Organizing Google Drive is easy to do and makes your work-life way more productive. As you probably know, Google Drive is an intuitive cloud storage solution with a top-notch search engine to boot. And so, most of us take great comfort in knowing that no file is ever lost when we save it in our drive. But the search capability is only limited to the keywords that one can remember. 

Luckily, there is more than one way to organize your Google Drive folders — color-coding them, incorporating workspaces, and creating sub-folders. 

Once you get the hang of maximizing these organizational features, you can save yourself the time and effort of digging through old files. An organized Google Drive will help you work more efficiently and, in some cases, encourage productivity through reduced clutter. Just ask any Professional Organizer what we’re talking about, they can tell you all about the power of decluttering and the value that it adds to your life (and in this case, your Google Drive). 

If you’re ready to de-clutter your Google Drive, here are 4 tips to help you. 

1. Start by grouping your files into 10 – 15 main folders and add sub-folders only as necessary.

Our recommendation is that you limit the number of main categories to 15 or fewer manageable folders. You may assign a folder for major projects, pictures, personal files, etc.  You can then add sub-folders as you go. To add a folder on Google Drive, find the “New” button on the top left of the homepage. Click this button and then choose “Folder.”You will then be asked to create a name for your folder. Actionable tip: be consistent by coming up with folder/file naming conventions. Simply drag and drop files into the respective parent folders that you have created. You can then add sub-folders to further organize files within your main folders. 

2. Organize your folders by assigning colors to them

It’s one thing to assign naming conventions to your folders and files, but if you really want to drive your efficiency, you can start by visually organizing your files by color. 

Here are the steps to do this:

Right-click on a particular folder

Choose “Change Color”

Assign a color from the palette

This trick will make your folders more visually appealing. Not to mention, over time, you’ll be able to associate a color with a particular folder, allowing important folders to stand out. 

3. Organize your folders by creating workspaces

Workspaces are a super simple way to group files together that you use frequently. To add a file to a workspace, just right-click on the file and select “Add to Workspace” where you’ll have the option to create a new workspace. When you have your files in the new workspace, you can access workspaces in the priority tab of google drive.

4. Organize shared files and folders by creating a shortcut to your own drive

Adding a shortcut to a file shared with you is a snap. Right-click on the file and select “Add Shortcut to Drive” where you can select the folder you’d like the shortcut to be located. I’ve seen clients use the “Make a Copy” only to find that they are using a copy of the file and not the original that was shared with them. A shortcut is just that. A shortcut to the original file. You also add the shortcut to a workspace for even greater flexibility.

Organizing your Google Drive on your mobile device

Accessing and organizing files on your mobile device is just as easy. Save for certain rendering and minor differences, you can also perform all of the tips listed above via mobile. Certain nuances just have to be kept in mind, for example, instead of right-clicking (or control-clicking) folders, you can tap on the three vertical dots beside a file to move them.

I’d love to speak with you about organizing your Google Drive and make your digital life easier. You can contact me here.