The Art of Filing

Have you ever sat there while your boss stands over you, desperately searching for that missing document he or she needs RIGHT NOW? Or have you kept a client waiting on the phone for several minutes while you've searched for a status report?

If you have, then however organized and effective you are in your day-to-day work, your boss and your client may have a less than perfect opinion of you, because in a key encounter, you've let them down. And if it's your job to help people, how much of other people's time are you wasting if you can't find the information you need when you need it?

You owe it to yourself to file effectively, however boring this may seem. Imagine how much more impressive it would have been if – when asked – you'd smiled, accessed a well-organized filing system, immediately found the document, and quickly given the answer!

Managing Time

On a typical work day, we deal with many documents, presentations, graphics, and other files. There's a flurry of data pouring in from all directions that we need to process and, usually, store to retrieve later. We want to be able to lay our hands on the information we need – at the right moment, when we need it – so it can be used for further analysis or report writing, or perhaps for creating a presentation.

All too often, though, we waste our own time (and often the time of other people) searching for data that's sitting on the very computer we're using! This adds to our stress, and makes the task of putting the data to use more difficult than it ought to be. So we need to get more organized and efficient with our file management if we're going to get our work done in a timely manner.

Managing Information Efficiently

When you receive a file in an e-mail from a co-worker, vendor, or customer, it's tempting to "just put it away" in some folder for the time being. "Hmm… looks interesting, but I'll take a closer look at this later, when I've got more time." Sound familiar? Or, worse still, perhaps you just leave the message and its attachment sitting in your Inbox. After a while, many such documents build up, leading to a lot of clutter. It's highly unlikely that you'll ever find time to go back and get all of that information organized, especially considering that you're usually under pressure with other things and have hectic work schedules to meet.

You can spend hours of precious time searching for data you've filed away somewhere, because it's easy to forget the filename – or even to forget that such information is on your computer in the first place. How can you go about simplifying your work? Get better at managing files.

Effective File Management

Managing files on your computer isn't much different from the way you've always stored and managed your paper files. It boils down to this: Store the information in folders – by category, and in a sequence that makes sense to you.

Here are some tips to help manage your files:

• Avoid saving unnecessary documents. Don't make a habit of saving just about everything that finds its way into your Inbox. Take a few seconds to glance through the content, and save a file only if it's relevant to your work activity. Having too much data on your computer adds to the clutter that makes it harder to find things in the future – and it may, over time, slow down your computer's performance too – so be selective about what you keep.
  
  
• Follow a consistent method for naming your files and folders. For instance, divide a main folder into subfolders for customers, vendors, and co-workers. Give shortened names to identify what or whom the folders relate to. What's more, you can even give a different appearance or look to different categories of folders – this can make it easy to tell them apart at first glance.
  
  
• Store related documents together, whatever their type. For example, store Word documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and graphics related to a particular project in a single folder – rather than having one folder for presentations for all projects, another folder for spreadsheets for all projects, and so forth. This way, it's much quicker to find, open, and attach documents for a particular project.
  
  
• Separate ongoing work from completed work. Some people prefer to save current or ongoing work on their computer's desktop until a job is completed. Then, once it's done, they move it to the appropriate location, where files of the same category are stored. At periodic intervals (for example, weekly or every two weeks), move files you're no longer working on to the folders where your completed work is stored.
  
  
• Avoid overfilling folders. If you have a large number of files in one folder, or a large number of subfolders in a main folder – so many that you can't see the entire list on your screen without scrolling down – break them into smaller groups (subfolders or sub-subfolders). Think of creating a sequential menu, arranged either in chronological or alphabetical order, to make retrieval easy. For instance, you can divide a folder called "Business Plan" into subfolders called "BP2005," "BP2006," and "BP2007." Likewise, you can divide a folder for a client named Delta Traders into subfolders named "Delta Traders sales presentations" and "Delta Traders contracts." The idea is to place every file into a logical folder or subfolder, rather than have one huge list of files.
  
  Having said this, there is usually little point in creating a folder for fewer than about five documents. If you do, the time you spend clicking through subfolders to get to the documents you need may not be outweighed by the greater ease of finding them.
  
  
• Install Google Desktop on your PC. If you can (sometimes IT departments don't permit this), install Google Desktop on your PC – you can find this at http://desktop.google.com. This neat tool creates a desktop search engine that indexes all of your files and emails, meaning that you can search for them quickly and easily. This can be invaluable when you need to answer offbeat questions!
  
  
• Make sure your filing system is backed up. Again, this is a bit tedious, but it's so important, as anyone who's had a failed disk drive will testify! Make sure, firstly, that your PC is backed up regularly and, secondly, that the backup includes the directories where you file information.

Prioritizing Your Files for Action

Take these approaches further by customizing your file management. This can help you prioritize your work, which can lead to better efficiency.

• Organize files by dates. Incorporate a date into the file name. This will help you determine which is the most recent document in the folder, without having to open the file and read through the content. For example, a file named "Guidelines 12Oct07" would indicate a version of the Guidelines file dated October 12, 2007. (If you're working internationally, be aware that in some countries this date can be presented as 101207, while in other countries, this same date can be shown as 121007. This can be very confusing!)
  
  
• Some people use version numbers to distinguish between documents that have been reworked or changed. Examples would be "Delta Traders contract v1" and "Delta Traders contract v2." This also makes it easier to pick out the most current file.

• Use "Tickler" files. Tickler files, also known as the "43 folders" method, are a unique system that's used by many people for organizing files. Create 12 folders (one for each month of the year) and an additional 31 subfolders (for each day of the month). Fill each folder with the documents that you need to work with on that day. At the beginning of each day, open the folder for that day. Take all the items out of the folder and move them into a "today" folder or onto your desktop. Then move the empty folder into the corresponding slot for the next month. If you can't complete some work items by the end of the day, transfer them to the folder for the next convenient day. This system of file management helps you keep track of everything you need to do, and it also doubles as a diary.

For any system to be useful and effective, it must also be convenient for you. To some extent, this depends on the nature of your business or the work that you do. So, although there's no "one size fits all" solution to file management, you will likely profit by using some of these file management tips, and by customizing them in a way that best serves your own needs.

Key Points

Are you losing too much time searching through the clutter on your computer for files that you need? And when you're under pressure, can you retrieve information quickly and easily?

Spending precious time looking for data can take the pleasure out of any kind of creative work you might be doing – and it adds to your stress levels as well. Simple tips on file management can show you how to get organized with your information storage and retrieval.

Making This Part of Your Life:
We know this is boring, but you know you need to do it!

Clear an hour in your schedule somewhere in the next 7 days, and set your filing system up!

文件归档的学问

不知道在你身上是否曾经发生过这样的情况：你的老板站在你的面前让你马上提交文件时，你却发现它不见了，坐在那里绝望的寻找；或者是为了找到现状报告不得不让客户在电话另一端的客户等上好几分钟。

如果你有过这样的经历的话，你就会体会到，尽管你平日里工作有条不紊，深受老板和客户的赞许，但就因为这个关键时刻的遭遇，他们会感到很失望。倘若你的工作是帮助别人的话，要是你需要的信息总是找不到，会浪费别人多少时间啊。

想象一下，当别人问起某事时，你微笑着，从容地打开一个非常有条理的文件编排系统，径直取出文件，快速给出答案。这真的令人映像深刻！你必须把它归功于高效的文件编排归档方法，不管这听起来有多么枯燥无趣。

节约时间

在一个典型的工作日里，我们往往要处理很多文件、报告、图表、还有一些其他文件。有洪水一般的数据从各个方向涌来等着我们处理，通常我们还要将这些数据保存起来稍后再提取出来。我们希望在需要的时候就能立即拿到这些数据能够，以便于作进一步分析或者是写总结报告或者是做演讲稿。

然而，实际情况往往是我们浪费自己的时间（很多时候也是别人的时间）四处寻找数据，而那个数据其实就在我们正用着的电脑里。这样的情况给我们带来了压力。使用数据变得麻烦得多。所以如果想要及时完成工作，我们必须找到更有效更系统的文件管理方法。

有效管理信息

当你从你的同事、卖方、顾客发来电子邮件里接收到一个文件时，很容易就想把它暂时放起来；心里还想：嗯，看起来蛮有意思的，等我有了时间我再来细细看。或者是更糟糕的，直接把邮件留在收件箱里。过了一会儿，这种邮件越积越多，越来越乱。你根本不可能之后抽出时间来返回去重新整理它们，更不用说当你工作计划繁忙，有很多其他有压力的事情的时候了。

你可能会花费很多宝贵的时间去找那些你已经归档的资料，因为你忘了文件的名字，甚至首先连它在你电脑里你都不知道。那么怎么能简化你的工作呢？改进一下文件管理方法吧。

高效的文件管理方法

管理你电脑里的文件跟你管理纸质文件的方式差不多。它的要点是：把文件装进分类的文件夹里，并且尽量以一种自己能明白的顺序。

下面提供几个关于处理文件的小技巧：

*不要保存不必要的文件。不要养成保存收件箱里所有东西的坏习惯。花一点时间浏览一下内容，只有了解到它跟你的工作有关时再保存。电脑里保存太多零碎文件将来找的时候会很不方便；而且它们还会影响电脑的运行速度。---所以保存文件之前先筛选一下。

*给你的文件和文件夹统一命名。例如：可以将文件夹分成“顾客”、“卖方”和“同事”三个子文件夹。在前面标上简写的名字用于区别它们隶属于不同的文件夹。还有，我们可以为不同的文件夹设置不同的外观使他们变得更容易区分。

*把有关的文件存在一起，而不去管他们的格式。举个例子：把与同一个项目有关的word文档、ppt、spreadsheet和图表放在一个文件夹里。而不是一个文件夹装所有的ppt，另一个装所有的spreadsheet等等。这样，找某个特定项目的各种附件将更加快捷。

*把在做的项目和已经完成的项目分开来。有些人偏向于把当前未完成的项目保存在桌面上。等项目做完了，再移到合适的地方去分类存放，然后再定期的（例如每周或者每两周）把那些不再需要的文件也按类别放到已完成文件夹里。

*不要让文件夹里装得太满。如果一个文件夹里装太多文件或者子文件夹，多到整个屏幕都显示不下，还要滚动鼠标滚轮才能看完全部条目---这时就应该把这个满满的文件夹分成几个小一点的子文件夹，列一个按修改时间顺序或者字母表顺序的清单，这样便于今后提取。比如：你可以把一个叫“business plan”的文件夹分成“BP2005”、“BP2006“和“BP2007”等子文件夹。同样假设你的一个客户叫Delta Traders，你就可以按照客户的姓名分成"Delta Traders sales presentations"和"Delta Traders contracts."这样的方式使子文件夹显得有条理，而不是一堆文件清单堆在一起。

说到这里，还有一个需要注意的小要点，如果子文件夹的文件少于五个的话，那你去点开层层的文件夹找到所需的文件可能节省不了多少时间。

*在你的计算机上安装google desktop。如果可以的话（有时信息部门不容许这样），在你的计算机上安装google desktop（可以在http://desktop.google.com上找到）。这个简洁的小软件建立一个桌面搜索引擎把你所有的文件和电子邮件都编进引索，这样你就能方便快速的找到它们了。当你需要找一些不容易被发现的文件时，尤其方便。

*记得备份你的文件归档系统。再强调一遍：这个听起来有点枯燥，但是很重要。所有坏过硬盘的人都可以证明！首先保证给计算机定期做备份，再给文档信息包括联系人都做备份。

按行动先后次序整理

利用这些更深入的方法定制你的文件归档系统。这有助于你分清工作优先级，提高效率。

*按日期整理文件。把文件夹按日期命名。这样可以帮你在不点开文件夹的情况下确定那个文件是最近的，例如：一个文件夹命名为”Guidelines 12Oct07“表明这个指导文件是2007年10月12号的。（如果你做跨国工作的，这个日期有时候写作121007，容易混淆！）

*很多人用版本号来区分不同改编过的文件。例如："Delta Traders contract v1"和 "Delta Traders contract v2."这样也可以帮助我们跟快的找出有用文件。

tips：如果你的文件是几个人共同管理的，你必须特别注意一下版本问题：如果把别人的版本弄混了或者弄丢了会很烦人

把版本号放在文件名一起的同时，还要把版本列表放在文件中表明版本号、版本日期、修改者，还有，如果有的话，修改类型也要标注。

*使用”记事本“文件。记事本文件，也就是所谓的”43文件夹“方案，是很多人用的一种独特的文件整理方式。建立12个文件夹（每个月一个）另加31个子文件夹（一天一个）。把每天要完成的工作放在相应的文件夹里。这样在每天开始的时候，打开那天所对应的文件夹，把文件全部放到桌面上或者放到“today”文件夹中。然后把空的文件夹移到下个月对应的位置。如果你又是一天不能完成当天的工作，那就把它放到明天对应的文件夹中。这个系统可以帮助你整理记录每天的任务，也可以作日记本用。

对于任何一个高效方便的文件归档系统来说，适合你是最重要的。在某种程度上它取决于你工作的性质。所以，没有一个万能的方法去做归档，你也可以根据这些小建议定制出一套适合自己的系统。

要点：

你是否经常因为在成堆的零碎文件里找资料而浪费很多时间？当面对压力时，你能不能很快找到你要的信息？

花费宝贵的时间找东西实在是让工作变得很无趣，也会给你带来很多压力。这些简单的关于文件归档整理的技巧

可以教会你如何整理信息并保存它们。

把它变成你生活的一部分：

我们知道这个很枯燥，但是你知道你必须这样做！

下周抽出一个小时时间，建立起一套适合你的文件归档系统吧！