Reply To: A bit of a broad subject… But is there a “fundamentals of organization?”

[Jonathan Lampel]

Project management is definitely something we should tackle more in the future, however this sounds like it affects you far beyond art related tasks. I’ve been pretty disorganized in the past, so don’t worry – this is something you can learn! Getting things in order will be really helpful for you down the road. 

Here’s what I’d suggest you do: 

1. Create one folder inside your Home folder called something like “7-21-2017_backup”
2. Take every file that you have that you don’t think is organized and shove it in that folder
3. Now that you have a completely clean slate, set up a new folder in your Documents called “Blender Projects”. 
4. Every time you create a new Blender file, place it in there. 
5. Every time you open an old Blender file from the backup, move it to there first. 
6. If your project includes multiple files, images, etc… make a folder for that project and subfolders for each type of file. For example, my project folders have folders for Scenes, Textures, Objects (for exported .obj’s and such), and References. 
7. If you end up having a lot of projects that are similar, place all of them in a folder as well (many projects for the same client for example).
8. Repeat steps 3-6 with the other types of files you want organized, from music to tax documents whenever you search for them in your backup folder. 

Wiping everything clean except the backup folder should give you some breathing room, and moving only new files or files that you use regularly should make it less overwhelming so that you don’t feel like you have to organize everything perfectly right this moment. 

Use your desktop only as a temporary sorting area – don’t save anything there unless you intend to move or delete it immediately. It should not have files on it. Some people do (which is fine if it works for them), but for me it quickly gets out of control. Same goes for the downloads folder.

Naming is also important, and something I have a hard time with as well. But don’t stress about it too much just yet – get the folders in place first.