Most of my November and December 2009 have consisted of organizing files on my computer. Two months straight of clicking, dragging, and renaming files. (See my previous blog on tendonitis.) Why did I need so much time? I don't think I have anything short of
a million files. I tend to keep everything, and I generate new ideas almost every day. These ideas may be sound files - me strumming chords into a computer, notation/midi, garageband, etc. They may be text files - lyrics, to do lists, research, teaching documents. I've got tons of pictures and images. My goal was to be able to find anything instantly. I'm sort of close to getting there,
a lot closer than before. Here's a run-through of how I'm staying organized now.
First of all, I have a mac, and it's much more conducive to staying organized than a PC. (Those things turn into cluttered messes very easily.) I no longer keep anything on my desktop except for three aliases: my "documents" folder, my "DEC" folder, and my "to organize" folder. (I also put these 3 folders onto my dock for instant access.) I don't keep anything but the "DEC" folder in the documents folder, because various programs tend to clutter it up with nonsense.
The "DEC" folder is my main folder, and no loose documents are allowed in it. Here my main prefix system comes into play. Each folder is naturally organized alphabetically, and I have some folders which I always want at the top, so they get a - or a 0 beforehand, sometimes a -0. These 0 docs at the top are aliases for my most used folders and documents, about 5 things. The next prefix is DEC, which are my initials, and any folder with that prefix contains original thought or things that pertain to organizing my life. The next prefix is "To" for action folders: ToBurn, ToBackup, ToDo, Etc. ToOrganize is my most important folder, and I actually have an alias in the same folder that puts a "Z" prefix so that this folder is always at the bottom. ToOrganize is my main inbox/outbox for hot files that I'm working with. Within the folder are temporary storage places, a folder called "ToMove" and other such things.
This biggest challenge I have faced for many years is how to keep my compositions organized. I have decided that keeping stuff organized by year (starting in 1997) and in my unfinished compositions folder, each year gets its own folder. I have a bunch of various sound-creation programs, Logic, Garageband, Sibelius, Audacity, ProTools, etc, all of which are used for different sorts of idea generation. Each main program that I use gets a folder with a "1" prefix. So within each year folder, you'll see folders that look like this: 1-Garageband, 1-Logic, 1-Audacity, etc. Many files are in these folders and don't go much further. Once I begin to combine files, they leave their respective program folders and move into a "multiple file" folder, and this usually indicates that I'm taking this song more seriously. There are other folders within the year, like collaboration projects and practice sessions I've recorded.
Finally, I need to mention Spotlight, Quicksilver, Voodoopad, and Butler. Spotlight comes with the mac and is the instant way to search your mac by hitting Cmd+Space. I've downloaded two other free programs with immensely increase productivity, file navigation, and launch applications. Butler occupies Ctrl+Space and Quicksilver occupies Alt+Space, giving me 3 different tools at my instant command. Finally, Voodoopad allows you to create documents that easily link to themselves in a wikipedia-style way. I really really really recommend these programs for anyone who needs to navigate quickly and efficiently through their computers.
So, in conclusion, clean up your desktop. Stay organized with folders and date them. Find out how you work and make an individual work flow. Clutter is inevitable - try to keep it in one place and organize it frequently. Always remember to backup your computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(click on a number to check out a link!!!!!!)
Desktop Organization Links:
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Butler:
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Voodoopad:
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Quicksilver:
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http://scraggo.blogspot.com/
