We’re all very good and well-trained at what we do. However, our output – our ability to show what we do and to please our employer or clients – is due in part to how we present ourselves. No, I’m not talking about dress here or about our presentation and writing skills (although they are important, too!). I am talking about organization of data and files. How we handle and organize data we are given in our computer can be the difference between performing a project well or not and also performing it timely or being wasteful. Showing well-organized data in a report will also not only head off questions and comments and enable finalization to go quicker and smoother, but also makes you look good to your clients and the agencies or the public you are presenting data and findings to.

OK, OK. I may not be the best person to “lecture” on data organization. I have had breakdowns myself or have clients or agencies ask questions that would have been avoided had I better organized my data. But I’m trying to get better and that’s all we can hope for: improve and get at least a little better in the future. Here are some tips.

Invest time to organize. Instead of “throwing” your data into a project or other folder, spend some time early on understanding and organizing it. It may take a few minutes, but it will save you much more than that in the future. I am often given several years of energy data listed on a monthly basis. Often, the source just sends me a spreadsheet from a different project and it has extraneous information. Take some time to copy and paste or otherwise edit the information so that you have only what you need in the format you prefer. I’ve taken the time to take data presented in a certain order and change the order because I know that will make things easier for me when I need it later on.

Create folders and sub-folders with different categories. Do this in order to save time searching for needed documents. For most of my projects, I have a sub-folder specifically for Administrative materials. I create and use sub-folders for raw data given to me, for calculations, for reports, for pictures, for background, etc. for a specific project or prospect, so that when I need something I can find it more efficiently.

Create specific file names for specific files. One thing that used to bedevil me is having multiple versions of documents, a.k.a., multiple drafts. It may be tough to find the exact document you need. And looking at the date a document was last edited could be dangerous because a recently-dated file might be one that was not changed but only looked at more recently than it was created. Thus, in the file name I create, I list the status. For example, I will end the file name of a first draft document with DRAFT 1, followed by DRAFT 2, etc. until I label it FINAL. And, yes, all caps. I may have a contract in different stages, so I list the final one as not just final, but also SIGNED. This has not only saved me a lot of time in finding the right document, but provides an assurance that I am actually reading or utilizing the correct one.

Archive old files on or off of your main computer. Many of us have files from old projects we really don’t use much. However, while it may be “old”, it may contain useful information or formats. Therefore, I keep active project files by specific client or project in my main file folder for easy access. But I also have a separate file called “Completed Projects” in which I put project files that are complete (complete, by the way, defined as not just the work being done, but final payment being received, as well). So with a couple of extra clicks, all those old, historical files can be accessed. If you really have a lot of files or files with a lot of data, videos, and model runs, it may be in your interest to remove old files totally from your main computer and put them on an external drive or flash drive, speeding up your search for current documents on your main computer.

I hope you found this helpful and good luck in making incremental progress in data and file management.

CCES has the experts to help you organize your energy and environmental data to serve you well, help you understand your historical energy usage or discharges, and plan better in the future. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or karell@CCESworld.com.