3 Solid Ways to Keep Research Organized

Research can be overwhelming. And messy. Even if you have everything digitally saved, it can get very chaotic when you can't find something. Let's take the stress out of keeping our research organized with some easy-to-remember digital organizational tips.

Name Everything Properly

We're going to start small.

Step 1: Name everything.

Photos. Documents. Digital Folders, which we will talk more about in the next section. Anything that you deem worthy of saving for your research notes. Make sure that you name them something that makes sense. Nothing is worse than trying to find a specific document only to find it named "Untitled Doc. 445".

To keep naming simple, use these examples as a starting point. There are no wrong answers when it comes to this; just adjust accordingly.

1. Label the folder [Project Name] Research Folder.

2. Create 3-4 Sub-Folders of Topics within this project you're researching. One of these should be titled Misc. for anything that doesn't fit a specific category but is still important to keep.

3. Throw everything into that folder and sort through it weekly. Add Sub-Folders as Necessary.

4. Label each item by what it is. [Picture of] | [Document of] | [Music File of] | [Interview of]

5. Repeat for each project.

Use Folders

Digital Folders are the greatest tool you can use as a creative, especially when you're in research mode. There are three types of digital folders that I use that are very helpful and 100% free to use.

• Desktop Folders

• Google Bookmark Folders

• Google Groups Feature

• Google Drive Folders

Desktop Folders are the digital folders that you find on your computer. They're unlimited in amount and can be placed directly on your desktop for easy access. Google Bookmark Folders are fantastic for collecting articles or important digital references. You can make as many as you need, and even make subfolders.

The Google Groups feature is fairly new and is invaluable for saving your open browser tabs. If you have a few tabs that you want to keep together without having to re-open each one, just right-click on one of them and form a group. The groups sit on the same bar as your bookmarks and are super easy to access.

Finally, every Gmail Account has access to a limited storage called Google Drive. This is a great place to download folders of important information if you have to travel and work on a different computer without the need for an external hard drive. Having access to your work on your phone or tablet is also helpful, but beware of your storage limit. Once you reach your free storage limit, you will have to pay for more.

Back Up by Project

If you're using Google Drive for this, awesome. You're already ahead of the curve. But consider saving up for an external hard drive to keep a copy as well. Anything can happen. And while an external hard drive has a slim chance of corrupting, it's about the same chance as something happening to your computer. Better to have multiple copies than no copies at all.

If you have large projects and some extra cash, consider getting a hard drive for each project. You have no idea how overwhelming it can be to have too much in one area. Separate the family photos and the research on your projects unless they have something to do with each other.

No matter how you approach organizing your research, remember that it's your system. As long as it makes sense to you and you can find everything you're looking for, I call it a success.

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