hen it comes to managing fi les on our
iPhones, many of us are a bit like a teenager
with a cluttered room. There is stuff every-
where, disorganization everywhere. And yet
when asked, “How can you fi nd anything in
here?” the teenager believes they can simply
look around and fi nd whatever they want. Of course, as anyone
with kids knows, the parents usually end up having to help fi nd
whatever the teen is looking for. That kind of disorganization is
ineffective, distracting, and a huge loss of productivity.
The same holds true when it comes to organizing your com-
puter and syncing with your mobile devices. We often turn to
the search tool as the solution, but searching can be extreme-
ly frustrating, especially on mobile. We have all struggled to
fi nd that email we know is somewhere or that document that
should be easy to locate, but somehow eludes us despite our
best efforts.
The bottom line is that things are easier to fi nd when you
know where to look. That’s why I’m here to teach you the art
of organizing your digital technology.
Getting Started
For this project, you will need your Mac (running OS X 10.11
or later) and your iPhone or iPad (running iOS 11 or later) with
Apple’s Files app downloaded.
Many people create folders for everything, resulting in hun-
dreds of folders scattered all over their desktops and in all their
programs. I propose a simpler way called the 5 Folders Fix.
The concept is simple: create fi ve generic folders that will
allow you to easily separate and sort your fi les. These folders
can be categories but should not be too specifi c. For example,
if you have a lot of documents about travel, you should name
your folder TRAVEL rather than something like EUROPE or
HAWAII.It is easier to navigate when the number of items in your
fi rst level of folders is fi nite. The more you have to look at in
the beginning, the longer it takes you to get started, the moreW
Find What You’re Looking for
on Your Mac and iPhone
by Dylan Stewart