How to organize your project files

Written by Julia Gralki. Photo Courtesy of Envato Elements.

As students and designers, we all have had the experience that keeping computer files organized can be quite a chore. Your files are all over the place by midterms, and you can’t tell a draft from a final project.

Here are some tips to keep your project files organized to prevent that from happening when we kick off the next school year in the fall.

Choose your organization system

There are three common ways to structure your digital files: project, date and file type-based. While neither is perfect or should be used in singularity, you can combine them for maximum effect.

For example, you could group your school-related files by year, quarter and class. From there, you can create different folders for each project. This approach includes both the project- and date-based filing system.

Project-based

The project-based approach is probably the easiest to maintain. Every project gets its own folder home to all relevant files and documents for a project.

This system doesn’t require much thinking or searching because files can easily be attributed to one specific folder. Only if you have many general files belonging to multiple projects, the project-based system might reach its limits. However, by creating a project folder named “General files,” you can easily solve that problem.

Date-based

If you choose a date-based structure, you would have a folder for each year and a subfolder for each month (or quarter or semester). If you have many files to work with, you could even create subfolders for each week.

The great thing about the date-based system is that it helps you find files from a specific period. That’s why it works best if you have the same tasks regularly.

However, a date-based structure only makes sense if you have many files tied to a specific period. It also doesn’t work if you work on the same file over an extended period of time.

File type-based

Despite its name, the file type-based system doesn’t strictly refer to the computer file type. Instead, you can also name folders after the type of work they are used for. For example, if you are a writer and photographer, you could name your folders “photography” and “writing.” Within each folder, you add all the files that fit those categories.

The file type-based structure works best if you don’t have many files to work with. You can also combine that approach with project- or date-based structures.

How to organize your digital files

Now that you have chosen an organization system that works best for you, here are some tips on organizing your files.

Skip the desktop

Never store your files on the desktop to save yourself from a messy and cluttered desktop. Like that, you should never let your files sit in the download folder.

Choose a root folder for all documents

The best place to store your files is the default location for documents, for example, the “Documents” folder on Windows.

When you are collaborating with teammates, you can do the same. Create a “root” folder and give it a clear name. Having a single location for all relevant documents makes it a lot easier to find the files you need.

Create folders within folders

Create folders within your main folders. For example, create folders for each class within the folder for each quarter. Instead of having a bunch of unorganized files, you’ll make it a lot easier for yourself to find the files you need. On the other hand, too many folders could also make your documents folder cluttered.

File your documents immediately

Once you create a file, hit the “Save As” button and file your document in the right place.

Clear out old files

Sometimes the best way to unclutter your computer is to clear out old files. However, be careful with business or tax-related files. Only delete them if you are absolutely sure that you won’t need them again. If uncertain, you can create a folder named “Old” or “Archive.”