Best Practices For Organizing Computer Files to Save Time

Organizing your computer files can be a challenge, especially in the midst of a busy day that ends up being a busy week or month. But taking time to properly organize your files and keeping them that way can save you a significant amount of time in your daily workflow.

A messy computer not only slows you down because you have to spend additional time finding things, but it can also lead to your hard drive getting crowded with unnecessary files, causing your entire system to become sluggish.

In a study of 1,000 U.S. employees across multiple industries, it was found that 49% had trouble locating documents.

Staff can spend as much as 30% of their time just searching for information, including sifting through files on their computer and trying to remember where they were saved.

Another problem with a disorganized computer is that it makes backups more difficult.

The first step in getting your computer organized is to decide how you want to organize your files. We’ve got several best practices below to help you do that.

Stop Using Your Downloads Folder to Store Documents

When you download a file from a website or online file storage, it will typically default to saving in your Downloads folder. This catchall is not a good place to store files that you need to access later.

Don’t Save Things to Your Desktop

Saving files to a computer desktop is typically done because a user wants to easily find that file later. Keeping things on your desktop not only makes for a messy experience, but it also makes it harder to find those files once you get multiple documents built up.

Don’t Nest Too Many Folders

Try to keep nesting to just two levels deep, three if you absolutely need to, and then only put rarely used files in the 3rd level. The goal is to easily get to your files while still keeping them organized.

Use Descriptive File Names

Use names that will help you instantly recognize or search on the file content. For example, instead of naming a file “Marketing Plan,” Name it “Marketing Plan – Social Media – 2022.” This provides you more keywords to use to get to the file immediately upon a search.

File Things Immediately

Try to file as you go, so you don’t have to come back later to put things in their proper place.

Do Weekly Sorting & File Cleanup

Do file tidying up at least once per week. If you do it weekly, then it won’t take you much time.

Don’t Go crazy With Too Many Folders

Having too many file folders can also make it more difficult to find your files. If you have folders that only hold 1-2 files, consider consolidating those with another folder.
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