March 5th - 2006

WIRED OFFICE: Do some virtual spring cleaning

Getting organized is listed as one of the top New Year’s resolutions.

Getting organized is listed as one of the top New Year’s resolutions. That usually means clearing out the piles of clutter accumulated in our homes and offices all year long and putting everything in its place.

But what about the virtual clutter – those computer files and e-mails? Electronic files on your computer take up valuable space on your hard drive, and can be organized just like paper files. By creating a simple filing system for your virtual desktop, you can be as organized on your computer as you are in the rest of your office.

Organize your desktop
Start by creating new folders for the main categories. Some examples include: clients, leads, taxes, stats, professional development, favourite Web sites, reading list, entertainment, and so on. If you work from a home office, it’s wise to keep business and personal files in separate folders.

The hardest part of organizing your electronic files is getting into the habit of using folders. After you create or download a new document onto your hard drive, don't save it in the default drive. Take the time to file it in the folder you've created. Depending on the subject, you may want to create folders and subfolders. Often after completing a document, we move on and forget about it, then can't possibly locate it later. If you get in the habit of creating sub-files within your main files, and assign a descriptive name to them, you can easily find your documents.

Your favourite Web sites that you have book-marked in your Internet browser can be filed in the same way. It may take additional time while you are surfing the net, but it can save time when searching for that important Web site later.

E-mail organization
Use filters to categorize and sort your incoming messages. For example: to delete spam or adult material, turn on the junk mail or adult filter in your e-mail program. (You will need to refer to your user's manual or online Help section of the e-mail program you use for more detail or check with your ISP– some provide anti-spam programs.) Next, create rules for other incoming mail categories such as “take action”, “read” or “file.” This saves so much time in reading your daily e-mails because the first step in organizing has been done automatically and most of your messages are already sorted for you.

Daily maintenance
Create folders within your e-mail program just as you have on your desktop (both virtual and physical). Organize them the way you classify things and if you can't remember things easily, then make lots of subfolders and mark them clearly. If you have an excellent memory for detail, then make just a few folders to catch all your mail. You can even make folders for each client or person on your mailing list. As you finish reading your incoming messages, file them in the appropriate folder: trash, client, follow-up, mailing list and so on. Consider purging your deleted items folder on a daily basis to free up the clutter. There's not much use looking at all those messages you have no intention of reading.

Reducing virtual clutter in your computer is just as important as keeping your physical office clutter-free. If you make the effort to get organized, you'll spend less time searching, more time producing, and won't dread wading through messages and documents to get to what you need.

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