Let¡¦s Get Organized (Part 2)

I don¡¦t want to tell you how to organize your own stuff. If I even tried, I would fail! So let me just tell you how I do it (and believe me, I know I am far from perfect!).

First, I have a LOT of digital pictures. Over 100,000. And I am pretty particular about how I organize and keep them. That way, I know how to find them!

For me, it all revolves around years, months and events. Now some of you would say that this was a simple task, as every camera on the planet keeps meta-data that tracks the date and time. But, I have found over the many years that this meta-data is not something I can count on. In fact, as I have moved from one to another computer over the years, for some reason, the meta-data disappears. Leaving me without a good sense of when the picture was taken.

But, if I keep the files organized in folders by year, and then folders by month within year, and then folders by event within month within year, I can keep that same structure going over time, and over the many computers that I know it will have to live through.

This gives me the ability to find just about anything. For example, if I am looking for a picture of my youngest daughter¡¦s third birthday, I know to look in the April folder of 2003. Simple!

Keeping your files organized in a simple way that you understand, and that allows you to find whatever you want, whenever you want, will prove invaluable over time. It¡¦s not just about your computer ¡V but about all the other devices that can replicate the same file structure.

I¡¦d love to hear what you all do to help manage your file structures. What I have given is only my own personal example. We all learn from others!

URL: http://media.seagate.com/2009/03/jon-van-bronkhorst/let%e2%80%99s-get-organized-part-2/