Guide

Organizing folders in a way that still works five years later

Folder structures that feel perfectly organized on day one often collapse under their own complexity within a year, while plainer structures tend to keep working.

Fewer, broader categories beat many narrow ones

A handful of broad top-level folders are easier to navigate than dozens of narrow ones, because narrow categories multiply the number of decisions you have to make every time you save something new.

Let dates do the organizing for ongoing material

For anything that accumulates over time, a folder structure built around year and month handles growth automatically, without needing new categories invented as content changes.

Avoid structures that require remembering a decision tree

A folder system that only makes sense if you remember the logic behind it tends to fail the moment you have not opened it in months. A structure a stranger could follow from the names alone ages much better.

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