? EXPENSES maybe? Customers - of course! Suppliers? You betcha! Get the pitcher?
This approach has a lot of logic and makes sense as long as your files are a collection of data that, once in this format, would meet the objective which is to only have to click two times for your file. But if I had a project with hundreds of files and saved each filed in a ROOT folder according to the file name, that would break the 2 click structure because people work on dozens of files simultaneously during a project so the ABC method means I'd have click every ROOT letter for every file of the project. Right?
This was a best tip. I changed my whole archive system and I can now put my fingers on any royalty free picture by just using the alphabet. Thanks for sharing! 😁
GREAT VIDEO, I have been looking for over an hour and all I get is jargon of messy desktops BUT HERE I jump forward to where you bring up the ABC method of organizing and THAT IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR THANK YOU SO MUCH
I think it's brilliant, and although a few people are bitchin' about it for various reasons I've come up with a solution that helps me always locate the file or folder I want. I run a small business that starts with C - I do lots of quotes which starts with Q - along with plenty of invoices starting with I. So, I have the same business folder in C, Q and I. This way when I go to write up a quotation or an invoice for a customer there are three folders containing what I'm looking for. Very simple. Another example is a photo folder containing a family and friends holiday to the Maldives. This one folder can reside in H - holiday...M - Maldives....F - family.... along with it being in a folder containg the first letter of each person who you enjoyed the trip with. The real beauty of this is it's the exact same photo folder in all of those various letters. To place any folder or file into multiple folders, such as A B C simply create your first folder of your holiday pics in H. Then, simply click that new folder, hold down Shift & Z and you then add that folder to F & M and any other letters you think will relate to it. Works for me.
Pressing Windows+Q opens the search menu in Windows. Start typing whatever you are looking for and use the arrow keys to select the right folder. it's quick and clean and works with any filing method.
@@didndido3638 The video speaks for itself. Access to files in minimal clicks thanks to shallow directories. I see no dissadvantage to this method if maintained correctly.
If nothing else, when other's see my desktop they will think I am organized. The process took more than two hours. I have done the same work for thirty years and had hundreds of files, and was unable to find many of them. While building this database I was astounded how easy it is to find what I need. I am pleased with the appearance of the process. I look forward to using this system.
I stumbled across this while trying to find a better solution than the Johnny Decimal System. I admit this looks like it might work, but I think categories would work better than the alphabet. Thanks for the video.
Every method has its pros and cons. What will cause a problem in locating any file/folder is when using several criteria for naming it/them. For example, if you use "projects type" criteria in naming files, then you should stick to that and never name a file based on company's name, person's name, location or any other thing. Sticking to only ONE criteria is what makes retrieving any doc/file/folder easier.
At my work i have different projects with reoccurring file structures. What is working very well for me is naming each folder with a number, title. As example, 2. Inspections. Why i like this system is it easily navigates, quickly up and down, in and out of folders. Type number, press enter, repeat repaeat. Back space gets you back up the folder section. So fast!!
Dear, There is one year i use the alphabetical setting, it's just magic, for both personal and work files. I wonder if you would have some tips to organize photographies, for a future video? All the best and thank you again very much!
Thank you. I am using this information to now reorganize my Music collection. Originally sorted by genre. Now a chaotic mess as Genres seem to overlap and had to remember sub genres. This will make life a lot easier. Couldn't find anything when I was searching. Just how to organize the files using software (keyword search isn't my forte).
I love the idea, but as someone who worked with dozens of clients, for example, it definitely makes sense for me to create a folder for each client. I usually do this like [countryCode]-[client name]. So like "AU-Macquarie", "SG-DBS", "TW-Metrobank", etc. Within each client folder, I usually have no choice but to create sub-folders to handle segregation of documents released by the client over time. For example, RFIs / RFPs, architecture documents, etc. So, as nice as it sounds to have, say, all my architecture documents in one folder, it just doesn't seem practical if you have very similar documents for 80 different clients. Or maybe it is practical as long as you're diligent about naming conventions and versioning?
Thanks for watching and sharing your method, Stan. For those who work with large numbers of clients, it's true that giving them each a folder is important. And I agree, what you name the folder and the file is critical to any effective organization system.
Yes, perhaps my system for clients already is a good one. But on the whole, I'm not happy with my file organization strategy. Maybe a hybrid of keeping my client directories, but for "everything else" I could try the A-Z method?
Yeah the main problem I have with alphabetising is, sometimes, the person is looking for something that follows some form of logic, like a spreadsheet that belongs to finance, but they don't know what the first letter should be in. Would it be in F for finance, or because it was a finance thing done for one of the departments, is it under the department name, or is a spreadsheet named after a particular project or event? What if they're looking for something but don't know what it's called, therefore can't find it in the ABC method?
I've been using this filing system for years as hard copies and never thought to computerize it in the same way shows you what a dumb ass I am sometimes
I prefer putting files and sub-folders where they logically belong. This makes it easy for me to locate them when my memory fails me to remember the eaxct file names. Let me add two tips that have been working fine for me: 1. Adding tags to files and folders (Windows file/folder search loves tags).. you can do this by selecting the file and adding the tags in the properties bar (bottom)..... and 2. Always viewing folder content in 'Details' view. This helps you sort files by time of modification, type, size, etc. In addition, you may filter unwanted files/filders out using column filters on top.
I am astounded at the simplicity and the organization presented here. I SO OFTEN find myself, as you say, second-guessing myself over where I might have put a file and go off wild goose chasing to find...well, now I'll just look under G for GOOSE. Thanks so much! It's Friday 3:18pmPT and I'm starting NOW!
Thank you for sharing! I personally use a software for that (Folder Marker), it is pretty simple to create a structure with 2 clicks, no need to waste a lot of time
I heard of this system for the first time and it looks productive. However, I make a separate folder for each activity, like Pictures and then sub-folders like Birthdays, Weddings, Outing, Parties. Thanks Simpletivity.
I enjoyed knowing a different approach to managing information. However, I'm +1 to emphasize the issue within remembering the tag system used (how did I call that folder?). For a personal computer, it might be sufficient, as (1) you don't have so many files, and (2) you're often in contact with the naming system previously adopted, strengthening the long-term memory. For managing team information, it triggers a huge issue for different people adopting different naming systems, sometimes for the same thing. If the main issue is the number of subfolders, the ABC method could be translated in a rule of thumb of having just 3 levels of folders. In fact, I thought the ABC was an allusion to that possibility.
What are your ways for organizing? Could you explain the three level way you wrote about? I'm looking for information on this and these kinds of quick videos pop up that aren't bad, but aren't as thought through as I would like. On top of that, some of them like these are "genuine" while others "emotionally pander" for money.
What a great system. It will take a while to organize my files at this point. But I can set up the structure now and start using it and as I have time or use the other files, I can eventually get everything located in the new order. Thank you
Wow , thank, actually SO simple that I am startled NOT to have found this way out before.. better late then never:-))) Thanks, Big thumbs up and hello from Amsterdam Holland!!
Ironically, I just started this type of system but haven’t converted completely. My theory or thought is if someone had to use my system and only knew the name of what they were looking for would they be able to . So far I think I’m on the right path with the help of your videos. Additionally, I’m working on becoming completely paperless. So all of my archived, must paperwork I’m scanning and keeping in my computer backup with Google Drive . Perhaps, you can give me some creative ideas to keep all the necessary documents for property transfers, which is immense and home improvement documents with all their companion booklets I need for later reference?
You can also skip the ABC folder system and throw everything into one big directory. Then by pressing the starting character of the searched folder on the keyboard, you jump directly to the first occurrence of this letter. You could also use links from one folder to another to connect topics which are related in one or another way.
THIS IS A GREAT METHOD OF KEEPING THINGS ORGANIZED, ESPECIALLY WHEN DEALING WITH THOUSANDS OF FOLDERS AS I HAVE. I ONLY WISH THAT I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THIS METHOD A LONG TIME AGO. THANKS!
I will give it a try. I always think that I put files in the right folder while doing it, and I still can't find them. Especially on my personal computer. At work it's better as I share folders with co-workers, so I always go back to the same files or folders. But in my personal drive it's still a mess, there are many files and things can go messy very fast.😢 Thanks for your organization tips! I organized a training session to introduce Trello with your video and advice my colleagues to follow your channel.
Very good and it is worth considering in my filing system for general. I once worked at a manufacturing factory and in the drawing office they filed client numeric and alpha drawing references by the very last numeric digit, eg, 0,1,2,3 etc. and then filed these drawings under this digital system. So the drawings were in 0-9 as a maximum. It sounds weird, but it worked. We could always find the drawings from this system. 95% of the time. Bit similiar to your Alpha system. Well done on simplicity and always rules
Why did so many people dislike this video, just why this isn't their preferred way to structure their data? If so, I don't get it, as this is a good produced and actually informative video. Disliking in such a case seems quite unfair to the content creator, because it has literally nothing to do with the video, you essentially get punished for trying to introduce people to something new that they've not seen before. When stuff like this happens you can see quite a good resemblance to the current state of our society, if you ask me.
I noticed that one of your files is a Steve Dotto course (I am one of Steve's followers). So, I wonder what Brooks Duncan would say about your organizing system. Thank you for all your videos; they are most informative. And, you have a beautiful speaking voice.
Backups might be a problem if you are working on various projects and need only back those up to DropBox or whatever. I am a writer and work on a number of assignments/projects with varying names or titles with aspects such as bookcovers, working art, manuscripts, articles, and their attendant research data. Under this method they would end up scattered all over the place.
Thank you so much. This is obviously the best way to organize any information. It's as effective now as it was in the third grade when most of us learned to alphabetize. It's going to take some time to restructure my filing system, especially in Google Drive, but I already started and have promised myself to spend some time on the project every day. I love this channel. Keep on doing what you're doing, and thanks again for another great idea.
Thanks for the video. I have used this method before but not to this extent. I would have main folders such as movies,Music,T.V. Shows, ext. then inside those folders was the a.b.c folder system.
Your video just came up in my feed and I am thrilled! I just finished setting up my entire Evernote folder system into abc stacks. It was so easy to do and remarkably easy to find everything. I had one of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments. Thanks!
If you Google "unorganized", you'll see my picture. Okay, I'm exaggerating about the Google part but not about the unorganized part. I've got a great feeling about your A to Z system. I plan to give it a go. Thank you so much.
Use the power of search in combination of in depth folder structure. I manage tens of thousands of files. Start by scanning files with OCR. Then classify each file. INV for invoice. Then account number, vendor name, or just vendor name. Add a date reference followed by a keyword just as red shoes. Using search with a large folder structure broken down in parts and subparts is quick and efficient. I can always find a file.
Thanks for the idea of the ABC system. IT'S AN IDEA!!! By some of the comments below, they act as if you are demanding that they change from what works for them. Jeeeeezzz!!!
A long time ago, before computers, my boss encourages us to make an ABC book. It was a loosleaf notebook with A to Z tabe. Random information was stored A to Z. it worked well.
It seems like this method would result in more clicks if you don't remember what letter you stored it under. The example you gave of "did I store that under links or website?" If you grouped all those files under a Marketing or Communication folder, you wouldn't run into that issue since they would be grouped with similar information.
Very interesting. This is basically the way we would set up a physical file cabinet so it's certainly worth considering this approach. Off the top, I think I would still end up with a hybrid system using this combined with one subfolder. Thanks for stimulating some creative thinking.
I’m sitting here thinking of examples in which this might not be as helpful as it appears…and then suddenly realizing I’m wrong. LOL. Every example I can think of would actually work just fine. For example, I was thinking about the problems posed by different entities. For instance, we have a non-profit theater company and multiple LLCs. Having each entity’s logos, files, course materials, etc. mixed with other entities’ files would be problematic in the event of selling the company, giving other people access, etc. But, if I just add another tier to the top (organized by entity) and then put alphabets in each entity’s folder…voila! I’m going to give this some thought. I’ve got terabytes of stuff that’s become unwieldy. This might be just the ticket! Thank you Scott!
Nice video...BUT: isn’t it adding one click but having to organize this under particular letters? In other words, why not just list the folders int heir first order? It would automatically be in alphabetical order, and you wouldn’t have to both with he A,B,C nonsense??
Yes, you certainly could just list all of your folders in alphabetical order. However, that might result in scrolling a very long way to find the folder you're after. Another situation to consider is when you are uploading a file or attaching something online - I find it much easier to find my files with the ABC listing when I'm often given a small dialog box.
3:05 this is a great system, but it does have some less than good parts. For example, if you suddenly decide to call your "courses" lectures in your head then you'll be looking through L for something in C. It "restricts" how you can "describe" certain things. Also, if you have many things in many letters. For example if you make a new "container" every week for ten years or a new folder every month for 40 years you'll probably want a second way of "organizing" in each letter since you'll have 20 things in each folder! This is especially true given something many call "relative frequency." The letter A pops up 11% of the time and the letter T pops up a whopping 16% of the time!!! That might lead you to have 5 things in one letter and 25 in another! Meanwhile the letter Z pops up 0.045% of the time and K 0.86% of the time... so maybe you should "merge" Z and K together! :-)
Thank you for this video, I have been looking for ways to organize my Google Drive Folders and if I understood correctly it is best to add files to the folders by alphabetical order so car repairs will go on the C folder not the R folder for repairs and Medical Insurance will go in the M folder, not the I folder for insurances. I like this method but may take me a little while to start using it. Also, I am trying to separate files by year so it is easier to separate the information, and I may start fresh and create a 2022 folder, then the ABC folders. Thanks again
I always love finding out new ways to organize digital files. Usually people underestimate the importance of having an easy to understand (and organized) system so that their files don't get lost in the black hole that is our computers. Though I never really considered anything like this method. I might need to sit down one Sunday afternoon and give this a try.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. All the best if you decide to tweak your filing system!
Agree.. in addition, my friends and I use FolderChanger - It can better organize files and documents by using a proper folder system. Search "Folderchanger" with google. It works great.
where do you find folderchanger? and does it do anything more than change icons? thanks
check this.
ua-cam.com/video/lHfAsX3Pn5s/v-deo.html
and this.
ua-cam.com/video/KfNFsK-eilo/v-deo.html
Me too.
Nice system that can be improved by removing the first level of folders (A-Z) and keeping all the main folders in the root since they will be listed alphabetically anyway.
Plus it avoids having empty folders
That's what I was thinking - although I guess this way you don't have to scroll through countless folders to get to the ones that begin with T. You could avoid empty folders by only setting up the Letter folder when there is something to store in it
And if you do that, in the root folder, press the letter you'd like to go to and the file explorer will scroll to the first folder or file starting with that letter.
This is a Terrible way to file. What happens when you forget which title you have named a particular file. It might work with this guy's files because he has so few files (that's also the reason he can get where he wants in 2 clicks). For anyone with a normal amount of files this method will quickly become unworkable.
You're right. It is only work well with a few files
Not to mention files category. I am a software developer who constantly reads and write personal files and also workout and cook for my son food and maintaining a diet and i have files for budget...why would i want so many files with different interests and categories in the same folder just because they share the same first letter!!
In my opinion you categorize them under meaningful titles is a better idea. Like: Health & Food - Fitness - IT or Tech or Web Development - Finance or Money ...etc. Then when you are looking for a file with a specific nature you know that it's most likely will be under one of those categories because why would you put a file that includes a food recipe under money or IT.
First thing which struct me when he showed the folder under C. Why is "Content Outlines" under C? Why not O for "Outlines"? They you have "Completed Contacts" which is under C because they are Completed? So presumably you have "Underway Contracts" under U? Now you have to remember not only what the item is called, but the qualifiers you give for it. Worse, if you have action qualifiers such as underway, completed, active, etc. why aren't you applying them to everything. Why is it "Content Outlines" and not "Completed Content Outlines"? So either, you end up with a hundred "Completed" folders making C useless, or you'll have to remember every folder as having a qualifier or not.
Doesn't work for me. I would like the ability to back up all my info about "Scouting". I would rather look for a Scouting folder and then copy that one knowing I have everything to do with scouting contained within. The above method would send me around looking for different files until I thought I had them all.
Agreed.
Never thought about this method. Very logical. Thank you..
You're welcome! Have fun setting up your new system!
I did this with my passwords, organized them all alphabetically in one word doc. It never occurred to me to organize my files this way. Genius!
Thanks for watching and sharing your comments!
This delivery is intuitive and very educative, my students greatly benefited from this output. thank You Sir.
You are most welcome!
Dude.............. u deserve an oscar
Unfortunately I forget things like, "did I call that 'links' or did I call that 'websites'."
That's an excellent point and one I should have addressed in the video. Even if you guess wrong the first time around, trying your second option is usually still faster than following a long list of sub-folders which may not get you to the file either. Thanks for bringing this up!
I use 'Search Everything'! Be it whatever folder structure. Using a search tool helps. Its lightning fast as it doesn't scan the content just the names & path. Works like a charm..
I was going to say the same thing. It's simply a large search engine that contains every folder and file on your system. Type in any key word you want and it lists everything with that word, or two words, etc. Then double click your choice and bingo, you have it in front of you.
You could also use shortcuts. Create a shortcut called "websites" under W, that points to links.
Good answer
I know a simpler method that my wife and mother-in-law use: save everything, absolutely everything, on the Desktop! 😀
🤡
😂
Work in IT and almost every user!! 🙄
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😅😅😅🤣🤣🤣
Mind blower. Never would have thought of such a simple/effective process.
This is a truly novel method to manage your file system. Great video, keep up the good work. 10/10
Thanks a lot!
This is brilliant!!
Thank you for sharing!!
You are most welcome. All the best with your new setup!
My wife, who is an administration assistant loves your method, I do as well, I have hundreds of different file names and I cannot find things, because they are scattered. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas
You are very welcome, John. So glad to hear that this system is working well for both of you!
Wow, this is great, i was really confused not knowing how to start organizing my boss's documents but i have finally found the answer to my confusion, thank you very much.
thanks for sharing this great way of managing digital files
This looks like the best method for me. I was an administrative assistant when we were called secretaries and files were my job. This is how we had things set up. Alphabetical with very few subfolders.
Thanks for your comment and endorsing this simple yet powerful system.
I have ADHD, i have files within files, within categories, quick file search files, within drives duplicated, triplicated all different names for quick searching, going back 20 years, what a mess - i will give your ABC method a try - thanks
Wishing you all the best as you make this change!
Give CloneSpy a try first, then pick a project manager that integrates with your Cloud storage. It helps a lot
"How to kill a perfect tree structure system."
Amazing way to save you files , thanks for sharing !
I have a lot of stuff to save everywhere and it make a lot of sense doing it in this way ,
LOVE YOU UA-cam ! LOVE YOU WHO MADE THIS VIDEO !
Thanks for watching!
Tags are better than folders. If you can break them down to their barest essence and apply a lot of them, then when it's time to search for a file, you can begin to narrow things down.
If you had a vacation in Mexico in 2015 and you want to organize your photos, you have three tags right off the bat: vacation, Mexico, and 2015. Say this is a yearly thing for you, and you can't remember which year you went swimming in a cenote. You can leave out the year, and include other descriptive tags, such as "swimming" and "cenote". And boom, you found your photos.
And this approach is very powerful. Let's say you want all photos, videos, and documents that involve you and your family swimming, regardless of context. You don't have to sift through some arbitrary folder structure. You just search for all files tagged with 'swimming' and you have it.
The only caveat is that you have to be good about labelling. It's time consuming at first, but once your tags are set up, they should be quick to reuse.
And it assumes you have a file system or cloud storage service that supports tags. If you don't, you're out of luck.
Thank you this is brilliant. I laughed at the simplicity and sensibility of it. Perfect!
You are most welcome, Joan. Yes, the simplicity of this system seems laughable at first. But ask those who've used it for years and they tell you there is no better way!
@@Simpletivity I believe that. I have already implemented it! Many thanks.
I use the Windows search feature at the top right of the explorer window. It allows me to group similar files into folders but also provides me with the ability to look up any specific file or subfolder from my root directory. This makes more sense logically than if I were to file them with the ABC method, especially if I should forget the name of what I'm looking for.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Zach.
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION - What business are you in? What do you need to keep track of? INCOME perhaps? EXPENSES maybe? Customers - of course! Suppliers? You betcha!
Get the pitcher?
This approach has a lot of logic and makes sense as long as your files are a collection of data that, once in this format, would meet the objective which is to only have to click two times for your file. But if I had a project with hundreds of files and saved each filed in a ROOT folder according to the file name, that would break the 2 click structure because people work on dozens of files simultaneously during a project so the ABC method means I'd have click every ROOT letter for every file of the project. Right?
This is so simple and straightforward it stops being funny 👌
This was a best tip. I changed my whole archive system and I can now put my fingers on any royalty free picture by just using the alphabet. Thanks for sharing! 😁
So glad that you found this helpful. All the best with your new folder system!
GREAT VIDEO, I have been looking for over an hour and all I get is jargon of messy desktops BUT HERE I jump forward to where you bring up the ABC method of organizing and THAT IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR THANK YOU SO MUCH
I think it's brilliant, and although a few people are bitchin' about it for various reasons I've come up with a solution that helps me always locate the file or folder I want. I run a small business that starts with C - I do lots of quotes which starts with Q - along with plenty of invoices starting with I.
So, I have the same business folder in C, Q and I. This way when I go to write up a quotation or an invoice for a customer there are three folders containing what I'm looking for. Very simple.
Another example is a photo folder containing a family and friends holiday to the Maldives. This one folder can reside in H - holiday...M - Maldives....F - family.... along with it being in a folder containg the first letter of each person who you enjoyed the trip with. The real beauty of this is it's the exact same photo folder in all of those various letters.
To place any folder or file into multiple folders, such as A B C simply create your first folder of your holiday pics in H. Then, simply click that new folder, hold down Shift & Z and you then add that folder to F & M and any other letters you think will relate to it.
Works for me.
Thanks for sharing your system, Clint.
Pressing Windows+Q opens the search menu in Windows. Start typing whatever you are looking for and use the arrow keys to select the right folder. it's quick and clean and works with any filing method.
Great tip. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
I gave this a try and love this method. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless and take care!!!!!
So glad you enjoy this system, Rachel. Thanks for watching!
You are truly HELPFUL in sharing this information! Thank You Very, Very Much! Bless YOU! Also you explain very well!!!!!
You are so welcome!
That's a very bad way to organize files..
Actually it is very effective. Why not try backing up your statement with a reason instead of making sweeping generalisations that don't help anybody?
@@naztubes ...just like you did now?
@@didndido3638 The video speaks for itself. Access to files in minimal clicks thanks to shallow directories. I see no dissadvantage to this method if maintained correctly.
If nothing else, when other's see my desktop they will think I am organized. The process took more than two hours. I have done the same work for thirty years and had hundreds of files, and was unable to find many of them. While building this database I was astounded how easy it is to find what I need.
I am pleased with the appearance of the process. I look forward to using this system.
All the best with your new setup, Charlotte. Thanks for taking the time to provide your feedback!
I stumbled across this while trying to find a better solution than the Johnny Decimal System. I admit this looks like it might work, but I think categories would work better than the alphabet.
Thanks for the video.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Conrad.
*im still confused and overwhelmed*
lord have mercy
Im bout to bust
Lmao
lol
Every method has its pros and cons. What will cause a problem in locating any file/folder is when using several criteria for naming it/them. For example, if you use "projects type" criteria in naming files, then you should stick to that and never name a file based on company's name, person's name, location or any other thing. Sticking to only ONE criteria is what makes retrieving any doc/file/folder easier.
That's an excellent point, Khaled. How we name our files is even more importatnt than how we name our folders. Thanks for sharing!
At my work i have different projects with reoccurring file structures. What is working very well for me is naming each folder with a number, title. As example, 2. Inspections.
Why i like this system is it easily navigates, quickly up and down, in and out of folders. Type number, press enter, repeat repaeat. Back space gets you back up the folder section. So fast!!
Thanks for sharing!
In a geek-ish sort of way, I love the ABC Method, and look forward to converting my filing system to it. Thanks for sharing!
You are very welcome. Have fun cleaning up your old folders and putting together a faster and easier method!
I've tested it on my personal drive, then in a file that i mainly use for my work (not my colleagues), it is very intuitive. I really like it!
Dear, There is one year i use the alphabetical setting, it's just magic, for both personal and work files. I wonder if you would have some tips to organize photographies, for a future video? All the best and thank you again very much!
Thank you. I am using this information to now reorganize my Music collection. Originally sorted by genre. Now a chaotic mess as Genres seem to overlap and had to remember sub genres. This will make life a lot easier. Couldn't find anything when I was searching. Just how to organize the files using software (keyword search isn't my forte).
You are most welcome, Michael. All the best as you organize your music!
I love the idea, but as someone who worked with dozens of clients, for example, it definitely makes sense for me to create a folder for each client. I usually do this like [countryCode]-[client name]. So like "AU-Macquarie", "SG-DBS", "TW-Metrobank", etc. Within each client folder, I usually have no choice but to create sub-folders to handle segregation of documents released by the client over time. For example, RFIs / RFPs, architecture documents, etc.
So, as nice as it sounds to have, say, all my architecture documents in one folder, it just doesn't seem practical if you have very similar documents for 80 different clients. Or maybe it is practical as long as you're diligent about naming conventions and versioning?
Thanks for watching and sharing your method, Stan. For those who work with large numbers of clients, it's true that giving them each a folder is important. And I agree, what you name the folder and the file is critical to any effective organization system.
Yes, perhaps my system for clients already is a good one. But on the whole, I'm not happy with my file organization strategy. Maybe a hybrid of keeping my client directories, but for "everything else" I could try the A-Z method?
Yeah the main problem I have with alphabetising is, sometimes, the person is looking for something that follows some form of logic, like a spreadsheet that belongs to finance, but they don't know what the first letter should be in. Would it be in F for finance, or because it was a finance thing done for one of the departments, is it under the department name, or is a spreadsheet named after a particular project or event? What if they're looking for something but don't know what it's called, therefore can't find it in the ABC method?
I've been using this filing system for years as hard copies and never thought to computerize it in the same way shows you what a dumb ass I am sometimes
I'm so glad you found this video. Yes, I had a similar relization a number of years ago. Thanks for watching!
I prefer putting files and sub-folders where they logically belong. This makes it easy for me to locate them when my memory fails me to remember the eaxct file names.
Let me add two tips that have been working fine for me:
1. Adding tags to files and folders (Windows file/folder search loves tags).. you can do this by selecting the file and adding the tags in the properties bar (bottom)..... and
2. Always viewing folder content in 'Details' view. This helps you sort files by time of modification, type, size, etc. In addition, you may filter unwanted files/filders out using column filters on top.
Those are great suggestions. Thanks for sharing!
I am astounded at the simplicity and the organization presented here. I SO OFTEN find myself, as you say, second-guessing myself over where I might have put a file and go off wild goose chasing to find...well, now I'll just look under G for GOOSE. Thanks so much! It's Friday 3:18pmPT and I'm starting NOW!
Wishing you all the best as you start your new system!
Thanks for the video, I tried my best to manage my folders and e-mails in different ways but ABC method is the best. Thanks again
You are very welcome. I'm so glad you enjoy this system!
Thank you for sharing! I personally use a software for that (Folder Marker), it is pretty simple to create a structure with 2 clicks, no need to waste a lot of time
Same!
I heard of this system for the first time and it looks productive. However, I make a separate folder for each activity, like Pictures and then sub-folders like Birthdays, Weddings, Outing, Parties.
Thanks Simpletivity.
You are very welcome, Adnan. Thanks for watching!
If you set all the folders arranged by name,
then without the ABC method,
all the folders are found to be frozen alphabetically.
your voice is so calming :)
I'm glad you found it relaxing! 😊
I enjoyed knowing a different approach to managing information.
However, I'm +1 to emphasize the issue within remembering the tag system used (how did I call that folder?). For a personal computer, it might be sufficient, as (1) you don't have so many files, and (2) you're often in contact with the naming system previously adopted, strengthening the long-term memory.
For managing team information, it triggers a huge issue for different people adopting different naming systems, sometimes for the same thing.
If the main issue is the number of subfolders, the ABC method could be translated in a rule of thumb of having just 3 levels of folders. In fact, I thought the ABC was an allusion to that possibility.
What are your ways for organizing? Could you explain the three level way you wrote about?
I'm looking for information on this and these kinds of quick videos pop up that aren't bad, but aren't as thought through as I would like. On top of that, some of them like these are "genuine" while others "emotionally pander" for money.
What a great system. It will take a while to organize my files at this point. But I can set up the structure now and start using it and as I have time or use the other files, I can eventually get everything located in the new order. Thank you
You are very welcome, David. This system just becomes more refined and convenient over time!
the only solution to finding things is tagging each file on creation and keep solid tags.
Wow , thank, actually SO simple that I am startled NOT to have found this way out before.. better late then never:-))) Thanks, Big thumbs up and hello from Amsterdam Holland!!
Glad you found this useful. Thanks for watching!
Ironically, I just started this type of system but haven’t converted completely. My theory or thought is if someone had to use my system and only knew the name of what they were looking for would they be able to . So far I think I’m on the right path with the help of your videos. Additionally, I’m working on becoming completely paperless. So all of my archived, must paperwork I’m scanning and keeping in my computer backup with Google Drive . Perhaps, you can give me some creative ideas to keep all the necessary documents for property transfers, which is immense and home improvement documents with all their companion booklets I need for later reference?
Any updates on how you applied this?
Thank you simple and straight forward, logical organizing files
You are very welcome.
You can also skip the ABC folder system and throw everything into one big directory. Then by pressing the starting character of the searched folder on the keyboard, you jump directly to the first occurrence of this letter.
You could also use links from one folder to another to connect topics which are related in one or another way.
Thanks for sharing, Sebastian.
Clever! I didn't know about pressing the letter to get to the first instance.
I like this. Very good (uniform) system which I was looking for a long time and now (finally) found it! Thanks for sharing.
So glad you like it, Hans. Thanks for watching!
I hadn't thought to make the folders myself but your tutorial gets me to where I wanted Alphanumerically being able to find my stuff Thank you!
Glad you found this useful, Bunnie. Thanks for watching!
At last. Very nice, best.
Thanks, Thomas.
Very effective method, and great presentation. Thank you for sharing this valuable tip!
You're very welcome, Steve. Thanks for watching!
Excellent first time i know this much appreciate for this
idea please keep it up
Thanks for watching!
Thanks! I love to use color-coding system with the help of software
Great to hear!
1.5 speed is the speed you would expect a normal human voice to use, oh my god.
This method looks great, I can't wait to try it out.
Thanks for watching, Chris. I hope this helps you out!
Excellent method. Thanks.
You are very welcome, Sadia. Thanks for watching!
THIS IS A GREAT METHOD OF KEEPING THINGS ORGANIZED, ESPECIALLY WHEN DEALING WITH THOUSANDS OF FOLDERS AS I HAVE. I ONLY WISH THAT I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THIS METHOD A LONG TIME AGO. THANKS!
You are very welcome! Thanks for watching.
I will give it a try. I always think that I put files in the right folder while doing it, and I still can't find them. Especially on my personal computer. At work it's better as I share folders with co-workers, so I always go back to the same files or folders. But in my personal drive it's still a mess, there are many files and things can go messy very fast.😢 Thanks for your organization tips! I organized a training session to introduce Trello with your video and advice my colleagues to follow your channel.
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. And thanks for sharing my videos with your staff. Always happy to help!
Very good and it is worth considering in my filing system for general. I once worked at a manufacturing factory and in the drawing office they filed client numeric and alpha drawing references by the very last numeric digit, eg, 0,1,2,3 etc. and then filed these drawings under this digital system. So the drawings were in 0-9 as a maximum. It sounds weird, but it worked. We could always find the drawings from this system. 95% of the time. Bit similiar to your Alpha system. Well done on simplicity and always rules
Thanks for sharing this numeric system, Ron. I love hearing about other simple methods to organize your files.
Why did so many people dislike this video, just why this isn't their preferred way to structure their data? If so, I don't get it, as this is a good produced and actually informative video. Disliking in such a case seems quite unfair to the content creator, because it has literally nothing to do with the video, you essentially get punished for trying to introduce people to something new that they've not seen before. When stuff like this happens you can see quite a good resemblance to the current state of our society, if you ask me.
Thanks for sharing your feedback. I really appreciate your input!
You are True to the name. Thank you much
Thank you so much................... ill try it out now
I noticed that one of your files is a Steve Dotto course (I am one of Steve's followers). So, I wonder what Brooks Duncan would say about your organizing system. Thank you for all your videos; they are most informative. And, you have a beautiful speaking voice.
Hi Avrum. Thanks for watching and your very kind words. Yes, I'm always interested in hearing about other methods as well.
Backups might be a problem if you are working on various projects and need only back those up to DropBox or whatever. I am a writer and work on a number of assignments/projects with varying names or titles with aspects such as bookcovers, working art, manuscripts, articles, and their attendant research data. Under this method they would end up scattered all over the place.
Thank you so much. This is obviously the best way to organize any information. It's as effective now as it was in the third grade when most of us learned to alphabetize. It's going to take some time to restructure my filing system, especially in Google Drive, but I already started and have promised myself to spend some time on the project every day. I love this channel. Keep on doing what you're doing, and thanks again for another great idea.
You are most welcome, Tom. Thanks for sharing and subscribing to the channel!
I am new to this, wish you have a video for beginners. I would really, really love to know how to do this digital filing
Thanks for the video. I have used this method before but not to this extent. I would have main folders such as movies,Music,T.V. Shows, ext. then inside those folders was the a.b.c folder system.
You're very welcome. Thanks for sharing your experience with the ABC method.
I appreciate this video. Thank you.
Thank you! I was struggling.
You are very welcome.
Your video just came up in my feed and I am thrilled! I just finished setting up my entire Evernote folder system into abc stacks. It was so easy to do and remarkably easy to find everything. I had one of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments. Thanks!
So glad that you found this helpful. Thanks for watching!
Yay This is in school It’s cool yay it’s actually rly enjoyable
If you Google "unorganized", you'll see my picture. Okay, I'm exaggerating about the Google part but not about the unorganized part. I've got a great feeling about your A to Z system. I plan to give it a go. Thank you so much.
All the best as you try out this setup!
Sounds great, I'm not very savvy at this, but do I start with opening the File Folder and just create A-Z in the list under this PC?
Very creative!
Thank you! 😊
Use the power of search in combination of in depth folder structure. I manage tens of thousands of files. Start by scanning files with OCR. Then classify each file. INV for invoice. Then account number, vendor name, or just vendor name. Add a date reference followed by a keyword just as red shoes.
Using search with a large folder structure broken down in parts and subparts is quick and efficient. I can always find a file.
Thank you. Why have I never thought of this before?
You're very welcome, Mark.
Thanks for the idea of the ABC system. IT'S AN IDEA!!! By some of the comments below, they act as if you are demanding that they change from what works for them. Jeeeeezzz!!!
Thanks for your comment, Danny. It's very appreciated it. It's true, I'm not sugesting that we vote and make this a law! :)
A long time ago, before computers, my boss encourages us to make an ABC book. It was a loosleaf notebook with A to Z tabe. Random information was stored A to Z. it worked well.
Thanks so much for sharing this story. A great example of how this system can work in a number of ways.
I will try this. I am much better at Tai-Chi than I am at playing 'hide and seek' with my files. This looks like a good idea. Thank You.
Have fun!
It seems like this method would result in more clicks if you don't remember what letter you stored it under.
The example you gave of "did I store that under links or website?" If you grouped all those files under a Marketing or Communication folder, you wouldn't run into that issue since they would be grouped with similar information.
Thanks for sharing your comments, Matthew.
Very interesting. This is basically the way we would set up a physical file cabinet so it's certainly worth considering this approach. Off the top, I think I would still end up with a hybrid system using this combined with one subfolder. Thanks for stimulating some creative thinking.
I’m sitting here thinking of examples in which this might not be as helpful as it appears…and then suddenly realizing I’m wrong. LOL. Every example I can think of would actually work just fine.
For example, I was thinking about the problems posed by different entities. For instance, we have a non-profit theater company and multiple LLCs. Having each entity’s logos, files, course materials, etc. mixed with other entities’ files would be problematic in the event of selling the company, giving other people access, etc.
But, if I just add another tier to the top (organized by entity) and then put alphabets in each entity’s folder…voila!
I’m going to give this some thought. I’ve got terabytes of stuff that’s become unwieldy. This might be just the ticket!
Thank you Scott!
You are most welcome, Tony. Thanks for your comments and sharing some new examples!
Most important main folders are:
Audios
DCIM
Documents
Videos (subfolder- movies)
Games
@Ajay Kene - Would you post some other examples of your subfolders here? I would like more ideas on this structure.
Nice video...BUT: isn’t it adding one click but having to organize this under particular letters? In other words, why not just list the folders int heir first order? It would automatically be in alphabetical order, and you wouldn’t have to both with he A,B,C nonsense??
Yes, you certainly could just list all of your folders in alphabetical order. However, that might result in scrolling a very long way to find the folder you're after. Another situation to consider is when you are uploading a file or attaching something online - I find it much easier to find my files with the ABC listing when I'm often given a small dialog box.
Just type first 3-4 letters of a folder name and File Explorer will highlight that folder. Press Enter and you're in. Nothing faster than this :)
Thanks for sharing, Ivan.
Classy reply from Simpletivity. :)
I see you just can't take even well meant criticism...Good luck to you in life. It's always gonna be someone else's fault I can see.
Great video! Thank you! I’m going to try this today.
All the best with the new setup!
great. So simple, so useful
Thanks for watching, Thawber.
Going to try this, thanks
You're very welcome, Jimmy. Thanks for watching!
Very nice, thank you
You are very welcome, Radha.
Mmmm... extremely logical. A top candidate for my file organising method! Thanks....
You're very welcome, Mazen. Thanks for watching!
3:05 this is a great system, but it does have some less than good parts.
For example, if you suddenly decide to call your "courses" lectures in your head then you'll be looking through L for something in C. It "restricts" how you can "describe" certain things.
Also, if you have many things in many letters. For example if you make a new "container" every week for ten years or a new folder every month for 40 years you'll probably want a second way of "organizing" in each letter since you'll have 20 things in each folder!
This is especially true given something many call "relative frequency." The letter A pops up 11% of the time and the letter T pops up a whopping 16% of the time!!!
That might lead you to have 5 things in one letter and 25 in another!
Meanwhile the letter Z pops up 0.045% of the time and K 0.86% of the time... so maybe you should "merge" Z and K together! :-)
These are some great points. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this video, I have been looking for ways to organize my Google Drive Folders and if I understood correctly it is best to add files to the folders by alphabetical order so car repairs will go on the C folder not the R folder for repairs and Medical Insurance will go in the M folder, not the I folder for insurances. I like this method but may take me a little while to start using it. Also, I am trying to separate files by year so it is easier to separate the information, and I may start fresh and create a 2022 folder, then the ABC folders. Thanks again
Great channel! Thanks!
You're most welcome. Thanks for watching!
You're most welcome. Thanks for watching!