By Dee Jones
Don’t want to spend precious free time organizing the files on your computer?
Well, according to some folks, you don’t have to. Not if you have a decent search function on your computer.
It’s true. There are people out there who don’t make any real effort to organize their digital files. Instead, they let most of their files end up wherever they end up. And, when they need to find a specific file, they just use their computer’s search function.
If you don’t enjoy organizing the files on your computer, relying on search might sound pretty appealing. But it’s not without its drawbacks.
Luckily, these five tips can help you avoid some of the pitfalls.
Give Your Files Logical Names
When creating a file, give it a name you would logically to find it using a search. And do the same with the files you download. Otherwise, finding a file using search will be a lot harder, if not impossible.
Use Macro Category Folders
If the thought of having computer files scattered all over the place gives you the willies, but you’d still like to try this “non organization” method, create *macro category folders* for your files. You can have a folder for the ebooks you download, image files, computer programs, videos, or anything else you can think of. You can even throw all of your media files (videos, pictures, music files, etc.) into one folder called *Media Archive.*
This way, if you want to look for a file the old fashioned way, you at least know what folder to look in.
Learn Your Computer’s Search Function
If your computer has a reasonably good search function, doing a basic search will usually be enough to find a file. But knowing a few tricks can help you find it faster.
For example, if you know how to refine your search by file type, your computer will only look at those types of files when doing a search, which will shave some time off of how long it takes to find the file. True, it might only save you a minute or two, but those minutes can add up.
Use 3rd Party Search Software
I’ve been on computers where it could take ten minutes, or more, to find a file using the search function. If that’s the case with your computer, consider using a 3rd party search program. You can find plenty of good ones for free, and one of them might help you find files much faster than your computer’s native search function does.
It’s Okay to Do a Little Organizing
There are some files you won’t want to throw into the ether of your computer’s hard drive. Files for a current project, for example. Or important financial documents. Or the backups from various computer programs.
Create a few folders for files you need to be able to find quickly, can’t afford to lose, or don’t want to lose track of.
For some people, there are few things more boring than trying to keep the files on their computer organized. If you’re one of those people, the good news is there’s an alternative to trying to organize those digital files. With these tips, you’ll be able to find what you need when you need it with a quick search.
How do you keep the files on your computer organized? Or have you abandoned trying to organize your files in favor of using the search function?
