Very good post Reminds of Don Aslett's ideas: Outer Clutter = Inner Clutter. Conversely, Outer Simplification = Inner Focus.

Very informative post indeed. Thanks aduttonater.

Hi Albi,

(Hope you don’t mind me calling you that) – I just read your post, (after reading hundreds of others) and it really struck a chord with me. I’ve been thinking about getting into Internet Marketing for a few years now but haven’t had the knowledge or expertise to put it into practice. I’m gradually picking up on things now and have decided to give it my full-time attention.


One thing that resonated with me was the idea that you need to organize things into some kind of filing system so you can retrieve what you need, when you want it and quickly. Probably like most newbies, I’ve been downloading everything and anything to gain some knowledge to try and learn how it all fits together. As you know, there’s so much information out there it’s hard to keep track of it once you’ve downloaded it to your PC, so I was wondering whether you could give me some tips on what’s a good method, and what software I’m best using. I’m pretty familiar with the most popular packages (Microsoft in-particular, but I’m quick to pick up others), so I’m not averse to trying anything new.

Generally, I use excel to keep a record of my logins & passwords – and yes, I know – I shouldn’t store them together in this way; I’m aware of the security risks doing it like this, but at the moment I don’t really have anything to protect and they are very much protected with the security measures I have implemented already.

I’m trying to develop a structure where I can locate the relevant information with ease, but I keep having to change it whenever I download another doc (be it a PDF/DOC/AVI/JPEG etc). Do you have a system which works for you which you would share with me? You seem to have thousands of docs and plenty of experience to be able to manage them somehow! I generally separate them into the following categories….
IM, Docs, Images, SEO, List Building, Hosting, Forums, etc etc…..You know - the usual ones. I’m just not sure how best to break them down and how.

Can you give me any pointers? I want to be organized before I dive into this IM business so I’m looking around for anyone who can help me and you seem to be pretty much organized, so any help would be much appreciated…..

I look forward to hearing from you – and from any other Warrior members out there who have their own filing systems…..
Kind Regards,

David Thorne - Scouser.

Ps. If you’re wondering why I’ve rambled on so long about such a simple request, it’s because I’m trying to practice my writing skills. From what I’ve been reading (which is a lot as I’m sure you can remember from when you first started out) – I need to gain some writing skills to post to forums, write a blog, submit articles etc….. So forgive me for taking up so much of your valuable time….

For passwords, I suggest Roboform - it works very well with Firefox and IE, with the ability to login very easily from a menu of sites - much like a list of bookmarks. It can also sync between different computers or user accounts,

best wishes,

JJ.

Thanks for the tips!

Proper organization makes your work flow in a good flow.

I keep separate folders for organizing information. For example, there would be a folder for SEO, another for PPC, and another for SMM. They would all contain relevant information. Similarly, a separate folder for all of the current projects that I am working on. With IM, information overload is a common issue hence proper organization is necessary.

This advice is spot on. Not only will you become far more productive by organizing your information efficiently in a way where you can easily find things, you'll save a lot of time just from having everything at your (virtual) fingertips, eliminating the need to search and dig through folders/files to find what you need.

Paul

A necessary task that I am dreading is cleaning up my harddrive of unwanted/unused files, freebies, etc.

I should allocate a 30-minute time spot each day until I feel good about it.

I now have a system whereby I create a parent folder for anything important, a "When I get around to it" folder and "must read, by date"

I have a stringent filter in place in my mind, that if it isn't going to contribute to my current or near future projects, dump it. It has to be very compelling to go into any of the above-mentioned folders.

I am a very organized person and I have found that with internet marketing it is important more than ever to stay organized. You have to - the first time that you don't, it will show up in your work.

Two of my favorite tools are Evernote & Catch Notes.

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Good advice. Since I tend to download ebooks on my desktop on an intermittent basis, every now and then I take a little time to clean up/reorganise them and divide them into the appropriate folders.

i burn all my IM file in to a DVD then i just keep around 10-15 ebook or video that really works.. Because not all my ebook collection really works

Hi, that is a nice post.It is true that being organised brings clarity in mind and also saves our time.

Informative thread. Thanks for the posts

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My life used to be simple until I hooked up to the Internet! lol

Before then, most my computer organization revolved around article files and folders. Then along came the Internet and added a whole new dimension (many levels) to the challenge of computer organization.

I struggled for a few years, but I am now much better at organizing and finding things in my computer. One of the keys, especially with email, is to deal with it now and not put it off until later to decide what to do with it or where to put it.

GT

I have two drives dedicated to store internet marketing related stuffs on my laptop and home office PCs. My folders represent categories like internet marketing, blogging, seo, wordpress, pdfs, docs etc.

I encourage beginners to avoid information overload and clean their drives regularly to remove junks like freebies, ebooks they don't need.


- Ashish Patel

A couple years ago, my desktop looks like a trash lol
Thanks dude....i learn a lot here

Helpful resource. Having my files organized makes my work a lot easier and faster.

Before starting my daily tasks, I see to it that my desktop has been cleared. It helps me focus to my task and find it easier to find the files I need.

Great post! This a good post to remember. Thanks for sharing!

Very helpful post! Thanks for the tips!

very nice post

Because I use my iPad as my productivity machine, I don't worry about folders for the most part. My reading material is alphabetized in the Kindle app, and my emails are organized by folders in Mail. Additionally, I keep all content in Pages in folders (guess there is more folder usage going on then I thought).

Also, my apps are all in folders relevant to their function...

Okay, so native file system or not, my iPad is littered with folders :-)

Having your files and folders organized helps make your tasks faster and can let you focus on your task without the hassle of looking for the files you need.

With an organized files, you can easily keep your focus.

Thanks for such a great tips. More organize we are on physically the more we are giving ourselves to think well.

Thanks Guys.

I have been wondering for a while what is the best way to organise the storage on my laptop and i have got a couple of good tips from your posts.

Cheers.

You can really find it easy to gain focus when your workplace and files are well-organized.

hi
thanks to share this vary important information.Its vary useful for of warrior.

Of course, I too have a separate folder with .txt files where I keep all the info I need. I even have one file for songs I just heard on the radio and liked it, so that I can look them up on youtube later

Nice post - once in a while good to read such organised topics than normal sales pitches . Thanks !

if in doubt, throw it out

If you are organized in everything, you will have peace of mind. You do not have to worry on what to do next.

I found this post here in warrior forum and this has been very helpful for me as well in cleaning my clutter in my desktop.

warriorforum.com/mind-warriors-success-power-self-improvement/515096-if-you-want-stay-focus-use-software.html

These are great tips which will be very useful to me. Thank you very much.

Very useful and informative sharing.It helps me much to organize my files and to do my work properly.Thanks....

Before I begin my task I first adjusts the format and the details that I used to not bother me when I was starting to work.

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Outstanding post!! Organization is the most underrated attribute that people must have to succeed in any business. I recently created a folder on my Desktop entitled, "Desktop". I just took all of the icons that were on my Desktop and I put them into this "Desktop" folder. This way, when I turn on my computer each day, there aren't 50 different icons that I have to look at. Instead, there's just one folder that says "Desktop". When I am working with one particular document, I will take that document out of the "Desktop" folder and put it on my actual Desktop screen. When I'm done with that item, I will drag it back into the "Desktop" folder. This small shift has allowed me to only have things appearing on my Desktop that I need to pay attention to and it's enabled me to run my business in a much more organized way.

-Terry

My tools for keeping organized are Trello and Evernote. If you don't have them yet get them...they are free!

I hope to get as organized as you by the end of this month or year thank you for your encouragement

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This is first most important thing I have started doing last sunday. few years of my IM career i wasted not being organize but I can tell you I have not started making money yet but sure i can find stuff whenever i wanted.

I suggest first thing for any Newbie marketer to do is to organize computer and give a kick start.

People often don't understand that keeping information on your computer organized is equally important as keeping paper files organized. I usually try to use apps and websites that keep my files, that way if my computer every crashes, all of my information is safe. I also have a hard drive that I store any information I can't store online.

Wait until you see my workspace and you'll forget yours

It's so true! I should also start organizing my computer files..Thanks for your advice and reminder aduttonater! I Really appreciate them!

Some good points you shared. Thank you!

Very useful post. I have just recently realised how much easier my life would have been, if I had organised everything in folders from the start.