Recently I have been doing some digital housecleaning in an effort to regain control of the files that have built up on my Desktop, in my Documents folder, and in other assorted digital sinkholes.   As a result, I have made some simple changes to how I name my files that are already saving me time and have given me a new found peace of mind that I can quickly find what I am looking for on my computer.

When I started this mini-clean up project it quickly became apparent to me that as a result of poor file naming conventions,  it was increasingly difficult for me to decide which files to keep and which to delete.  I was spending far too much time in Quick Look or opening up a file’s associated application in order to identify its contents.

To give you a little color, here’s a sampling of some of the worst filenames that I came across in my Documents folder and on my Desktop:

• scan0007.jpg
• tg357ee8.tiff
• tg319c00.tiff
• Picture 1
• Feb2008Master (2)(1).xls
• notes.txt
• Workbook1.xls
• Workbook3.xls
• Untitled.doc
• SMBMG9885.pdf
• file.xls
• file-1.xls
• something.pdf
• Scanned Article.pdf

Ugh!  Ugly isn’t it?  How could you expect to know what any of these files represent without ESP?

These are the new guidelines I’ve developed for how I name files, and I am happy to say they have already started to pay dividends:

1.  When you name a file, the filename should stand on its own. Even with all the magic of a Spotlight or Google Desktop, it is tough to trump a well-organized folder and file system.  Files named as poorly the ones above – or even with somewhat ambiguous names (i.e. budget.xls), mean just one thing — you are going to waste time.

The simple test I would suggest when you pick a filename is to imagine that someone else is using your computer and reads the filename with no prior knowledge of what it is.   If that person cannot have a reasonable idea of what they are going to open from the name itself, then the filename is too obscure, complicated or obtuse.

Think about it.  What works better: a file named “budget.xls” or “East Coast Sales Team Budget – 2009.xls”?

2.  Use spaces in your filenames.

I am amazed at the number of people who still resist using spaces in filenames.   The 8.3 format for naming files went out in the early days of Windows, yet at times you would never know it.  Unless you are a web developer or network engineer and have a need for a file name with no spaces (such as a web page), this is part of making your filename readable and usable.

Macs and Windows have allowed spaces and long filenames for over 10 years now.  Use them.

3.  Decide on a standard date format for your filenames and stick to it.

When I was reviewing my documents, I realized that just about every filename used a different format to express dates.  Sometimes I saw a YYMMDD format, other times it would be Month – Year; while some dates would have dashes, others would not.  It was all over the place.  My recommendation?  It doesn’t matter as long as you pick a format for dates and stick to it.

Here’s what I am doing now:

• If I am putting a specific date in the file, I use (YYYY-MM-DD) format.  For example:  Staff Meeting Minutes (2009-01-18).doc
• If I have a document that is based on a month, I will use YYYY-MM, i.e. Staff Meeting Minutes (2009-01).doc; one that is based on a quarter – YYYY-QQ, i.e. Staff Meeting Minutes (2009-Q1).doc.
• I put dates at the end of the file name and not the beginning purely based on my sorting preferences.  I know that I am more likely to want to see groups of files with common topics first, and then dates second; rather than the opposite sort.
• The reason I use YYYY-MM-DD and not MM-DD-YYYY is similar.  I prefer to see groupings by year, month, and then date.  I don’t want to see January documents from one year intermingled with January documents from another year.
• What about the dashes between year, month, and day? That is purely visual.  I think 2009-01-19 is easier to read than 20090119.

4.  Always rename files you receive from other people into your format.

In my bad filenames list above, most of the worst files came from systems (i.e. tg319c00.tiff above comes from an e-fax program) or people (I have lost count of the number of workbook1.xls or book1.xls files I have gotten from co-workers or colleagues).

Now, I rename every attachment or download when I save it to my hard drive using my file naming rules above.  This alone has dramatically cleaned up the clutter.

So where does this leave me now?  Am I fervently going through every document folder on my hard drive and renaming every file?  No –  I do not have the time to do that.  However, I have applied these concepts on a go-forward basis, and I have found them to already have a big impact on getting things done a lot more efficiently.

A final point is that half the battle in staying organized is to only keep files on your hard drive that you want to archive, and establish a workflow to flush any files that are temporary in nature.  With that said, I highly recommend you read Five Steps to a Kinkless Desktop by Ethan Schoonover.  This is a great series of articles which explains a common-sense and GTD-esque method for setting up inboxes and holding areas for your files in order to maintain a clean and clutter-free desktop.  I implemented many of the concepts, and put simply, they have made a huge impact to regaining control of my file system.

I hope these tips are  helpful to you!  If you have any other related thoughts or ideas, I would love to hear about them.  Please share them in the comments below!

Tagged as: file management