Digital folders almost always sit at the top of the pile, and they (usually) sort themselves alphabetically, whether on your computer, in Dropbox, or your Google Drive.
But I have always found myself using a few select folders more than others… and a few folders decidedly LESS than others.
“This one’s an oldie but a goodie” – Am I the only one who pictures Marty McFly on stage when they hear that expression? – I’ve been using the following simple tactic to sort my folders in the order that works best for my workflow, not the alphabet.
The most commonly used way to force folders into a sort order, is to number them.
Personally, I don’t like numbering ALL my folders, because I like to search for my folders by starting to typing the name of the folder and numbering prevents that option.
Here’s what I do to force the order that folders appear in: I put a Z in front of a folder name to push it to the bottom of the list.
You’ll NEVER find a folder named “Archives” on my computer. No way I want that ARCHIVE (aka stuff I don’t look at) at the TOP of the pile just because someone started the word archive with an “A”.
All Archive folders in my life are called z-Archives so that they sit squarely at the bottom, alphabetically. (If you heard my voice in your head while you read that, you heard “zed Archives” because #canadian.)
And to force folders to sit at the top of the list, I usually preface my folders with a 0- (zero dash) or an _ (underscore).
Forcing your most-used folders to the top or bottom of the list is as simple as taking 1-3 folders you use most and adding numbers or characters to get them to the top of the list and taking 1-3 folders you use least and adding z- to put them at the bottom.
