How to Select the Right Categories in Organizing Your Information

How to Select the Right Categories in Organizing Your Information

Managing information is about creating convenient categories. When you are organizing your documents or files you have to place them in groups that you can easily remember. Overly complex category schemes are impractical for rapid use. When the pressure is on or when you have to find something in a pinch simplicity is crucial.

Keeping things simple is not such an easy task. You have to fight for simplicity. It's very easy to allow your organizational system to balloon and sprawl into many disjointed categories. Simplicity is difficult because it challenges you to be succinct and efficient. 

Create categories of convenience

Align the categories that you organize your information around with the different activities of your life. This will help ensure your knowledge organization systems are simple and easy to use. 

Create categories based upon major activities. Examples bill payments, contacting, project proposals, marketing.

Of course as the context and activities in your life change so will your organizational scheme. Whether you are using Google Drive, OneNote or a physical file cabinet the categories you create in the form of folders or metadata tags should align with life activities.

Context, context, context is everything

Ok, so it's important to note that there is no "one size fits all "organizational scheme. The context of your life will drive the way you think,, organize and seek to retrieve information.

The more your system aligns with these realities, the easier it is to use. When you achieve life/ system alignment you will achieve an intuitive organizational design. Your life's cues will reinforce your system.