The Ultimate Guide to File Organization: 5 Systems You Must Know

[@JARatelle]

I'm blown away - your method of presenting data may not be right for everyone, but for me, this was one of the best videos introducing productivity systems and file organization methods that I have watched. I have subscribed and I truly look forward to watching more of your content. Great job.

[@kc123photo123]

I finally landed on a different system. A series of folders A thru Z. Everything is one or two steps away from the root. >T\Taxes\2022 or >M\Medical. I also have two other folders at the top level: _Pictures and _Monthly. For the monthly folder I have a folder for each year and then each month. I put all my receipts and bills and other random stuff.

[@jennifersharp3738]

Did you do a video on this? I think I watched a video and have been trying to find it again.

[@HarryOrenstein]

Thanks. FLAT FILE approach is what I have developed with a simple file naming convention. If say it is, at first glance, required for geographic area-wide "research" it would have [country] or [city/town] or [region] prefix. If it is time-related [century] or [year(s)]. If it is [personality] or [map] or [object] etc. I use that prefix. I also use combinations. I also create a file tag {'r} if I can find it in a specific software database or {`k} or {~g} in say another - the bracket indicates that it is a specific location - the symbol prefix ' ` or ~ helps to group the file locations and speed search.

[@VisualPKM]

It's amazing what you can pack into a filename. Some, like Niklas Luhmann has taken it to extremes (kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaWulph6jqaSaKs). I use folders in a similar way as you use prefixes. When I create a new file I write out the path. e.g. I would write [[People/Harry Orenstein]] or [[Work/Company/Projects/my fun new project]]. Incidentally if I were to click this link, this will create a new file in the folder specified, but for me the ontology implied by the path is more important. Obsidian does a good job of finding files when I start typing following a "[[", thus this approach works well in Obsidian. In a windows file system, listing folder trees and sorting / filtering all files within a subtree is not so straight forward, in that situation a flat file structure is definitely better.

[@HarryOrenstein]

@@VisualPKM I do not use Roam or Obsidian anymore 'though I still pay subscription to Roam (you have reminded me to cancel it). I need Atomic notes and for this I have used and use Napkin and Google Keep. Both are fit for purpose and, to my mind, Google Keep is the unsung hero of PKM because it is fully integrated into the Google Universe and each Google Keep note has a unique path (identifier) and can combine images and (unformatted) text (and links to other files or resources not integrated into Keep - like MP4s). Napkin is virtually the only Atomic Note PKM built for review - with all other products your digital knowledge is just that - gathering digital dust until you retrieve it from your digital archive!

[@uchungnguyen1474]

This is how i manage my files. I created a note with whatever topics with Dailynote as quick note. After getting more informations about that topic and i gonna review and reorganize my notes in my flat zettelkasten (my attachments stored in flat system also). I tend to use 4 til 5 Tags for my final note so and can search it quick. My final note is act as a moc which link to specific notes. I am quite happy with this system.

[@VisualPKM]

you use 4-5 tags per topic, or you have 4-5 tags in total?

[@uchungnguyen1474]

@@VisualPKM per note so i can easyly abtract my thinking.

[@aurorelafougere1085]

Your videos are fantastic ! I'm in the process of reorganising my PKM with 30 years of notes/files/documents. Your videos are so helpfull. THANK YOU !!

[@ilkyway5854]

This is a wonderful oberview of these organisation systems. I love your pick and choose approach for taking the bests part from each system. Thank you!

[@srizal]

I have tried several methods. Each method has taken countless hours to learn. Until I finally realized that all of these methods were used to manage notes. As far as I can remember, I never once bought a new notebook during school unless it was lost. In other words, I didn't learn much. Now these methods actually force me to learn new things; and I'm very happy with that.

[@sanzharedu]

Zsolt, thanks for these videos! Been watching you for a while now. Your series of videos on PKM helped me understand the uses and limitations of the so-called "toolbox". Really appreciate the insights, structured analysis, and concrete examples in each video.

[@peetung]

I can't wait to hear about your own approach Zsolt! Great video!

[@AFGautonompunk]

astonishing knowledge and reflections. i'm very grateful for you to be so keen on sharing / teaching what i would not have the time to optimise myself, yet still want to make use of in depth. thanks once more

[@beraldialessandro]

Thank you! It's very important to organizer. I use some similar to a mix between PARA and ACESS. Your videos are inspiring me to review PKM estrategies.

[@wolf810]

An excellent, clear presentation of the several methods of organizing knowledge. Congratulations!

[@ThinKtakeNotes]

Love this video. great job. listened to it a few times and saved for future listening. Love hearing about study and note taking systems as I try to find more ways to retain and gain more knowledge.

[@jimgrant1776]

Zsolt - Excellent job presenting the 5 organizational methods. However, I would have to believe that beginners, novices, and probably a lot of intermediate users of note taking systems would find those methods overly complicated, difficult to understand, and dependent on unclear concepts such as areas, categories, indexes, etc. I believe that all people relate to objects/topics (like Art, Entertainment, Equipment / Parts, Family, Food, Investing, Medical, Politics, etc.). I always recommend to users of note taking systems that they initially build their system around folders, each of which is an object / topic. After creating perhaps 300 notes, then people can start adding “meta” data (commonly called “tags”) to their notes. Here are some examples of types of tags: Type of Note (Article, instructions, invoice, map, receipt, etc.) Status (Planned, Active, Completed, etc.) Locations (San Diego, Home, Farm, Ohio, etc.) Sources (Email, boss, teacher, Internet, etc.) Retentions (DeleteAfter2023Q2, DeleteAfter2023Q3, DeleteAfter2023312023, etc.) I hope you feel these thoughts are useful.

[@VisualPKM]

I fully agree that one size does not fit all. When you have few files to manage, anything works. Using objects/topics to organize is indeed the most natural approach. The good thing with today's tools is they provide the flexibility to evolve your system as the number of documents increase.

[@randalfmajere7239]

I am trying to set up my sistems (I keep job and personal separate) and what I struggle the most with is how to combine folders structure with tags/metadata/labes. I have to use a dimension/variable for folder filing, leaving all the other "dimensions" on the tags. I know the folder is unique/exclusive for a note, while tags may be different on the same notes... but I can't figure this out.

[@jimgrant1776]

@@randalfmajere7239 Can you clarify? What do you mean by "dimension/variable"? You say, "I know the folder is unique/exclusive for a note." How does a "note" relate to a "folder" in your mind/system? A note/comment can be added to a specific file (or each file). Can you provide an example for further discussion?

[@randalfmajere7239]

@@jimgrant1776 hi Jim and thx for your quick reply. I am at the beginning of my sistems: a task manager sys for my job and a PKM for my personal. At the beginning of my research I only knew folder-based filing system, then I came across Lucas Prigge explaining Tick Tick app as task manager (ToDoist syle) and discovered the power of tags/links (a query of 2 sec to know, for example: what tasks that are ready to be worked, can I do now that I am at home, in 15minutes I have?). Now: I am trying to setup Microsoft ToDo as my job task manager mixing foders (to put tasks in) and hashtags to label these tasks... but I cannot figure out how to mix them. Parameter or dimensions may be: client/customer, project-type, project-status-progress, time-consuming, ready-to-be-processed (NextAction in GTD) or waiting.... for which category/dimension should I use folders? For which shoud I use tags/labels?

[@DebLegFr]

I don't know how I'd rate my current system (I know where most things are, but they're hard to retrieve, and when I do I rediscover things that could have been useful if I'd remembered I had them) but I know it needs a complete rework! I got interested in obsidian (and related explanatory videos) a few months ago, and discovered the JD-system, which combined in a similar way than you do (picking from each idea) feels like what would most fit the way my brain works. Thank you for gathering all this information in one place, the way you explain the different systems helps visualising which parts of each concept are most relevant to the file sorting someone is trying to (re)organise, I'll be using this video as a reference while building my (upcoming) folder system!

[@mageprometheus]

Thanks Zsolt. A great presentation. I will be taking a look at the folder note plugin.

[@VisualPKM]

I've also added a script to the script library to convert an Excalidraw drawing into a folder note.

[@Mr.clemclem]

Dude, your content is AWESOME ! 😍😍

[@directorserge]

Thank you for this exploration. I am trying to organize my Obsidian now and it's very precious to me. Thank you for taking time and research and telling about it!

[@superAweber]

6:50 You can't beat examples. Thanks for that.

[@albertjans]

Very thorough presentation. Definitely gave a of food for thought in considering the best filing system for me

[@apristinemadani]

Great Video ! Thank you so much for helping everyone learn more about the process of File Management and finding our data!

[@abogaux]

I have looked for an explanation so good like this, thanks you helped me learn a lot

[@michaelsmith9102]

You do a great job of explaining things clearly and concisely. The visual aids are very well done.

[@calitaoquendo]

Hi, your work is definitely remarkable. Thank you so much for sharing this illustrated summary of this book. I'm working on my PKM, and it has been really hard for me to choose the right organization method, but I already found your channel, and your videos have blown my mind! Thank you. I hope to join a cohort soon. Best regards from Ecuador.

[@TheBigMaxYT]

The decimal system is GREAT for old-fashioned coders!

[@ChrisKunicki]

Brilliant as always!

[@stefanmarinca8472]

Thank you so much for your video!

[@asafnb]

Thanks a lot, you give a lot of value and help me improve my vault. 🙏

[@PlatoCave]

Much appreciated to have shared your knowledge.

[@toanao1894]

Wow; ur video is far far beyond helpful. Tks for sharing this

[@philiphimmelstein9510]

Zsolt, the clarity of your videos is much appreciated! I tried Obsidian a year or so ago but couldn't get it to work for me, but with a better conceptual understanding of PKM I feel ready to give it another go. I was wondering if you could point me toward resources or help me better understand the pros and cons of the Jonny Decimal system vs topic based Zettelkasten? I'm fully on board with the need for a numeric identifier but I'm having trouble choosing between the two systems. I like the idea of cross system identifiers and a flat file system but also see the value in the sort of 'organic growth' of a slip box. Wondering if there's any way to build for the best of both worlds. Thank you in advance, love the content!

[@SnowyOwlPrepper]

I like this video. First time here and will explore more.

[@Grunfeld]

Thank you. Well explained and helpful perspective.

[@asstrole]

Holy shit your channel is phenomenal. Jam packed with succinct info. So grateful! Thank you

[@randalfmajere7239]

Hi Zsolt, I stumbled upon your video and fell in love for your topics and your (visual) style, so I will go through many of you videos to grab the most I can, be patient! 😉

[@Jaybearno]

Thanks for the thought provoking video. I’ve been using PARA but was curious about the others. After watching, I feel more certain that it’s right for me. Something I’d point out in case it’s not obvious- while these systems achieve similar outcomes in different ways, folders are unique because they are the most relevant for using external tools-e.g, bulk renaming, editing metadata, or looking at version control history (if you are that detailed) can all be made more convenient by working with a folder structure.

[@michaeleaston547]

Excellent 👍. Thank you.

[@yongminkim3187]

Very Helpful!

[@GravityColoy]

Great video. I think PARA can be a good system for organizing files on a PC. I never liked the file type first approach given by Windows, since it almost never happens that you work just with images or just with documents. Sorting by Project, Area and Resources seems way more intuitive and could actually mirror your workflow. For a file management system, I would probably ditch the archive folder. That is just unnecessary work. For my Notes, I settled on a Zettelkasten system. I think it gives the most freedom, not having to think about in which folder a note belongs before I've even written anything. One idea I got from another video was using links not only as links, but also as tags. This way, you can easily convert a tag into a MOC. With dataview it's just a matter of listing all the inlinks the "tag"note has. In this case I think less is more. Using folders, links and tags to organize notes can easily become a mess.

[@VisualPKM]

Thanks for sharing! I think Tiago's idea with the Archive folder is to combine his active project list and his project folder into one. In other words, he does not have a separate active projects list like suggested in GTD by David Allen, but by regularly archiving projects Tiago aims to keep only his active projects in his projects folder. For me having a list is less friction than moving files from Projects to Archives (this causes issues not only with project subfolders that I exclude from Obsidian Sync and would need to reconfigure sync when I move the folder, but also with projects synced from GitHub and others). Moving folders from place to place has all sorts of unintended consequences. As for using links as tags, what you are saying matches the Roam Research design. In Roam tag vs. link is just a stylistic difference, in the end everything is a link. In my own system I use tags to typify documents, i.e. the tag drive the template I use (a person, a book, a video, a meeting note, etc.). I don't use tags to signal workflow state. And I have a similar approach to Zettelkasten. All my ZK notes are in my ZK folder - flat.

[@yohanesliong4818]

Thank you for making the video!

[@IsmailTuncel]

Thank you for your tips! This gave me insights into my folders and files and how to organize them. Do you have a video how you implement these on a pc. Regards;

[@VisualPKM]

sorry. not.

[@chitralahari6101]

Hey! I love your content. But i don't know where to start and process this content. Can you please make a roadmap video to your videos, so i can structure my learning. thank you! Love from India

[@VisualPKM]

This might be a good entry point: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmGkno19hsRqsJY

[@tomasvylicil1055]

super helpful, thank you Zsolt. I love how we approach linux "everything is a file" way :-)

[@VisualPKM]

symlinks are a wonder and sorely missed from Windows... shortcuts just don't work as efficiently. Would be great to have something like symlinks implemented in Obsidian - kind of an alternative way to create aliases, where the alias can also be in a different namespace.

[@VascoDanielBaiao]

Great reflection!

[@phunt8551]

Would love to know what books to get to read more on this

[@SANDBREAK]

Thank you man, amazing content!!! I think the only reason you don't have millions of views is your English♥️

[@dougsanderson5265]

The English is fine.

[@SANDBREAK]

@@dougsanderson5265 you are right , I have listened again , this time it sounds good.

[@HarryOrenstein]

Thanks again for your review. ACCESS at first glance looks suitable but again is over-complicated. I do not need to classify in a detailed way - all I need to do, given modern technology, is record whether I have or haven't used the file (I don't even need to identify where it was used as simple digital search will find occurence(s). I just don't have the time to create and maintain a classification system.

[@anitat9727]

This is amazing

[@ahmedluqman9362]

I really benefited from your lesson , so if u have another experins pls sheared with us

[@cossack4930]

Thank you! I'm looking forward to the series! I really want to just "dive in" to starting my PKM, but I freeze up when I try to begin because I am worried about messing things up like tags vs. ontology vs. subtags, etc. I want to start obsidian but I'm lost on dataview, ontology, and how to make it make sense in Excalibrain. I'm learning so much thanks to you!... PS...where does LATCH fit in?

[@VisualPKM]

I don't think you can mess things up. PKM is first and foremost "Personal" which means that what works for me may not work for you... and the only way to find out what works for me, is through trial and error and reflection. The after action review process is a good practice to help you learn and develop your PKM. In an oversimplified nutshell I implement LATCH with multiple components. - Location: I use geo-tags and the Mapview plugin, but depending on your use case, you could also create folders for different locations - Alphabet: is simply the file name and file path (namespace) that I can search in alphabetical order using Obsidian quick switcher and file explorer - Time: My primary representation of time in my system is via the linking to the Daily Note. Again, depending on your use case you could create folders or tags based on dates. I tried playing with hierarchical tags for dates (i.e. #2023/03/19) but did not find it helpful. - Category: I use tags for this. I apply tags at page level, and tags drive the template for the page. If you think of folders as a namespace, you could also categorize with folders, like the example in the video "People/Family/Immediate Family/name of person". - Hierarchy: Richard Wurman's original interpretation of hierarchy is to sort things from small to large, from light to heavy, cheap to expensive, etc. I interpret the term differently and think of hierarchy as the parent-child and lateral link relationships in between my notes. I implement hierarchy with links.

[@cossack4930]

@@VisualPKM You are amazing and brilliant. The world is a better place because of you! Thank you for helping me and so many others!

[@spesterwecial]

Another encouragement to “just get started”-I have a “brown field” situation like Zsolt having started 10+ years ago with no particular organization system, learned what didn’t work for me over time, and am still evolving and experimenting with new methods and remixes. No system is perfect in every way and ultimately your goal is probably to create and form connections more than worry about filing upfront. In retrospect I have regret for when I let analysis paralysis slow me down, and few regrets about making a mess after I let go and trusted that the tools are good enough now to find my stuff if I get sloppy 😅 The good news is that it’s easier than ever to retroactively apply/adjust structure if it’s important to you to “fix” your content before you settled on a system: with Obsidian at least, you can reorganize without breaking links; the graph view, backlinks, and unlinked mentions help to discover emergent structure; and additional plug-ins (some of them from Zsolt) aid in (re)organizing in new ways, again without breaking links. Happy creating 😊

[@shriefallam8866]

I appreciate your video a lot, thank you for it, may I ask what kind of application are you using as a whiteboard to present the whole video?

[@riptorforever2]

Great video. Thanks!

[@anujonthemove]

This is amazing! Could you please share which tool you used to create these visualization?

[@VisualPKM]

Links are in the video description. I use the Excalidraw-Obsidian plugin for the visualizations.

[@dominiqueleroy3826]

Great video ! I'm currently reading "Building a second brain" and KZbin just recommend me your video. How did you animate your presentation ?

[@VisualPKM]

Thanks! The presentation was created with Excalidraw in Obsidian.md and the presentation done with the slideshow script: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKjKpXaofruYe7c

[@ChenXibo]

When you were giving your presentation, I noticed something very interesting: an element would appear in your slide show that wasn’t part of the big picture, such as the rectangle with “ACCESS” in it that appeared at 3 minutes and 40 seconds, or the hierarchy chart that appeared at 12 minutes and 39 seconds. Because these elements appeared and disappeared in a controlled way as the video progressed, I’m curious to know if this control was a feature of "slide show", and if so, how was it achieved?

[@VisualPKM]

I did that during post processing in the video editor.

[@ChenXibo]

@@VisualPKM thanks. this "feature" would be the only missing part to replace Powerpoint with Excalidraw, in my perspective.

[@VisualPKM]

@@ChenXibo It would be technically not difficult to create such a feature, but the UI to prepare the presentation is difficult. Already, drawing the arrow for the slide sequence is messy when you reach a presentation of over 10-20 slides.

[@mistermire]

Brilliant video Zsolt. Thanks for sharing, I like the way you visually present you map, is the presentation done through a plugin in Onsidian? Anyway, just subscribed, love your stuff. I tried PARA for a year in Notion and eventually switched to Obsidian with a hybryd method resembling to ACCESS. I guess making the system your own determines the succesrate. Keep up the great work!

[@VisualPKM]

Thanks for subscribing! I use my own Excalidraw Script for the presentation. More on it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpm1eXmejNCgec0 and here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4KVln-hlJWHjJY

[@MrChaluliss]

My current organization system is like a 7 or so in my mind. Mostly feel good about it because compared to your average information worker, more thought has gone into my files and notes, and the ability to find what I need in any given moment is pretty decent, though fairly dependent on my own memory and history with it all. The core issues I have are that my notes a decentralized across many mediums, making a lot of my work invisible at times to myself and unsearchable unfortunately. Beyond that, the question of whether I take too many notes, and how those notes functionally persist across time feel somewhat unaddressed for me as well. Though I have just been learning about PARA today, and I feel like my current schemes can pretty easily be reorganized into that scheme. PARA would essentially wrap my already extant structure, and further, would offer insight into prioritization, sort of like Trello does for me now.

[@irfandyjip3246]

Wow, what an amazing visualization! What software did you use for this?

[@VisualPKM]

Excalidraw plugin in Obsidian.md

[@gilangradip]

Hi Zsolt, is there any way to show at a glance the notes (Markdown) into an excalidraw mindmap? I'm creating a Mindmap for a large topic, and making small notes to explain every detail of the topic. But the option "Excalidraw: Insert markdwon file from vault" will insert all the information/text into Excalidraw, which makes my Mind Map difficult. I just want to have a glimpse of the small-notes(atomic-note) when I look at the mind map. Please share your thoughts on this Zsolts. Thank you for your time and effort to make this wonderful thing happen.

[@dougsanderson5265]

I suggest you try the canvas feature of Obsidian - it may work for you.

[@stugots2863]

Nick’s ACCESS (or E-ACCESS) was the only methodology that made sense to me. Without it, I’d be completely lost. All the other systems have terrible flaws and inherent inflexibility baked in. I started with ACCESS when I had less than 50 notes (which is not recommended) but now because of it, my note-making cadence is supercharged and my knowledge graph is growing bigger and bigger by the day. Feels like I’ve been searching for something like this all my life… finally I have a way to make sense of the world, and myself!

[@beaumotion6692]

I guess my structure is somewhere between GTD and Johnny Decimal. I like to keep my folder structure only a few folders deep at the most, but I'm not a fan of using numbers to sort. It's kind of arbitrary to assign a number to things, and alphabetical sorting already sorts things arbitrarily, so why add another layer of arbitrary? (I do understand some reasons to but that's my thinking for my system) I do like creating a identifier for projects, similar to Johnny Decimal but with a word or two in camelCase to reference and connect them to a project using tags or yaml across my different apps

[@HarryOrenstein]

To summarise my approach. I use "A File Naming Convention (FNC)" as a framework for naming files in a way that describes what they contain and how they relate to other files. Developing an FNC is done through identifying the key elements of the project, the important differences and commonalities between your files. These elements do not include things like the date of creation, author's name, project name, name of a section or a sub-section of the project. But does include the version of the file as I use it - simply v1 v2 etc. Why? Because if it is a valid criteria the originator has already included these unique features in the filename.

[@eyeojo]

Thanks for the great video! Johnny Decimal actually appeals because it can cross between my Obsidian Vault and reference files/Documents. What to do when subcategories exceed 10? Mine goes up to 11, it’s one louder 🎸

[@VisualPKM]

The cross referencing between systems, i.e. out side of Obsidian like email, or even paper files is a huge advantage of the Johnny Decimal system. If your categories exceed 10, it might be because your areas are two broad. But nothing is stopping you from using a hexadecimal scale, i.e. after category 29, comes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, etc. Luhmann also used an "extended Johnny Decimal system". Luhmann alternated between numbers and letters to track forks in his chain of notes. I recommend browsing the Luhmann archives just to explore his numbering system: niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_1_NB_12-14e8i_V

[@eyeojo]

Gracias!

[@trollingisasport]

Number categories like [ 1 ] Media. Use lower numbers for more important categories. This makes it extremely to navigate through multiple folders in a menu like format. Try to avoid more than 10 in one directory and an Other folder unless absolutely necessary

[@VisualPKM]

Numbering of folders is an underrated/underutilized approach. Your approach for using numbers to organize by importance is a good one.

[@trollingisasport]

I've been numbering for years. It's made my ability to find things much better. For directories I still rely on alphabetical, contacts, project folders, etc. I used to use the "1. Photos" format which works wonders and is easier if you have more than 10 folders, but upgraded to the "[ 1 ] Photos" format because it's more pronounced and feels more akin to a menu system. I also change the icons for each folder, putting the .ico file in said folder in case I need it again.

[@franciscohenriques9322]

I have millions of files that I used throughout my life but a lot of them I never touch anymore. Do you recomend dumping what I have with the organization I currently have on an harddrive and start fresh with the files I really need and go from there and if needed go get the old files on the hdd, or should I organize them all wich will take probably weeks?

[@brenthair1228]

I use 4 folders Now, Soon, Later, Archive name files with Month, Year, Topic, Keyword - use search for anything I can't find at a glance

[@KauleisteClever]

How did you made this presentation? Is there a Feature in your awesome excalidraw plugin I didnt know about?

[@VisualPKM]

Obsidian-Excalidraw 1.8.2 - The Slideshow Script kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpm1eXmejNCgec0

[@AngelosGeorgopoulos]

Thanks!

[@bobbyv3]

Raycast. Done & Done.

[@JamesSmith-ix5jd]

The best way is not to collect or obsess about the data in the first place. Archival information can be collected withoit any organization if you have quick way of searching inside these files. As for imidiate knowledge it should either be in your brain already or be researched when needed for task at hand.

[@VisualPKM]

Sönke Ahrens mentions a similar idea in How to Take Smart Notes. He argues that forgetting is a strategic skill. The objective is not to remember everything, since that would lead to paralysis, rather to strategically select the few nuggets we want to keep and remember.

[@RameshBaburbabu]

Topic: File Organization Systems 📂 🤔 What inspired you to explore different file organization systems? 🧩 Can you briefly explain the Pera system and its key principles? 📊 How does the Johnny Decimal System help maintain a clear and logical file structure? 🗃 Tell us more about the Access system. How does it balance knowledge management and action? 📁 What are the main advantages of using a flat file structure in organizing digital files? 📝 How does Zettelcasten encourage knowledge management and exploration through notes? 🤷‍♂ Which file organization system resonates with you the most, and why? ⚙ How do these systems accommodate various knowledge management tools like Obsidian, Roam, or others? 🗄 Can you share any real-world examples of how these systems have improved your personal or professional file management? 📆 What are your future plans or adaptations for your own file organization system? These questions should help you delve deeper into the discussion about file organization systems and their practical applications.

[@SciFiGuy72]

As others have mentioned, while presented well, these methods are overly complicated. This likely means they are harder to integrate into a routine. I'm working on my own setup which aims to be more agile. Based partly off the Borg approach, it consists of Acquisition, Synthesis and Integration. Personally I use a flat file arrangement in Obsidian. Each stage is set by a number 0 being Acquisition, 1 being Synthesis and 2 being Integration. This is followed by a general category for the knowledge and then a detailed description of the content. This is a sample filename for a note: 0-Philosophy-DetailedTitle. In general I save only text content, so it's fast to search and easy to load. Obsidian allows the renaming of files, so a file can be edited after acquisition to remove the fluff and pare down to hard facts, then renamed to a 1- filename. When links, backlinks, etc. have been included, it's renamed to a 2- filename. No previous generations are kept and all information is devoid of metaphor, hyperbole, etc. During phases 1 and 2, I also follow the GTD advice and trash any acquired notes that I find unhelpful for me or unlikely to be referenced further. This keeps things lean.

[@VisualPKM]

Thanks for sharing your approach! I find your focus on Acquisition, Synthesis, and Integration intriguing. It's always great to explore different methodologies for organizing knowledge. Appreciate you sharing your insights!

[@ahmedluqman9362]

thanks a lot

[@aarez_a]

Projects like smth being cook atm. on stove. oven or shitt Areas in fridge Resources in Freezer for future not in use for good time. Archives that you have done.

[@claudiu_ivan]

I'm not sure if the introduction is sarcasm or genuine, but great video.

[@VisualPKM]

Which part of the introduction?

[@claudiu_ivan]

@@VisualPKM Exactly in the beginning. Ignoring the actual topic, it sounded like these old ads for medicine or wonder devices, an universal panacea. But I enjoyed the content :)

[@mirelaboangiu6228]

Great video! Looking forward for to see your system!

[@GunsAddiction]

Hi, what program do you use for create those visuals ??

[@VisualPKM]

These were created with the Excalidraw plugin in Obsidian.md

[@lrs333]

What monitor do you have on your desk?

[@VisualPKM]

Samsung Odyssey LC49G95T

[@oakld]

Nice overview. I use NONE of them and wouldn't recommend them, for a simple reason they're quite obsolete (IMHO). In modern file systems, you can use taggig, which is way more meaningful and much much easier way to organize your files. You can, though, combine them with other classical methods like the ones described here. As a side note, sometimes tagging features are little bit hidden, like in GDrive, wher users see folders and most of them don't realize they're in fact tags (aka Google folders) and you can add any number of tags to a file. Breaking free from a tree structure is a must. Final note - when starting with tags, remember to harmonize file system tags with other digital spaces, such as Keep notes tags, LogSeq tags, calendar tags, etc.

[@VisualPKM]

Yes - this is an interesting dilemma. Already 10+ years ago people were telling me to use tags and views instead of folders in Sharepoint (just an example). 10 years have passed and I am still thankful I have my folders and can synchronize sharepoint libraries with onedrive into a folder structure on my local device. Tags and links are important to create different views, however I still find a primary tree structure indispensable. This might just be showing that I am getting old(er) and less flexible to change :)

[@oakld]

@@VisualPKM Yes, I'm getting older too, know the problem :-). Using tags is super simple in KDE environment on my Linux machines and I think since Win7 windows file Explorer has nearly identical feature. I don't use this feature at my work on Windows though, since we store data in cloud and I try to tag them there. I too use folder structure, it doesn't interfere with tagging at all. We'll see what future brings. Some of my friends asked me why I tag photos, when Google Photos can find anything even without tags. And indeed, if I type "tractor" into search in the Photo Gallery on my phone, it finds all photos with our little tractor. Same way it works with people (including kids as they grow), places, objects,... Amazing. I want to start a little project, that would use Tensor Flow (AI) to analyze files and automatically tag them. But time is scarce and haven't started, though thinking about it like two or three years.

[@litorubio2125]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🤔 The video provides tips for anyone looking to improve their file organization. 00:14 📁 The speaker used to struggle finding files due to disorganized folders and random file names. 00:42 🗂️ The speaker introduces 5 systems for organizing files: Para, Johnny Decimal, Zettelkasten, GTD, and Access. 01:23 ✍️ The speaker asks viewers to rate their current file organization on a 1-10 scale. 02:47 📁 Para method focuses on projects, areas, resources, and archives folders. 04:42 🔢 Johnny Decimal uses numbered categories to organize files. 06:58 🗂️ Access uses Atlas, Calendar, Cards, Extras, Sources, Spaces folders. 10:41 📁 Zettelkasten uses a flat file structure with focus on linking notes. 12:42 📁 GTD uses alphabetical filing of reference documents. 15:23 🤔 The speaker shares reflections on applying these systems. Made with HARPA AI

[@callroland]

My system is a 10. Make an alphabet of folders and then put systems on it. You can also do multiple alphabets. You will find your stuff in a sec

[@HarryOrenstein]

Thanks soo much for this review. I find PARA far too complicated as it presupposes an imposed system that may not be valid long term (since I have 10s of thousands of pdf, jpg, mp3, mp4's that become of greater or lesser interest in the very narrow field of Jewish history, Holocaust studies, Polish studies, WW1, WW2) to assist my lectures, guidings, and site-visits.

[@VisualPKM]

I think this is one of those challenges where there is no single obvious right solution. We all have to come up with our own designs that fit our needs the best. I personally like to keep my attachments in a subfolder of the note where I first encountered it, then reference it in future works.

[@HarryOrenstein]

@@VisualPKM to my mind if you use something then Google Keep combines the Atomic Note (written word) with any other "information" or "digital resources" that you will be using as part of your process of creation. No duplicate files needed! If I use, say, something in Napkin it would gain the prefix [`n] in the file name etc

[@BasedHyperborean]

PARA’s literally structured perfectly for such a use case though. Working on a current historical pursuit? Pop that puppy in Projects. It could find itself in its own folder in Areas later on, or it could eventually go straight to Resources. When it’s no longer of any relevant interest to you, it goes into your Archives folder.

[@Jimmywatches]

I agree that PARA is an illogical method. Our brains think more in terms of topics than whether information is a resource or 'archived'. It makes more sense to invert PARA: All your folders (applies to notes also) are named by topic (this replaces 'Areas' concept), with the root of each folder being the Project area by default. Inside each folder, you can create 'Resources' and 'Archive' folders. Personally, I like the idea of keeping the root of each topic folder for the most relevant and important files - the finished products or latest unfinished version, with everything else put into an '00_extras' subfolder, which can be further divided into 'resources', 'z_other_file_formats', 'z_old_files' (archive) etc. My objective is that other people could easily find value by browsing my files - thinking of my mortality. Confession: I'm not using any knowledge management system that could leave me stuck if the developers stop working on it. Here's one example: D:\jim\02_documents\computers\knowledge-management\my-pkm-methodology-v2.pdf Where an old version would be: D:\jim\02_documents\computers\knowledge-management\z_old_versions\my-pkm-methodology-v1.pdf And an image used in that PDF would be: D:\jim\02_documents\computers\knowledge-management\00_extras\images\diagram_01.png Although I suspect that there is no end of how much tweaking of systems could be done - as long as we can find what we're looking for in a timely manner, our current system is probably okay.

[@richardcoppin5332]

My intention is not to undermine these attempts All of these approaches seem like attempts to square a circle. Ultimately it just seems to be that fundamentally a 1d-hierarchical folder structure is insufficient for this purpose. And so no matter what structure you choose, it will fall short under a particular scenario.

[@AmroKSaleh]

Currently I would rate my organization system as a 4 maybe a 5... it doesn't follow any actual standard.. it is something I created in the years... I dont have a lot of files.. around 10tb total

[@cindyyohe7479]

1

[@nicotine1844]

You have a typo in your title.

[@VisualPKM]

You mean systems instead of system?

[@nicotine1844]

@@VisualPKM Shouldn't it be "5 Systems You Must Know" instead of "5 Systems You Must To Know"?

[@VisualPKM]

@@nicotine1844 I didn't even notice the "To" :)... only noticed it was 5 system(without the s) you must know... anyway, thanks, cleaned it up.

[@Mauricio-Lucas]

I'm scared to use your systems with all these clever solutions. Because after watching several videos, I'm pretty sure I need to buy a 329-inch television to use as a monitor.

[@VisualPKM]

Well... I won't deny, I do prefer large displays and ideally multiple. However, Obsidian, Excalidraw and even ExcaliBrain work well on just a laptop screen. Annie Murhpy Paul in Extended Mind makes an argument for larger screen real-estate, because that adds a spacial reference to information which improves our thinking. Not only that you know where to look to find certain type of information, but also the physical movement of turning adds to how we think and focus. This trading desk setup is a nice example, though a bit over the top even for my liking: www.globalnerdy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/trading-desk-multiple-monitors-thumb.jpg :)

[@timbushell8640]

@@VisualPKM ... I want... www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ksc-20160426-ph_dng0001_0002.jpg : ))))))

[@Qwerty8]

I don’t need any of these structures at all… it completely disappeared. It’s gone… after years of file management hustle. Tags are one of these things that matters…

[@amyj2510]

Difficult for me sorry for that 😂

[@craftyfox1]

My file system drives me mad. Well, I don't have a system. It is a massive pile of data.

[@g.milano3768]

The rate for my system is 3! very disappoint ...

[@43nostromo]

I feel incredibly overvhelmed.

[@TM-vg4mx]

great video, but none of these methods seem logical and easy to use, yet to find a better one

[@Jimmywatches]

IMO, the simplest method is to combine the hierarchical with mass-dump methods. All your folders/notes are named by topic, apart from two of them. One is your dump - call it inbox/unsorted/unfinished/temporary or similar (avoid calling it 'temporary' if you care about leaving your files to others after your death as a legacy - they might just delete the folder/notebook entirely). The second is your To-Do list (this applies to notes not PC folders - you don't need a separate top-level folder for your to-do list). Don't clutter your To-Do list with research/solutions - link to the relevant notebook/folder instead. The To-Do list is where you keep track of what files/notes you're currently working - no need for the PARA method. Back to folders on a drive: Your top level folders should be broad enough that you only have 10 to 20 - as few as possible (e.g. 00_inbox, 01_documents, 02_audio, 03_pictures, 04_video, 05_3D_models, 06_settings_backup, 07_software, 08_compilations, 09_work). Pictures and videos could be one folder. Pictures that are for insertion into documents can be in the documents folder. Even if you're not using integrated knowledge management software, your note app's categories should be the same as your folders in 'documents' folder. A few common categories would be people, health, finances, legal, important org contacts, travel & transport, disaster-planning, psychology, helping others, shopping, computing & tech, humour & trivia. Separate information into the main product (if there is one) and everything else. For example, let's say you were going to create an infographic/leaflet about a healthy diet. You'll have dozens of sources, old versions, multiple file formats, graphics to insert, plan.txt and so on. So, let's say your leaflet is D:\username\01_documents\health\diet\healthy-diet-v3.pdf. Put everything else into sub-folders of 'diet'. Sub-folders might be 'old', 'images', 'research', 'other-formats' etc. To tidy it up even further, put all those folders into '00_extras' folder inside 'diet' folder. (This might mean that you have a hierarchy tree more than 5 levels deep for some files - that's fine because you've reduced searching time, tagging time, and time renaming files.)

[@TM-vg4mx]

@@Jimmywatches sounds good thank you very much for your detailed response. Your response makes more sense, thanks

[@murphymw]

I rate myself 1/10

[@myrusEW]

Accent? sounds half-american half...austrian?

[@mutantlabor]

The mouth sounds when you talk are killing me. I have an anxiety disorder that is triggered by mouth sounds. It’s somewhat common. For your future videos you may want to try to be more conscious of that.

[@VisualPKM]

Thanks. I understand. This is a difficult one... as I am not sure what to do about this. Filtering won't solve this. Maybe a different microphone setup... Since this video I did change my microphone... can you check a more recent video to see if the is still a problem?

[@mutantlabor]

@@VisualPKM Microphones, or just training yourself. If you're like many people, you may have more saliva when you speak. You could try recording when you haven't recently drunk or had food. Compressing audio and keeping the microphone too close, or recording in ways that pick up all tiny room sounds will also add to the mouth sounds. I'll take a listen to some others soon. the content is great but when I listen, especially with headphones on, I can't concentrate. This won't be an issue for others. Thank you for the response!

[@lornelorne5727]

Same here. Those wet mouth noises...

[@Neoparker007]

Try using (MOC) maps of content by nick milo !