We live in a world where information is vast and often may seem infinite. The challenge is how to find it when you need it and how to organize it so you can retrieve it quickly and easily when you need it. You can download, upload, share or create anything. The question is do you know how to retrieve this information quickly and when you need it?
There are two basic forms of information, hard copy and soft copy. Hard copy is the information that is physically in hand; magazine articles, print outs, presentations etc. Soft copy is the information that is digital; shared files, internet etc. We must work to find a filing system that will help you to sort information in both forms. It can make things a lot simpler and easier if you use the same large categories, systems and strategies for both your hard copy filing systems and your hard copy filing systems.
We have found the easiest way is start with major categories and then introduce minor categories. For instance the broad categories could be Administration, Operations, Marketing and Finance/Accounting. Now depending on where you are in life, your minor categories could vary.

Life Situation	Administration	Operations	Marketing	Finance/Accounting
Home	Home insurance, warranties, household goods	Maintenance schedules for home and car, family member schedules, shopping lists	Resumes, Employment information, Life Purpose/Mission	Taxes, Licenses, Bills
Business	Office Equipment, Office Management	Forms and Policies, Structures and Procedures, Deadlines	Advertising, Web 2.0	Budgets, P&L, Bills
School	Clubs, Sports, Sororities, Hobbies, Contact Lists	Class schedules, Exam dates, d/w/m schedules	Transcripts, Portfolio, Job Applications, Resumes, Career Coaches, Networking	Parking Permits, Student Loans, Grants, Banking information, Bill

· Administration- organizational aspects
· Operations-scheduling and deadline aspects
· Marketing –promoting yourself or your business
· Finance/Accounting – tracking of money

There are two key elements to your filing system; using the same categories and visual stimulation system throughout both your hard copy and digital filing systems. We recommend color coding for each of the categories; administration in blue, operations in yellow, marketing in red and finance in green. Every subcategory is put in a folder of that same color. You can even color code your file folders online by changing the font color to match. This way you are always working with the same colors and categories. The set up may be time extensive so you may want to employ a friend or coach to help you get started with this process.
Once you get started with the filing system that works for you, you will be encouraged by the time and energy you save when locating information.