Summer Refresh: Organizing Your Digital World

Summer break provides a perfect opportunity for school communicators to reflect and refresh their file management habits. An organized file management system saves time, reduces stress, and improves productivity.

Master Your File Management Habits

To improve your file management, develop good habits during the summer break. Consistency is key to staying organized and stress-free throughout the school year.

Here are some tips to help you build good file management habits:

• Dedicate a few minutes daily to manage your files.
• Organize, archive, and delete files from your desktop and drive.
• Create a folder structure that makes sense for your needs — then stick to it.
• Whether it’s organizing files by school year and month, or by tactic such as website, social media, or e-newsletter, consistency is crucial.

Andrew Hagen, Integrated Communications Coordinator at CEL, loves organization and a good color-coding system. “Consistently dedicating a few minutes daily to manage your files will help you stay organized and prevent clutter from accumulating in your file system,” he says. “This, in turn, will improve your efficiency and reduce stress. Take 5 minutes a day to reduce digital clutter—close tabs, update bookmarks, rename files, move them off your desktop, etc.”

Use Clear File Naming Conventions

To improve your file management, develop a consistent and descriptive naming convention that works for your organization.

Princeton University Records Management recommends:

• Vocabulary – choose a standard vocabulary for file names so that everyone uses a common language.
• Punctuation – decide on conventions for if and when to use punctuation symbols, capitals, hyphens and spaces.
• Dates – agree on a logical use of dates so that they display chronologically e.g., YYYYMMDD (this is the ISO standard date format).
• Order – confirm which element should go first, so that files on the same theme are listed together and can therefore be found easily.
• Numbers – specify the number of digits that will be used in numbering so that files are listed numerically (for example, 01 or 001)

Using the year at the folder level rather than the file makes it easier to sort by year. If you are going to include the year, include it in the project names.

The use of underscores and lowercase letters in file names improves readability and makes it easier to distinguish between words.

Including project names and versions in the file names helps to identify the purpose and status of the file at a glance.

These file naming conventions are bad because they are not descriptive enough, making it difficult to know what the files contain without opening them.

The use of abbreviations and shortened words can also make it confusing and unclear.

The lack of consistency in capitalization, spacing, and punctuation can lead to wasted time trying to locate the correct file and can cause confusion and errors when collaborating with others.

Anna Ingemann, Graphic Designer at CEL, creates thousands of design files a year, so a well-thought-out naming convention is important to her. “Using clear and standardized naming conventions for files will help you and your team stay organized and find important files quickly,” she says. “This will ultimately save you time and help you avoid the frustration of searching through cluttered files.”

Streamline Workflows with Project Management Tools

Collaboration tools can be a game-changer when it comes to managing projects and tasks more efficiently. These tools can help you assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress, making it easier to ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards common goals.

Project management tools like Asana, Smartsheet, Trello, Monday or Wrike offer additional collaboration features, such as comments and file sharing, that allow you to communicate with your team and share important files in one central location. Project Management tools streamline workflows, improve team communication, and boost productivity.

If you’re looking to use collaboration tools in your school’s communications or marketing efforts, start by identifying your needs and requirements. Consider factors such as the size of your team, the complexity of your projects, and your budget when selecting a tool that works for you.

Quick Tips for Project Management:

• Assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Use collaboration features, such as comments and file sharing, to communicate with your team and share important files.
• Use dashboards to gain a quick snapshot of multiple projects and tasks. Dashboards can help you prioritize your work, track progress, and ensure you’re meeting your communications and marketing goals.

It’s also important to provide training to your staff to ensure they understand how to effectively use the tool you select. Training maximizes the benefits of collaboration tools and improves the success of your projects.

Backup Your Important Files

Data loss can be a nightmare for school communicators and public relations professionals. Losing critical documents or designs can lead to wasted time, missed deadlines, and lost opportunities. That’s why it’s crucial to have a solid backup strategy in place to protect your files.

Here are some tips to help you avoid data loss and keep your important files safe:

• Regularly back up your important files to avoid data loss.
• Use cloud storage services, external hard drives, or other backup solutions that meet your school’s data retention policies.

Consider using cloud storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Adobe, or OneDrive to back up your important files. These services offer automatic syncing, so your files are always up to date, and they allow you to access your files from anywhere.

You can also use external hard drives to create a local backup of your files. Make sure to test your backups periodically to ensure they are working correctly and that you can easily restore your files if needed.

It’s also important to consider your school’s data retention policies when selecting a backup solution. Some schools may require that data be stored on-premises or within a specific geographic region. Talk with your technology team to learn about your school’s policies and choose a backup solution that meets those requirements.

Transform Your Workflow with Cloud Storage

Cloud storage services are a great way to store important files and collaborate with others easily, providing the following benefits:

• Accessibility: You can access your files from any device, making it easy to work from home or on the go.
• Collaboration: You can share files with others and collaborate in real-time, even when you’re not in the same location.
• Version control: You can easily revert to previous versions of a file if needed.
• Data sharing and security policies: Choose tools that meet your school’s requirements for data sharing and security policies.

Building Habits Takes Practice

It usually takes 21 days of practice to change behavior and establish good habits. So, summer is the perfect time to develop good file management habits and impact your productivity all school year. Remember to dedicate a few minutes daily to manage your files, use a clear file naming convention, back up your important files, and streamline your workflows with project management tools.

Don’t wait until the chaos of the school year begins to get organized. Start now and take control of your files and workflows. By establishing good habits, you can increase your efficiency and reduce stress throughout the year.

Published on: May 24, 2023