Early January is the time of year when we make New Year’s resolutions that we hope we will keep, but probably won’t. I’ve been reading a lot about how to make big changes starting with very small, tiny steps. I’m not one to even bother making resolutions, but so far I’ve kept taking this tiny step each day for 1 week. Miraculous! So here is a tip for the new year.
Organize your computer files and folders in a way that allows you to work more efficiently. Take as little as 10 minutes per day to clean up all of those files and archive when necessary. If you have loads of document icons on your desktop, take those documents and move them to appropriate folders when the project is completed. Then delete the icon from your desktop.
Create shortcut icons to the files you need. If your desktop screen is cluttered with many icons, you are likely to waste a lot of time looking for that shortcut. Creating shortcuts on your desktop for files you are currently working on is a time-saving tactic that will help you get to files more quickly.
Archive old files off of your main computer. Many of us have files from projects that are very old but we still want to keep them, just in case. Those files and folders should be archived on external drives or flash drives. The truth is that having all that data on your server, cloud or main hard drive slows down the search for files you are currently working on. Although it may seem fast, the extra 10 seconds it takes to search for each file adds up! Extra time is also used required for backups, uploads, attachments and everything else that you are doing.
Set a timer. This massive cleanup of documents and folders can be a daunting task so it’s important to stick to your allotted time. Spending too much time and neglecting other important work will discourage you from repeating this small step and making it a habit. So, on your calendar, schedule five or ten minutes for organizing and stick to your plan.
Need help with larger IT organization projects? Contact us for help!