How to Organize Shared Files to Boost Productivity

“No problem, I’ll share it with you right away! Just let me find that file…” Uh oh. Where did you save it again?

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. If finding the right file or folder in your shared business file storage system has become a hassle, it may be time to get organized. Overhauling your shared file storage organization system can be a daunting task, but it’s well worth it. Being able to find what you need when you need it will save you a lot of time in the long run and give your productivity a huge boost.

But how should you go about organizing your shared files? Don’t worry-- we’ve gathered everything you need to know:

Some methods of file sharing make it easier to stay organized than others. Take advantage of cloud-based file sharing platforms with important organizational tools built in to simplify your file sharing process.

Tools and Applications that Make Shared File Organization a Breeze
Every project requires the right tools. If you’re going to mow your lawn, you need a lawn mower. If you’re going to create the next Mona Lisa, you need some paint. And if you want a user-friendly and beautifully organized file storage and sharing system, you should check out these applications. They have key organizational tools built right in, which makes them a great place to start.

Dropbox for File Syncing, Sharing, and Storage
When it comes to file syncing services, there are plenty of options out there. In the last decade or so, it seems like every major player in the tech industry has tried their hand at it.

Dropbox is one of the biggest names in file syncing and with good reason. Not only did they help innovate many of the file syncing solutions that have been adopted as standard by other companies, but their recent user interface updates and continued dedication to providing tools for file organization and sharing continue to keep them on the cutting-edge of the industry.

Here are few of the features that really grabbed our attention:

Wikis for Sharing Internal Resources
Creating a corporate wiki is an easy and budget-friendly way to start sharing important information.

Creating a wiki for your business requires you to learn a special markup language, which takes a little time but shouldn’t be a problem for tech-savvy employees. If your team doesn’t have much of a technical background, this may be a bit of a hassle.

Wikis don’t assign content ownership, which can be both a pro and a con. On the positive side, it makes it easy for you to keep your shared resources up-to-date because anyone can update them at any time. Unfortunately, this also opens you up to potential inaccuracies if an employee makes changes based on an incorrect understanding of a certain topic.

Messaging Apps for Organized Communication
Working in teams has always been a major part of most companies’ workflows. When you work with a group of people-- especially a group of people with different backgrounds or areas of expertise-- you bring a lot of new ideas to the table and foster creativity that you just don’t get when you assign projects to an individual. But when you’re working with several teams on different projects, how do you keep communication organized?

That’s where messaging applications come into play. For example, the messaging application GroupMe can be accessed online or via smartphone application and allows you to break conversations easily into different groups and subgroups. Not only is this helpful for collaborating on big projects like reorganizing your company’s shared files-- it also makes communication easier and more organized for other projects as well.

Messaging apps are a great option because they are:

Now that you have all the tools you need to keep professional projects organized, it’s time to learn exactly how to make the organization of your shared file storage as effective as possible.

Best Practices for Shared File Organization
1. Skip local storage.
How many times has this happened to you? Your colleague sends you a file to check out or collaborate on. You make your changes or comments, save it as a new file, and send it back. This might happen several times before both of you are satisfied with the work, and now you have dozens of versions of the project saved locally on your device.

If they make a final change and forget to send you an updated file, you’re working with out-of-date information. If you accidentally send the wrong version to someone-- easy to do when you have lots of versions floating around your hard drive-- you have a similar problem.

Save yourself the headache and adopt centralized file storage, if you haven’t already.

2. Spend some time designing and testing your file and folder structure.
When it comes to organization, categories and subcategories are an awesome tool, so use them! Just make sure you have a plan first.

Developing a plan for shared file storage is highly specific to your company’s unique needs, and it can take some time to get right. You may have to iterate through the process a few times to get it right, so consider trying out your proposed shared file organizational structure on a small scale-- maybe a single folder-- before scaling it up.

3. Use Final, Draft, and Archive folders or software with built-in version control.
Even if you know exactly where to find the file you’re looking for, it can be difficult to ensure you are working from the most recent version. Many file syncing services offer version control, which allows you to edit a single document and saves older versions of the document in a version history in case you need to access it again later. If your platform doesn’t offer version control, consider using separate folders for different versions of your files to prevent confusion.

4. Create a standard file/folder naming convention.
You can have the most carefully-designed shared folder organization system in the world, but if all of your files and folders have generic names like “presentation” and “meeting notes,” you might still find yourself wasting a lot of time looking for the exact “presentation” you need.

Stanford University put out a list of best practices for naming files and folders. Here are the highlights:

5. Templates are your new best friend.
The easiest way to communicate the proper way of naming and organizing files is by example. Create a set of folders and files using example content as a template for your company’s collaborative projects.

Organizing your shared files will boost your company’s productivity today and well into the future.

Organize Today to Make Your Life Easier Tomorrow
Your company’s data is one of its greatest assets. Your files and folders should be a resource that will help employees now and for years into the future. A good file storage system makes it easy for companies to track the evolution of their work, revisit old projects for information or inspiration, and find ways to innovate for future projects.

That’s why-- even though it’s a daunting task-- organizing your company's shared files and folders is so important. It isn’t just a way of boosting your productivity today-- it is a way of investing in your company’s future success as well.

Save time and boost productivity. Get your shared files organized today!

Say goodbye to spending your valuable time searching through unorganized files. Take advantage of these tools and tips to get organized, and then just sit back and watch your productivity go through the roof!

This is a sponsored post for Dropbox. All opinions are our own.