Organizing Assets — A Faster Way to Locate Useful Information

I recently met with a longtime entrepreneur who has been rethinking his workflow. He’s been feeling overwhelmed by the sea of information taking up his headspace: unread emails, notes, messages, files, and the like.

We’ve all been there and are probably still dealing with it.

The Debilitating Challenge of Knowledge Work

More than a third of the globe’s workforce makes up the large group of knowledge workers hacking their way through value creation. The reality is, this collection of thinkers — engineers, attorneys, educators, analysts, researchers, programmers, physicians, pharmacists, architects, scientists, and so on, are up against a debilitating capacity issue.

Considering the tasks being performed, our working memory, or RAM in computer terms, ensures an ability to store and access data quickly. It manages short-term energy within the system and tends to get overwhelmed if too many applications are running simultaneously. Thankfully, upgrading machine memory is as easy as switching out a chip from 8 GB to 16 GB. In contrast, amplifying the brain’s ability this way isn’t possible without using technology like Neuralink.

So, what can be done to increase our brain’s horsepower?

The quick answer is to optimize the system. Here are a couple of tips to help you work smarter.

Tactic #1 — Organize by Context

Working memory is one of the most critical components in determining your performance, from both the human and machine perspective. If it fills up, the system becomes sluggish and eventually stops operating.

To give yourself a fighting chance, consider using context when labeling and organizing assets. Sorting files in folders is less about hierarchy and more about connection.

Specifically, the human brain is not great at locating facts. What’s the capital of North Dakota? Computers are much better at this exercise.

Our brains thrive on stories where information traverses time and space across many thoughts meticulously linked together. It surpasses machines when retrieving relational data like memories from birthday celebrations over the years.

Birthdays happen once a year; they are typically celebrated with people you love, in places of great affinity, and yield several uniquely identifiable events.

Documenting context means notating where you were, who you were with, what the weather was like, and other things you could easily remember about an experience.

Let’s say you are in line at a coffee shop writing down an idea. Write the essential bits of information followed by what you ordered or who you were with. You’ll go to locate that piece of content at some point, and you may not remember what the title was or what exact keywords you used, but you will likely remember what you ordered.

Tactic #2 — Create Directories

This rule is one of my favorite time-saving hacks because a simple directory can prevent loads of frustration. Here, I define directory as a list of contextually relevant words linking to somewhere else.

For example, instead of emailing attachments, create a list with links to the relevant Dropbox files. By doing this, you offer a cohesive experience for the person on the other side of the message. It gives them the opportunity to focus on the content rather than wasting time downloading, saving, and organizing the files somewhere on their machine.

Additionally, why require you or your peers to search through folders and subfolders for helpful information?

Instead, there are assets somewhere in the cloud; make a directory of these inside a note. I like to create a Corporate bundle in bundleIQ and add notes within that connect me to business, branding, and legal files. Create notes with links to your corporate filing documents, Sunbiz page, brand guide, hex values for colors, a directory to all of the software services used at the company, and other valuable information that typically takes a minute to track down.

Bonus — I have a rolling note with all of the links to our design prototypes and assets for easy access.

1. Organize by context.

2. Create directories.

3. Use a note-taking app to organize your thoughts.

4. Use a note-taking app to organize your files.

5. Use a note-taking app to organize your business.

6. Use a note-taking app to organize your life.

Written by Nicholas Mohnacky, CEO of bundleIQ