Organizing Your Digital Workspace

How to Organize Your Digital Files

Why this works: Saving all of your files in one place makes it faster and easier to find what youʼre looking for.
How to do this: Pick a platform you like and that you can access easily, and stick with it. For instance, all Stanford students are given access to Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.

Why this works: Imagine if you had a big binder filled with important assignments and notes, but no binder tabs to help you organize it. A folder is the digital equivalent of a binder tab, helping you to locate the exact file youʼre looking for.
How to do this: Think about the types of digital files you generally use and what system you will use to organize them. For instance, you might create a folder for each quarter, which you can further organize by what courses youʼre taking.

Why this works: Having a system is great, but it only works if you use it. Taking a few seconds to put a file in the proper place now saves many minutes of searching for that file later on.
How to do this: The moment you get or create a new file, decide what folder it fits into and save it there. If it doesnʼt fit into any of the folders you created, determine if you need to create a new folder.

Why this works: Even the most organized people can sometimes get off track. Setting aside some time to go through your file system will help ensure it stays in order. Itʼs also a great opportunity to reflect on whether the system is still working for you.
How to do this: At the end of every quarter, go through your file system. If anything is out of place, put it in the right spot. Reflect on what was helpful about the system and what wasnʼt, so you can adjust accordingly for next quarter.

Why this works: Minimizing distractions is key to increasing your focus. Eliminating visual cues that are not directly related to what youʼre working on makes it easier to concentrate on the task at hand.
How to do this: Simply close the browser tab or window, or use the minimize button to hide it from view.

Why this works: Having large numbers of tabs open makes it much more difficult to find the right one. It can also impact your efficiency by slowing down your computer.
How to do this: If you have tabs open that you plan to access later, you can bookmark the important ones (ideally organizing them into folders if you have many), or use a tool like OneTab to help you keep track of them. If youʼre doing research, try using a research management tool like Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote. Another option is to use the multiple desktops feature on a Mac or PC to organize your windows by course or topic.

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Organizing Your Digital Workspace

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