Introduction
When you've got a lot on your plate and there's no time to waste, the last thing you want is for something to slow you down. If your network has grown and become more complex, then it can be a huge hassle keeping track of everything and locating things when you’ve got work to get done. We've all been there before: You're trying to complete some tasks but find yourself getting distracted because there are too many things going on at once.
Work is difficult enough on its own, there’s nothing worse than finally having the motivation to get some tasks completed, only to be derailed when you can’t find what you’re looking for. To help alleviate this problem and save time for yourself in the future, keep reading for some best practices on organizing your networks!
Organize the File Structure
A clear file structure helps you stay organized and find files quickly and easily. What you need is a folder hierarchy that makes sense to you and others who work in the organization.
Group things into numbered folders whenever possible. It's important to organize network files into folders this way because this gives you a better chance of finding what you're looking for later (and makes it easier to spot when someone else is accessing something they shouldn't be).
Don't put too many things in a single folder or your system will become less efficient. You might have noticed that when you file your papers, you can't just shove everything into one folder. The last time you tried to put all your papers in one folder, chances are it was a mess, and took forever to find what you were looking for. This same concept applies to organizing networks.
You should never put too many things in a single folder or your system will become inefficient and hard to use. Instead of having one big network with lots of files, keep things separate by creating multiple folders for projects and other content as needed.
When you're working on a project, it's easy to end up with dozens of files scattered across your computer. If you don't organize them effectively, your system will quickly become disorganized and difficult to navigate—and using those files will take longer than necessary! To avoid this situation, create folders within your main folder that are labeled by type (e.g., "documents" or "designs"). Within each of these folders should be individual subfolders that serve as further organizational breakdowns (e.g., within the "documents" folder would be one named "resumes," another named "articles," etc.). This way, when you want to find a specific file or two related documents (such as an article draft), they'll all be found in one place instead of strewn across multiple different locations on your computer's hard drive.
When naming your folders, use a consistent naming convention. For example, if all of your sales-related documents are stored in the same folder on the server, call that folder "Sales." If all of your logos are stored together in another folder on the server, name that folder "Logos", and so on. Keep in mind that consistency doesn't necessarily mean following a rigid rule—if there are exceptions or special circumstances where one rule doesn't apply, just note those cases clearly so everyone knows how to find things quickly when needed.
You may also find it useful to break out file groups that have to do with certain projects into a designated folder for each project. For example, if you are working for a client, you may want to have all information pertaining to that client (estimates, invoices, contracts, etc) in one place so team members working on one project can review them according to each job.
It doesn’t always make sense to file estimates with “all estimates”, invoices with “all invoices”, or contracts with “all contracts”, etc. If there’s a need to recall multiple files at once to be used together, perhaps they should be stored together in the same folder. Sure, putting each file in its corresponding folder helps you know exactly where it is, but you then have to go on a file gathering “expedition” to acquire what you need.
You must do what makes sense for your business and your workflows. The point is to make it easy for people to access the information they need to complete their work.
A file path is the shortest distance between A and B
Because you'll be building a large number of folders and quickly moving through your research, it's important that your file path is clear. The best way to do this is by using a standard template structure.
If you're creating a network diagram of an organization and its departments, the first level folder should be named Business Unit Name (if there are multiple business units within one organization). This means that all files related to each business unit will be in a single location. The second level folder can then be further divided into Division Name, then third, the Department Name, and so on and so forth (if applicable).
For example:
Organization Folder: ZZZ Corp
First Level Folder: ZZZ Corp/Triple Z Products
Second Level Folder: ZZZ Corp/Triple Z Products/Los Angeles
Third Level Folder: ZZZ Corp/Triple Z Products/Los Angeles/Accounting
A file path is crucial for speed when communicating the location of files to a colleague. You can save your team countless hours of aimless searching over time by copying and pasting file paths in SOPs, presentations, emails, instant messages, and other documents.
Files are moved to different folders from time to time, so what do you do when the file path leads to an empty folder? There’s a simple answer to that, but first, never delete old folders! It may be appropriate to rename them so they are no longer used, but don’t delete them. Here’s why:
Whoever moves files from one location to another should always create a new text document to leave behind as a breadcrumb. Within the text file, they simply write what files were relocated to where, and why, then paste in the new file path and save it. Anyone who uses the old file path in the future can simply open up the lonely text file and redirect themselves to the new folder.
Use a consistent file-naming format
Assuming you're using some type of digital storage system, like a hard drive or cloud service, it's important that you use the same file-naming conventions across all of your platforms and projects. Everyone in the organization should be trained in the company’s file naming convention and held accountable for its consistency.
You should also ensure you're consistent across all your computer systems. When naming files on different operating systems (e.g., Windows vs Mac), it's easy to make mistakes and accidentally name something different on each system. The easiest way to avoid this is by sticking with only one operating system when naming files so they are consistent across both platforms and across backups too!
If you have people naming files however they want, you end up with unsearchable names. Unlike folders, files will need dashes “-” or underscores “_” between words in order to be searchable. It's a word separator, and it also makes your documents easier to read.
It's also much easier for computers to parse through files with hyphens instead of spaces because they can easily detect where one word starts and another ends—something that would be difficult if there were multiple spaces between each letter (or word).
You can add and search prefixes like “INV” for invoices or “PEP” for proposals (if you use hyphens and underscores). You can create a list of prefixes for whatever files your organization needs, just be sure to share it in an easy-to-find place with the whole team.
Adding the given reference number after the prefix followed by an underscore and the date in YYYYMMDD format makes it really simple to find what you’re looking for without having to open every file on the network.
If you really want to take the naming convention to the next level, you can put yet another underscore (as a space following the date) and enter the customer or vendor’s name so there is a reference to which folder that file belongs.
If files are left in a “downloads” or “scan” folder, they can be quickly filed when they are discovered without issue because the name indicates they are out of place and what’s more, where they should go.
To this point, using the file naming convention suggestions from above, a file name for a contract with a firm called “Retail City” might look something like this:
CON123_20220101_Retail-City
This file name indicates it is indeed a contract with reference number “123” initially created on January 1, 2022, with Retail City.
Name files with version numbers
Version control is a problem in the digital age. Files are constantly being opened, overwritten and saved, renamed, moved, and deleted. To combat these problems, you can implement version numbers into your naming convention.
When naming files, you should use the version number in the filename. There are a couple of ways to do this, but the way we have found to be the most successful is by using decimals for unapproved drafts (v0.1, v0.2, v0.3), and whole numbers for approved versions (v1.0, v2.0, v3.0).
You might ask, “what if I am revising a previously approved version?” for instance, v2.0 needs some updates. The next number in your version control simply becomes v2.1 because it has not been approved. Once approved, v2.1 would be renamed v3.0 indicating it is an approved version. If v2.1 was not approved and requires more edits, you can copy the file and make v2.2 because it is the 2nd draft of changes. This leaves a version behind in case you need to retrace the previous one or undo something on the next round.
It is a good practice to create an “Archive” folder in each folder as needed to file previous versions. The current version should be the only version available outside of the archive to eliminate the possibility of people grabbing the wrong version. You should never delete your previous versions, you can simply make copies and rename them to retain integrity.
Now that we’ve talked about version control, let’s take our file name from above (CON123_20220101_Retail-City) and add a version number:
CON123_20220101_v1.0_Retail-City
The file name indicates it is an approved version of the contract referenced “123” originally created on January 1, 2022, for a firm called Retail City. You may notice the version is not placed at the end of the customer name in our example. You can put the version wherever works best for your team, but we have found that oftentimes having the version at the end gets cut off in the File Explorer window.
It is not recommended to update the date in the filename with each version as it reflects the original date the contract was created. If you need to see what changes were made, who made them, the date on which they took place, and who approved the changes, we recommend that information be reflected on the document itself in a revision table if applicable (this is most common in SOPs).
Conclusion
So, why is organizing networks important? It's worth the time you spend organizing initially to save time later, and to be able to find what you need when you need it.
The most obvious benefit of network organization is that it allows for faster access to resources making your life easier. In addition, if other users can more easily understand how a network is organized (and have access to different parts of it as needed), then this also saves them time and money by allowing them easier access. The net result is a win-win situation where everyone benefits from being able to use networks efficiently and effectively!
Keep in mind that organizing a network is not something you do once and then never have to think about again. It's an ongoing process that requires regular attention. If you follow our tips though, we promise you'll save time and make things easier for everyone on your team!
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