Quick Start to Managing Your Files
I’ve structured this book in a top-down manner, the way you’d approach a digital map in the Maps app. It starts up high, looking at general concepts and asking you to consider your goals. From there it zooms in to more specific topics and tasks, from examining organizational strategies to searching for files and cleaning up clutter.
Set goals and strategies:
Before we click or touch a single file, it’s important to Answer Key Questions about the scope of the task and also about your own preferences so you can Set Goals effectively to managing your files.
With that knowledge, Develop Strategies that Work for You to help you wrangle files, from building consistent folder hierarchies to applying tags. Also, learn the implications of syncing files among devices and how to choose between external and internal storage.
Start organizing:
It’s time to get practical, starting with efficiency. Create Priority Shortcuts to access your most important files and folders quickly.
Just as you navigate your home using a mental model of its floor plan, you need to Understand the Layout of where macOS, iOS, and iPadOS store files. In macOS especially, Understand the Desktop and the role it plays in syncing with iCloud Drive.
Learn how to Organize Using Files and Folders and also how to Organize Using Tags so you can incorporate those actions into your file management strategy.
If you think this means you’ll be spending all your time pushing files around, think again. When you know how to Automate File Organization, you’ll save time and remove stress while meeting your goals.
Search for anything
The work you put into organizing your files pays off when you Find Files in macOS using Spotlight searches, smart folders with multiple criteria, and third-party search apps.
Spotlight isn’t as robust on Apple’s mobile devices, but you’ll discover it’s more capable than it first appears when you Find Files in iOS and iPadOS.
Cut the clutter
Organizing is largely about how to deal with incoming files, but the lessons you learned can be applied to what’s already on your computer. Set a Cleaning Strategy for tackling the task of dealing with old files and eliminating duplicates.
Learn how to Free Up Storage Space, the natural byproduct of having an organized system for managing your files.