Inside the Clients drawer, I have a “hanging file” for each client, then a “manila folder” for each project for that client. If your projects aren’t client- or department-specific, you might skip that level and put your projects at the hanging file level.
In too deep?
One of the downsides of paper filing systems in real filing cabinets is that your categories can expand, forcing you to use more drawers and shift other files down. Your electronic filing cabinet should be flexible, and you should be open to letting it evolve & grow – the beauty is you don’t have to stop at the manila folder level. You can create folders within folders as deep as you want to go, you never have to shift other files out of the way, and each folder can hold as much data as your drive will allow.
Another option might be to put your clients or projects at the drawer level. The upside of this is you won’t have to navigate through as many levels of folders to get to the files you need. The downside is that, because of those “locked drawers” that hold your system & application files, it might make your filing system a bit less intuitive.
For example, say you have 20 or 30 “drawers” on your C: drive – including the standard Documents and Settings, Program Files, and Windows folders. The other drawers are for your project files – such as Employee Newsletters, Annual Reports, Marketing Materials, User Guides, etc.
