I’ve had a few readers ask me how I organize the digital files for my blog posts and today, I’m sharing my process. I strongly believe that staying organized digitally is just as important as keeping your physical space tidy. There’s nothing worse than falling down the rabbit hole of lost files, digging though old folders and hard drives that you inadvertently labeled “stuff” and “sort later” without a second thought years before!
Because I run two different blogs, having a system in place keeps me mentally focused and reminds me of what to post when. And, if I need to pull images and assets from old posts, I can find them in mere seconds.
Here’s a summary of my organizational structure:
1. I keep one master folder on my computer labeled BLOG.
2. Inside that folder, I have subfolders that are sorted by year (I’ve actively been running this blog since 2007 so that’s A LOT of content).
3. Inside each year, I have folders for each post I’ve ever done titled by date and description. For instance, my Link Love column from February 5th is labeled 02052014_LINKLOVE.
Inside each post folder, I have a few things:
4. Final JPEGS, edited and ready to go for that post.
5. A text document of the post.
6. An assets folder where I keep the original raw images, layered PSDs and any visual research I did for the post.
That’s it! While my system might not be a perfect match for you, hopefully it inspires you to get organized when it comes to your content. And, it seems that I’m on a roll this week when it comes to whipping digital assets into shape. If you run a creative business, you may also enjoy this post over at Branch about how we keep our client files organized.
It’s your turn: Do you have any tips, tricks or systems that you use for keeping your digital assets sorted?
amanda says: 
