Most digital workplaces are disorganized. Important documents are scattered, there are too many emails in the inbox, and information is fragmented across different chats and boards. The consequence is that if you search for information, you have to visit all these different places. Still, you won't be sure you'll find it. Fortunately, there is a better way to structure your digital workplace. This method is more than 200 years old. It still works really well.
What is the real purpose of your documents and messages?
After Prussia lost to France in 1806, it became clear that the administration was no longer functioning properly. The state was reorganized in 1807 and 1808. These reforms include reorganizing the municipalities. The way files are handled was changed so that people in public administration could understand what was happening in their districts again. (Thea Miller wrote a very interesting dissertation about the German Registratur.)
This story reminds us why we have all these documents and messages—there are cases to close and projects to finish. So, why not organize our digital workplaces for this purpose?
The simplest filing system - file by case or project
In German, we have the term "Vorgang," which can be translated as "case," "issue," "incident," or "transaction." However, these translations may not accurately convey the intended meaning. The term means that something is happening. (Even in German, this sounds old-fashioned.)
David Allen uses the term "project" in his famous Getting Things Done method. Until we find a better term, let's stick with "case". A project is also a case. Every case starts with a trigger. An action is triggered by somebody or some event. A case always ends with a result (see fig. 1).
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| Figure 1: a simple case |
The simplest filing system is to create a folder for each case.
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| Figure 2: One folder for each case |
The next figure shows an example with three cases (or projects).
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| Figure 3: Example with three cases |
These examples can have different triggers: yearly holiday planning with family, a car breakdown, or a spouse's desire to plan Christmas in advance. The results can also be different: returning safely from vacation with all invoices paid, receiving a new car, or having just finished celebrating Christmas.
Every folder contains all the documents and messages we receive, create, and send. Electronic messages are copied to a file folder and then deleted from the email system. We also save the links of the digital white boards in this folder. Important message or information from a chat are saved here, too. Information should not be lost when deleting chats and boards.
This is the basic idea. But of course life is a bit more complex.
Group cases in (business) processes
In most cases you have more than a handfull of cases or projects. How can we keep order then? A good idea is to group cases by corresponding processes (see fig. 4).
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| Figure 4: Group cases by process |
In our example, we might have processes for buying things or planning holidays (see fig. 5).
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| Figure 5: three cases in two processes |
Now you know what you have to do. What happens when you close a case or finish a project?
Move finished cases to the archive
Actually, we do not have one filing structure, but two: one for the actual cases and one identical structure for finished cases (see fig. 6).
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| Figure 6: Separate the actual cases from the finished ones |
We will move the corresponding file folder from the list of actual cases to the archive whenever we finish a project or close a case. In our example, we see that we bought a new TV set two years ago and were in Greece last year (see fig. 7).
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| Figure 7: A list of actual and closed cases |
If we follow this practice, our filing system will always help us determine what to do. The filing system is always the first place to look for information. We don't need to switch systems because all our documents, messages, and links to other tools are here. Clarity instead of confusion.
Most documents and messages are related to a specific projects or cases. A small fraction of these documents contain knowledge that we will be useful for future cases. We treat these documents differently.
Save your knowledge where it is needed
We store the knowledge near the processes or cases where we usually need it (see fig. 8).
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| Figure 8: Knowledge in different places |
This knowledge can include lists of interesting places to visit, the list of school holiday dates, and the manuals for the things we own (see fig. 9).
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| Figure 9: Knowledge in our example processes and cases |
How can we find our documents or messages?
This filing structure is clearly organized. If you need some information, you can ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I want to do?
- Is it an open case or a new one? Or is it a finished case?"
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