Notes
Writing about getting files, photos and documents under control. Mostly about why the usual advice does not stick, and what does.
How to clean up your desktop and have it stay clean
Clearing a messy desktop takes an afternoon. Keeping it clear is a different problem, and it is the one worth solving.
3 min read
What to do with four thousand screenshots
Screenshots are the easiest thing to make and the hardest thing to find later. Here is why, and what actually helps.
3 min read
Leaving Notion: what actually moves, and what does not
An honest account of what happens to your pages, databases and files when you export from Notion, and what to do about each one.
3 min read
Why your filing system keeps failing
It is not discipline. It is that every folder structure asks you to make a decision at the worst possible moment.
3 min read
File naming conventions nobody keeps, and what to do instead
Every naming scheme works for two weeks. Here is why, and how to get findable names without maintaining a convention.
3 min read
How to organise receipts and invoices without building a spreadsheet
Most receipt systems fail because they ask you to do data entry. Here is a version that only asks you to keep the receipt.
3 min read
The downloads folder is not a folder, it is a queue nobody drains
Why Downloads fills with thousands of files, what is safe to delete, and how to stop it happening again.
3 min read
Organising photos of documents: scans, whiteboards and business cards
Photographing paper is the easy half. Making those photos findable a year later is the half that usually gets skipped.
3 min read
Notion alternatives when you only ever wanted the notes part
Most people use a fraction of Notion. If that fraction is notes and files, the alternatives are simpler than you expect.
4 min read
How to find a file when you cannot remember what it is called
Search tools are built around names. Most of the time you remember everything except the name. Here is how to close that gap.
3 min read