How Messy is Your Computer? Dealing With Digital Clutter

Alex Fayle, FayleSafe Solutions
http://www.housetherapy.net
May 2006

How often do you actually go through your computer files and streamline the contents? When we don't see something it's easy to forget about it. And with hard drives getting bigger and cheaper, we can store an almost endless amount of data.

And why bother purging old files? Computers are searchable either from within Windows or using a tool like Google. With keyword searching there's no need to even create folders for documents.

Same with email. One thousand messages in your inbox is no problem to handle, right? You just have to do a search for what you need.

But even the fastest computer takes a while to find documents, and what about a related document that doesn't have the same keyword mentioned? Plus storing all your emails in a single inbox doesn't make sense - do you leave your voicemail inbox full of all the messages you've ever received?

Streamlining your computers' data contents also helps keep you on top of projects. If you are expecting a document and you don't have thing sorted into categories, you don't easily know whether you've received the document or not.

When creating computer filing systems (documents and email folders) you should match the electronic system to your paper system. For example, if you have a file for "2006 Receipts" in paper, have a same-named documents folder and email folder electronically for things you purchased online received either as email receipts or saved web page receipts.

You can be more complex with computer systems than with paper systems. Computer filing takes up no physical space, so you can store more electronically than in paper. You can also drill down more levels, creating a hierarchy of folders that take you right down as specific as you want to be.

But don't get carried away! Computers exist to make our lives easier, not more complex. Only be as detailed as you absolutely must be. The more complex you get, the more difficult it is to maintain your system. Be lazy and do only as much work as necessary to create a well-functioning system.

When you have a good electronic filing system, it's easy to archive unnecessary documents and store them on external storage material, protected from a computer crash. It's also good to remember that how you act one way comes through in everything else you do - and you don't want your messy computer interfering with your professional or personal life, do you?

About Alex Fayle, MISt, Principal House Therapy™

Alex has a Masters of Information Studies (MISt) from the University of Toronto and a decade of experience in organizing and streamlining administrative procedures for the small office environment.  An active volunteer and perpetual student, Alex continually seeks to push the boundaries of his knowledge and learns as much from his clients as they do from him.  Alex has also spent his whole life arranging the space around him so that he won’t bang his shins on coffee tables. As the 2004-2006 National President of Professional Organizers in Canada (POC), Alex is committed to advancing the profession – for more information about organizing and what you can expect from a Professional Organizer, visit the POC website.