Talking about File Naming Conventions can really open up a can of worms, so I’m not going to go there. I am, however, going to plant a seeds with you for improving your Google Drive file naming.
Simply: Add a date-created to your file name.
Why? Because Google Drive doesn’t allow you to search by a “Date Created” – it only lets you search by “Date Modified,” and a new date modified is triggered even by just a file name change, which strongly diminishes the value of that as a search criteria.
The “Date Created” data exists, but isn’t searchable:
So here’s the simple solution: next time you create and name a file in Google Drive, toss in the date you created it.
Bonus points if you use a consistent format for your dates that makes searching extra easy, like YYYY-MM-DD.
Then, you can add the year, or year and month, or exact date to your search criteria when – years from now – you’re narrowing down search results from dozens of documents stored in your Google Drive.
Finding old files is no joke! The best favor you can do your future self is to take a moment to thoroughly and thoughtfully name your files.
Every time. (You’ll thank me. You’re welcome!)
