Be Strategic in Managing Electronic Files

As it's easier to find what's need more quickly in electronic form, many paper files get scanned into laptops, desktops and mobile devices; yet, simply converting to electronic doesn't ensure the content is safe, secure and easily accessible whenever needed. That's where the cloud comes into play, and it's important to utilize cloud solutions how they'll best support your productivity.

So many of us talk about "the cloud", but how many really know what it entails? In October of 2017, CBS Sunday Morning gave an excellent overview of "the cloud", explaining how files are stored in huge, centralized buildings (known as data centers) from which computers and phones fetch what's needed from wherever at whatever time desired. Further, as David Pogue of Yahoo Finance reports, the cloud helps synchronize content between devices so all changes made on one are seen across anything connected almost immediately. As evidenced by the concrete barriers, armed guards, retina scanner, mantrap, nine password doors, storage redundancy across geographic locations and emphasized anonymity in CBS Sunday Morning's clip, businesses along with individuals rely on these data centers to safely maintain data security.

Offering speed, security, flexibility and savings, "the cloud" is here to stay so utilize it in whichever ways will help you the most. One way you probably capitalize on "the cloud" is manually choosing which files to upload for storage and sharing in an online file repository, like Amazon S3, Box, DEVONthink, Dropbox, eFileCabinet, Egnyte, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, SpiderOak or SugarSync. Another way to capitalize on "the cloud" is through an automated back-up of everything on your computer, including documents, program files as well as hard drive settings, and options for this functionality include Amazon Glacier, Backblaze, Carbonite, CrashPlan, IDrive along with Mozy.

Your online file repository is not the same as a cloud-based back-up solution. Yes, both of these protect you from the ill effects of hardware failure, natural disasters, ransomware and theft, but they do so for different types of content and offering varying levels of ease for accessing that content when needed. Whether you utilize Amazon S3, Box, DEVONthink, Dropbox, eFileCabinet, Egnyte, Google Drive, iCloud, SpiderOak or SugarSync as your online file repository, it does not alleviate your need to implement an automated, cloud back-up via Amazon Glacier, Backblaze, Carbonite, CrashPlan, IDrive or Mozy, too. While your choice for online file repository will focus on saving your documents to the cloud, syncing them across your device, enabling sharing for greater collaboration and making it easy to quickly access those uploaded contents, that's not enough; your choice for cloud back-up provides automatic, continuous and secure saving of everything on the hard drive of your laptop or desktop computer, which is worth it's weight in gold when your hard drive dies, is corrupted or gets damaged beyond repair. Create your account on the website of your chosen back-up solution, download the software to your computer, tell it what to back-up and, then, make sure your computer is connected to the Internet at least once each 24-hour window of time; all your data will be downloaded to the data centers and secured for restoration when it's needed.

How do you utilize "the cloud" to manage your electronic files? What is your preferred online file repository? How about your solution for automatic, cloud-based back-up? 

Back-To-School Helps Stock Your Office

Aah... It's that wonderful time of year when newspapers & TV ads start being flooded by back-to-school specials while inserts tout "huge savings" on office supplies. Although we're still about two and a half weeks away from North Carolina's annual tax-free weekend, during this ritual of back-to-school shopping, a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils could easily replace roses, carnations or tulips, and those of us in the business of organizing workspaces start to drool over great gadgets & gizmos that'll increase your efficiency with incredible savings. It's no coincidence I just wrapped up a public presentation of "Go From 'Where'd I Put That?' to 'Here's What I Need' In No Time Flat", where I was able to utilize props to represent many of those fabulous office supplies that help to quickly locate what you need when you need it. These days, there are so many fantastic options to equip your workspace!

When addressing your need for a functional filing system, the list of necessary office supplies will often start with a DYMO LetraTAG Labelmaker, which enables a mobile solution for easily adding labels to each file folder. Speaking of file folders, I recommend 1/3-cut file folders that are a darker color on the outside and a lighter color on the inside. Color drives behavior so having a task that you don't like too much in a color that you do like a bunch will make that particular task a lot less unbearable; then, having the inside be ligher than the outside will increase the odds that the piece of paper you are attempting to file actually ends up inside the file folder you had envisioned as its destination. As you start to assign homes to each item that must be filed, start with big categories; assign one color AND one tab position to each big category, trying to keep each file folder label general enough that you don't have too many folders but specific enough to provide a home for each item to be filed. For example, all far-left-tab, green folders might be for FINANCES while those individual folders include FINANCES - Budget as well as FINANCES - Reimbursements. Likewise, all middle-tab, yellow folders might be for CLIENTS while those individual folders might be CLIENTS - John Doe as well as CLIENTS - Jane Smith. What naming convention do you use for your files?

Meanwhile, as you continue taking advantage of back-to-school savings by stocking your office supplies, please keep in mind that square or rectangular boxes, baskets and bins provide excellent options for containing related, loose items, including accessories for your tech tools, but you may also want to consider Cocoon's GRID-IT accessory organizer. In addition, clipboards provide an option for client forms or event-related checklists, and document sleeves can help organize meeting agendas, travel documents and reference items, including instructions for company-wide tools or specifics for how you are able to use your business' logo.

Above all else, though, make sure to add an Inbox on or near the entry to your workspace. Giving those individuals bringing items to you a place in which those items can be placed will empower you with control over your workspace, enabling you to address each of those items when appropriate and minimizing distractions from the important work on which you are already working.

What tools do you have in your office that assist in quickly finding what need when you need it, knowing what you should be doing at any given time and getting more done in less time? Please share in the comments below.