Organization Tips - How to Organise Your Computer Files

Everytime Mary had to find a file on her computer, she always had great difficulty. And it was no wonder why. Every file had been saved under the folder "Mary" and that was it. There were no other categories. Consequently every time Mary searched her folder she spent ages sifting through all the documents.

Now Mary is a real smart cookie. She's the Marketing Director of a very well known organisation. She knows her 'stuff'. She is fortunate to have her own personal assistant. However Mary still has to type many of her own letters and prepare a multitude of documents in relation to her demanding role. She also receives around 60 emails a day, most of which contain relevant information to the variety of projects she works on.

In Mary's situation, other team members in her organisation occasionally are required access to her electronic files and in the past they wasted unnecessary time sifting through them

Just like many other businesspeople I have worked with, no-one had shown Mary how to handle the basics of organisation, including how to organise computer files so they are stored logically and can be easily accessed.

So how do you store your computer files?

In my opinion they should resemble the same categories as your paper filing system. If your paper filing system is a disaster, then take careful note of the points made and make changes as soon as possible (today).

Before you do anything else, delete all old or obsolete files.

Write down the categories of information you need.

Ie. Admin
Clients
Projects
Staff
Resources

Note: Always have a general area to cover anything else.

Create folders for each of these areas.

Now work out if you need to expand these categories.

Ie. Admin
Financials
Marketing
Vehicles
Clients
Brown & Co
Jax
Monogram
Projects
Building
Newsletter
Quality Assurance

Create sub-folders for #3 if required.

Transfer existing files to the appropriate areas.

By the way the same applies to emails, the same folders can be set up to store incoming and outgoing email. It will be up to you to decide what will work best for you. And of course you have to be mindful of specific procedures which may be in place in your organisation. Just make sure you keep everything simple and take action.

About The Author

Lorraine Pirihi is Australia's Personal Productivity Specialist and Leading Life Coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including "How to Survive and Thrive at Work!"

To subscribe to her free ezine visit www.office-organiser.com.au

This article may be reproduced providing it is published in it's entirety, including the author's bio and all links. For further information please contact Lorraine Pirihi; lorraine@office-organiser.com.au

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/11/californias_sle.htmlcid=1273018732ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHsZ83Ji4MdgwONVI1p0vYz4ucs1ACalifornia#39;s Sleeping Giant - The Enormous bOrganizing/b Opportunity/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCalifornia Progress Report,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1And that, of course, only includes the volunteers inside the state; hundreds if not thousands went out into the swing states to canvass and borganize/b there. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081122/LIFESTYLE01/811220307cid=0ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNE5tVCIWbZA6tnESc_Fdb0Q1rs5IAKeep it simple when borganizing/b school papers/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDetNews.com,nbsp;MInbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1It was bound to happen. My daughter#39;s kindergarten papers have invaded our home. So, I turned to Debi Weinstein for some guidance. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/56915cid=1272333491ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHphnVP-pAS0nISgTR9239s9wZWUAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=6npBwdYMkN8Jimgurl=www.columbiaspectator.com/files/imagecache/View-300x250/files/stills/scan2.jpg width=61 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2CU Columbia Spectator/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/20/AR2008112003007.html%3Fhpid%3Dopinionsbox1cid=1272333491ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGPsg9BtR9bCKsJUkBW-6fQWFt8igWhat Next for Obama#39;s Network?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWashington Post,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobrNov 20, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Because of the emphasis he put on borganizing/b, barackobama.com might fairly be seen as the most successful high-tech startup of the past two years. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/11/gop-internet-activists.htmlcid=1272333491ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHnuy7_OC8669mRIZzOoZjFioGU3AThe GOP#39;s Internet Insurgents/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMother Jones/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20081119_8934.phpcid=1272333491ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNG5WKRKJtobvakIEwY1cWYivW9NvwObama#39;s Millennial Marketers/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNational Journal/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/7757/cid=1272333491ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHeLnnDyuViWTx7ysIy4GxP4yldkgA Call to Action/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrPolitical Affairs Magazine/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15812.htmlcid=1272333491ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEMcvNf8EuIN93Z1irvw85SkBKCGAnobrPolitico/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20081118/NEWS03/311189964/Dems%2Bgaining%2Bvoters%2Bin%2BNNYcid=1272333491ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNErtdPNZWw51rB0KOQgtYxedpEmzwnobrWatertownDailyTimes.com/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272333491hl=ennobrall 414 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.pr.com/press-release/117822cid=0ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFPgufQmg1MglBxkAqfCPtlvVQKkQLaunch of New bOrganizing/b Podcast, Tips Toolbox/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPR.com (press release),nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1They both are known for their office and computer borganizing/b specialties and help workers gain control and manage their time, email, communications, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/newport_news/dp-town_ndifference_1121nov21,0,2563184.storycid=1272841463ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEjNrZzfjtkvs5HxYbN0ttFUwMzzAMore than borganizing/b fairs/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDaily Press,nbsp;VAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 21, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Wright#39;s work is more than borganizing/b school fairs or fundraisers. Her biggest mission is getting a crucial element involved in the students#39; education b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/26655cid=1272842669ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEiRsmtvS2glCnRNsEZEAESZ2-JBwUndergraduate bOrganizing/b Committee: Explaining our sit-in/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fYale Daily News,nbsp;CTnbsp;-/font nobrNov 21, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Undergraduate bOrganizing/b Committee is grateful for the News’ coverage of our activities, but in the face of the accusations made by Kate Maltby and the b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/26653cid=1272842669ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNG9T61mHGu6x8RaLDARGtrMMbj8UwMacey: Yale invests responsibly/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrYale Daily News/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272842669hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thedowneypatriot.net/view_full.php%3Farticle%3D0000048962cid=1272677570ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGCeYZbS5yrQzk8fcR9v4JWOveupANew community band is borganizing/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDowney Patriot,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 20, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1DOWNEY— Warren High School band director Dave Niemeyer, with the help of school alumni, is borganizing/b a new community band featuring brass, woodwind and b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7738800.stmcid=1271946116ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGePHjIldimICCZ1gjS4QALx08I_Aimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Y_MbwlPpfn8Jimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45222000/jpg/_45222544_sign_getty226b.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-prop8-campaign22-2008nov22,0,6496229.storycid=1271946116ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNE31jPe6P4IgUVclfho49r5fiKE3ABoth sides in California#39;s Prop. 8 battle look ahead to 2010/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fLos Angeles Times,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Regardless, backers and foes are borganizing/b supporters, waging a fierce public relations campaign and considering their next moves. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/11/19/nurses-rally-to-support-marriage-equality-in-californiacid=1271946116ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGuGB2AtYJuoh_fDtL2JBPji-pOZQNurses Rally to Support Marriage Equality in California/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAFL-CIO/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11016796%3Fsource%3Dmost_viewedcid=1271946116ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEod3-IhiP8psvGvIE-o8RDCFF1LQProp. 8 battle enters new stage/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSan Jose Mercury News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/11/20/18552391.phpcid=1271946116ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEJTk68U-LsQfj5A_5A-BOAUfTsnAMassive Movement Erupts to Overturn Proposition 8/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBay Area Indymedia/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx%3Fid%3D2757%26MediaType%3D1%26Category%3D26cid=1271946116ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHyTE9fzwVQzmybLFRFKe0ts94rFwnobrOn Top Magazine/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php%3Fitemid%3D6316cid=1271946116ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHqrV9DjddgHZyVPHtdWVaG-kv3_wnobrBeyond Chron/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1271946116hl=ennobrall 1,432 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/story/679179.htmlcid=0ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEfg0hn83NRefI26sWWOalTSfm_twColumnist mistaken about union borganizing/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMyrtle Beach Sun News,nbsp;SCnbsp;-/font nobrNov 20, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Companies intimidate, harass, coerce and even fire people who try to borganize/b unions. Workers are fired in a quarter of private-sector union borganizing/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/11/19/join-impact-and-web-part-ii-organizing-local-rallies-four-dayscid=1272631976ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEMPanFWor_D652c2Ft-mBPwf3H-QJoin the Impact and the Web, part II: bOrganizing/b local rallies in b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Industry Standard,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 19, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1(Editor#39;s note: The following report is the second in a series about the massive online effort earlier this month to borganize/b protests around ballot b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/11/20/join-impact-and-web-part-iii-how-rally-attenders-got-callcid=1272631976ei=V0ooSZiIA6GO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEryap8kpBvheLmB-tK5VHHju82pQJoin the Impact and the Web, part III: Putting out the call/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Industry Standard/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272631976hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
organizing - Google News

Thinking Outside the Box

Much of my time as a Professional Organizer is spent... Read More

Clutter Campaign - Commit Your Time

Decide When And Where To StartDecide when and where to... Read More

Have an Ugly Day

"Do something every day that you don't want to-do; this... Read More

A Simple Effective Tool To Get And Stay Organized

Often we are in overwhelm because we are holding too... Read More

35 Santity Savers - Get More Productive

Use these 35 sanity savers this year to help you... Read More

Clutter Crisis?

Clutter costs you time, money, space, and peace of mind.... Read More

Relieve Vacation Stress By Planning Ahead

Cindy looks at the calendar and sighs. Ah, the end... Read More

Compartmentalize

The word "compartmentalize" means to separate into distinct parts. I... Read More

Get Organized - Stay Organized

My mother is one of the most productive people I... Read More

Dont Get Lost In The Shuffle

I have a good friend whom (also being in the... Read More

7 Little Things That You Can Do to Organize the Kids Rooms

1. Sink to their level. Get on your knees in... Read More

Clutter Is Natural

Nature loves clutter. Just think of all the stuff that... Read More

Daily Systems Keep You Organized

Ever wonder how they do it? How a short-order cook... Read More

Organize Your Desk ? Live Longer!

It may seem far-fetched, but by organizing your desk, your... Read More

Secrets to Eliminating Emotional Clutter

Are you plagued by clutter in your personal or professional... Read More

Spring into Spring

Hasn't time flown? Already we're into the last quarter of... Read More

Improve Your Workplace to Make Your Life Better

What does "quality of life" mean to you? If you... Read More

Control Your Childrens Clutter!!

Ever feel overwhelmed by all the papers, notices, artwork, and... Read More

Without a Plan, You?re Doomed to Failure

"My job is an endless series of deadlines, I am... Read More

Organizing Solutions for the Disorganized Entrepreneur

After more than 20 years as an entrepreneur and a... Read More

Are You A Collector?

Collections are the outward manifestation of a deeply-felt principle or... Read More

Can Someone Step Into Your Job Or Role And Function Effectively?

Working for one of the top Marketers online (David Ledoux)... Read More

The Clutter Campaign - Design Your Vision

I like a room you can dance in the middle... Read More

It?s Spring Cleaning Time? Let?s Make Room For Abundance!

I gathered some things you can do this spring while... Read More

Spring Cleaning: Mission Garage Organization

Spring is here and the garage door is open. This... Read More