How to Organize Your Files Better Than 99% of People

How to Organize Your Files Better Than 99% of People ![rw-book-cover](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ac30885Y_38/maxresdefault.jpg) 🔗 **Source:** [How to Organize Your Files Better Than 99% of People](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac30885Y_38) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [organization, productivity, digital-minimalism] > author: Linking Your Thinking > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac30885Y_38 > date created: 2025-01-11 14:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: How to Organize Your Files Better Than 99% of People >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Implement the "Big Clean" three-part process — physical → digital → mental spaces #organization - [H2] Create plus folder system for unified downloads and screenshots — centralize digital intake #productivity - [H3] Set up Obsidian context-based organization with linking — connect ideas meaningfully #knowledge-management ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [Knowledge Academy](https://linkingyourthinking.com) - [CleanShot X](https://cleanshot.com) ## 📝 Summary - Nick Milo presents a three-part "Big Clean" process for organizing physical, digital, and mental spaces - The system prioritizes context over rigid filing, focusing on findability and meaningful connections - Key innovation is the "plus folder" approach for unified digital intake and Obsidian-based idea organization - Argues that external clutter directly impacts cognitive clarity and work quality - Bottom line: Organization should serve thinking, not become an end in itself ## 📖 Main Content The "Big Clean" methodology addresses the connection between external environment and internal mental state. Milo argues that cluttered spaces—whether physical desks, digital downloads folders, or disorganized note systems—actively drain cognitive resources and impair clear thinking. The three-part process moves from concrete to abstract: first cleaning physical workspace, then organizing digital files through unified intake systems (the "plus folder" containing downloads and screenshots), and finally structuring mental space through context-based note organization in Obsidian. The digital organization phase emphasizes efficiency over perfection. Rather than manually sorting every file, Milo recommends annual archiving by year and size-based deletion (10MB threshold). This approach recognizes that most digital files have declining utility over time. The mental space organization in Obsidian focuses on linking and context rather than hierarchical folders. Notes are organized by how they'll be found and used, not by topic categories. The system uses autocomplete and wiki-linking to create discoverable connections between ideas. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=0) — [H1] External environment mirrors internal state - Key idea: Cluttered environments drain cognitive ability and impair best work - Evidence: "Your external environment is a mirror of your internal state" #### ⏱️ [01:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=90) — [H2] Physical space cleaning first - Key idea: Clean physical workspace provides calm foundation for thinking work - Evidence: "It is so much nicer to have a clean physical space around you, wherever you're doing most of your thinking work" #### ⏱️ [02:45](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=165) — [H1] Desktop decluttering with single folder - Key idea: Quickly organize desktop chaos by grouping everything into dated folders - Evidence: Demonstrates moving all desktop items into "2026 screenshots" folder instantly #### ⏱️ [03:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=210) — [H1] Plus folder system for unified downloads - Key idea: Create single source of truth for all downloaded files across browsers - Evidence: "You do download things from the internet... it's probably not unified" #### ⏱️ [05:15](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=315) — [H2] Size-based file deletion strategy - Key idea: Only manually review files over 10MB threshold for deletion - Evidence: "If something is under 10 megabytes, I'm going to let it slide. Too many files to worry about" #### ⏱️ [06:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=390) — [H2] Annual archiving by year - Key idea: Archive downloads and screenshots annually rather than constant organization - Evidence: Shows folders labeled "2020 downloads" through "2025 downloads" with file counts #### ⏱️ [08:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=480) — [H1] Screenshots need unified management - Key idea: Create single source for screenshots just like downloads to prevent scatter - Evidence: Demonstrates 1,467 screenshot files being archived into yearly folders #### ⏱️ [10:15](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=615) — [H1] Digital notes more important than file organization - Key idea: Ideas and their connections matter more than perfect file hierarchies - Evidence: "I'm not really organizing these digital files. It's not important. What's important to me are my digital notes" #### ⏱️ [11:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=690) — [H1] Organize for context, not categories - Key idea: Structure information systems around how you'll find and use content - Evidence: "We need to organize for context. That's what it's all about. The relationships between these ideas" #### ⏱️ [12:45](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=765) — [H2] Plus folder for unsorted notes - Key idea: Use intake folder in Obsidian for new notes before proper organization - Evidence: Shows 165 unsorted files in plus folder that need processing #### ⏱️ [14:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=840) — [H1] Batch processing with search results - Key idea: Use Obsidian search to copy and batch-move related notes efficiently - Evidence: Demonstrates copying 165 search results and moving 25 "Linking Your Thinking" notes at once #### ⏱️ [16:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=990) — [H1] Link-based organization over folders - Key idea: Notes should be discoverable through connections rather than hierarchical filing - Evidence: Shows note findable through book links, statements category, and topic searches #### ⏱️ [18:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=1080) — [H1] Multiple pathways to rediscovery - Key idea: Well-organized notes can be found through various contexts and connections - Evidence: "So many different ways to find this note. I feel calm and I feel relief" ## 📚 References - [Linking Your Thinking YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@linkingyourthinking) - [Knowledge Academy](https://linkingyourthinking.com/academy) - [CleanShot X Screenshot Tool](https://cleanshot.com) - [Obsidian Note-Taking App](https://obsidian.md) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - The state of your external environment directly reflects and influences your internal mental clarity, making organization essential for cognitive performance - A systematic three-phase cleaning approach moves from physical workspace to digital files to mental note systems, building calm and focus progressively - Digital organization should prioritize efficiency over perfection, using annual archiving and size-based deletion thresholds rather than manual micro-management ## 📰 Newsletter Transform your digital chaos into cognitive clarity with Nick Milo's "Big Clean" methodology! This systematic approach tackles the hidden productivity drain of disorganized spaces through three progressive phases. Start with your physical workspace—that cluttered desk is literally cluttering your mind. Then tackle digital files with the brilliant "plus folder" system: create unified download and screenshot folders that you archive annually rather than obsessively organizing. The real magic happens in the mental space phase using Obsidian. Instead of rigid folder hierarchies, organize notes for context and discoverability through linking. Use intake folders and batch processing to efficiently handle accumulating notes. Key insight: Your external environment mirrors your internal state. Clean surroundings support clear thinking, while clutter creates cognitive drain. The goal isn't perfect organization—it's findable, useful organization that serves your thinking rather than becoming an end in itself. Resources: [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/), [Developer Docs](https://developer.wordpress.org/), [WP-CLI](https://wp-cli.org/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create "Big Clean" workshop for developer productivity and documentation organization - Education: Develop curriculum on knowledge management for technical professionals - Developer experience: Audit and organize developer documentation using context-based principles - Developer marketing: Share organization systems that support technical content creation - Community management: Implement intake folders for community feedback and feature requests #### OSPO - Policy & Governance: Organize governance documents using findable, linked structure rather than deep hierarchies - License Compliance: Create unified intake system for license review requests and compliance artifacts - Security Management: Implement context-based organization for vulnerability reports and security documentation - Software Inventory: Structure SBOM data for multiple discovery pathways and cross-referencing - Developer Support: Organize training materials and support documentation for easy retrieval - Community Engagement: Create systems for tracking and organizing upstream community relationships - Strategic Alignment: Organize OKRs and KPIs with linking structure for cross-functional discovery #### Community - Maintainers: Implement organized systems for roadmap documentation and decision records - Contributors: Create clear intake and organization systems for contribution guidelines and onboarding materials - Sponsors: Organize funding documentation and impact reports for multiple stakeholder discovery paths - Ecosystem: Structure cross-project coordination documents for findability across initiatives #### WordPress - Core: Organize core development documentation using linking principles for cross-component discovery - Core Performance: Structure performance testing data and documentation for multiple access patterns - Core AI: Implement organized systems for AI ethics guidelines and evaluation frameworks - Documentation: Apply context-based organization to DevHub and HelpHub content architecture - Community: Create organized systems for meetup resources and WordCamp coordination materials - Training: Structure learning materials for multiple discovery pathways and cross-referencing - Support: Organize knowledge base using context and linking rather than rigid categories ## 🧪 Hypotheses - External environment organization directly correlates with cognitive performance and work quality - Annual archiving systems require less maintenance overhead than continuous micro-organization - Context-based note organization improves information retrieval compared to hierarchical folder systems - Unified intake systems reduce cognitive load from managing multiple scattered information sources ### 📊 Methodology - Study design to test hypothesis 1: Measure cognitive performance metrics before and after implementing Big Clean process - Data sources and analysis for hypothesis 2: Compare time spent on file management between annual vs continuous organization approaches - Experiments to validate hypothesis 3: A/B test information retrieval speed between linked vs folder-based systems ### ❓ Questions - What organizational systems work best for collaborative teams versus individual knowledge workers? - How can context-based organization principles apply to shared repositories and wikis? - What metrics effectively measure the cognitive load reduction from better organization systems? ### 🔮 Future Research - Long-term studies on organization system sustainability and maintenance overhead - Cross-cultural research on organization preferences and effectiveness - Integration patterns between personal and collaborative organization systems ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Shift from perfectionist organization to efficient, context-based systems that serve thinking - Policy: Implement intake and archiving policies that reduce maintenance overhead - Security: Consider organization systems that support audit trails while maintaining usability - Education: Teach organization as cognitive tool rather than administrative task - Funding: Account for the productivity costs of disorganized information systems ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 8th grade #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Desktop cleanup demonstration, folder structures, before/after comparisons - Improve: Flowcharts showing decision trees for file organization, visual maps of linking structures #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Full video narration with clear explanations - Improve: Audio summary of key principles, podcast version for review #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of concepts like "plus folder" and "context-based organization" - Improve: More analogies comparing organization systems to familiar concepts #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Step-by-step demonstrations, hands-on folder creation and file moving - Improve: Practice exercises with sample messy folders, interactive organization challenges #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear three-step process, decision criteria for file deletion - Improve: Flowcharts for organization decisions, metrics for measuring system effectiveness #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community academy mentioned for group learning - Improve: Discussion prompts about personal organization challenges, peer accountability systems #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Individual reflection on personal organization state - Improve: Self-assessment checklist, private journaling prompts about organization obstacles #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Ecosystem metaphor for connected ideas in "ideaverse" - Improve: More natural system analogies for organization principles ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive titles for video sections - Improve: Alt text for visual demonstrations, audio descriptions of screen actions #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard video player controls - Improve: Keyboard shortcuts for jumping between sections, transcript navigation #### Contrast and readability - Present: Good contrast in video interface - Improve: High contrast mode option, adjustable text size in related materials #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive video player - Improve: Scalable interface elements, reflow-friendly transcript formatting #### Media and captions - Present: Full transcript provided - Improve: Time-synchronized captions, downloadable transcript option #### Forms and interactions - Present: Basic video interactions - Improve: Accessible controls for playback speed, clear focus indicators ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Universal organization challenges applicable across contexts - Improve: Examples from different cultural approaches to organization and space #### Inclusive language - Present: Clear, jargon-free explanations of technical concepts - Improve: Alternative terms for "cleaning" that don't imply moral judgment about messiness #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Step-by-step process, visual demonstrations alongside verbal explanation - Improve: Accommodation suggestions for different cognitive processing styles, sensory considerations #### Representation - Present: Focus on systems rather than personal characteristics - Improve: Acknowledgment that organization needs vary by individual and circumstance #### Psychological safety - Present: Non-judgmental tone about messy spaces - Improve: More explicit messaging that organization challenges are normal and addressable ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Clear logical flow from cluttered environment to cognitive impact to systematic solution - Inductive strength: Good examples supporting general principles about organization effectiveness - Causal reasoning: Strong connection between external organization and internal clarity - Analogical strength: Effective use of "mirror" metaphor for environment-mind relationship #### Fallacies - Appeal to authority: Minimal, mostly relies on demonstrated systems rather than credentials - False dichotomy: Appropriately avoids perfectionist vs chaotic organization false choice #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Encouraging and practical, with genuine enthusiasm for organization systems without being preachy ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No defensive patterns observed - Attack: No attacks on viewers or alternative approaches - Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender dynamics present - Emotional cues and rhetoric: Positive, encouraging tone focused on empowerment rather than blame ## 🎯 Conclusion The "Big Clean" methodology provides a practical framework for transforming environmental chaos into cognitive clarity through systematic organization of physical, digital, and mental spaces. The key insight is organizing for context and findability rather than perfection, creating systems that serve thinking rather --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] Your external environment is a mirror of [00:02] your internal state. A cluttered [00:03] desktop, a downloads folder with 3,000 [00:05] files, an obsidian vault overflowing [00:07] with half-baked ideas that you swore [00:09] you'd organize later. These aren't just [00:11] annoyances. They actually start to drain [00:13] your ability to think clearly and do [00:15] your best work. That's why every so [00:17] often I go through a personal process [00:19] for cleaning the gutters of my physical [00:21] and digital lives. A three-part process [00:24] I call the big clean. We'll clean our [00:26] physical space first, the place where [00:28] we're doing most of our work. Then we'll [00:30] clean our digital space, our files, our [00:32] folders, our desktop. And last, we'll [00:34] clean our mental space, our idea verse [00:36] in Obsidian, so that we can move forward [00:38] with focus and clarity. Part one of the [00:40] big clean process is to clean your [00:42] physical space. It is so much nicer to [00:44] have a clean physical space around you, [00:47] wherever you're doing most of your [00:49] thinking work. If it's messy, it's not [00:52] going to work well. For me, when I'm [00:54] here, it's this desk. It's kind of [00:56] satisfying in a strange peculiar way to [00:59] just clean parts of your desk and then [01:02] at the end of it have something that [01:03] feels so much more calm with so much [01:07] fewer distractions. And yes, this is [01:10] feeling pretty good right now. You ready [01:12] for the digital space? Oh my, this is my [01:15] desktop. Well, it's not really. It's an [01:17] example of what can cause great anxiety. [01:20] And here's the thing, it doesn't have to [01:22] be this way. We can actually clean [01:23] things up in a hurry. So, what I'm going [01:25] to do right here on the desktop is [01:27] create a new folder. And these are all [01:29] screen grabs, screenshots that I've [01:31] taken. And for now, we're just going to [01:33] put here 2026 [01:35] screenshots. [01:37] Not all of them. But now what I can do [01:39] is let me throw this folder somewhere [01:42] where I can now select everything else [01:44] essentially. And it's going to be pretty [01:46] magical once it happens. So, you ready [01:48] for this? We select everything and boom. [01:53] Just like that, our desktop is cleaned [01:55] up. So, step one, if you do have a messy [01:57] desktop, go ahead and immediately throw [01:59] all that stuff in one folder. Then, [02:01] we'll go over to step two. If you're on [02:02] a Mac, open Finder. On Windows, open [02:04] your file explorer. And what I encourage [02:06] you to do is create a folder called the [02:09] plus folder. It's just a plus icon. Just [02:12] create that folder. For me, I have it in [02:15] Dropbox, but whatever your syncing [02:17] solution is, go ahead and create a plus [02:19] folder if you haven't already. Now, in [02:21] that plus folder, you should create two [02:24] folders, but definitely one. You do [02:26] download things from the internet. I [02:27] know you do. Where do those downloads [02:29] go? They probably go to some other [02:31] downloads folder, and it's probably not [02:33] unified. And if you use multiple [02:34] internet browsers, it's all over the [02:36] place. What you want to do is have the [02:38] single source of download. And that's [02:40] what I've done here. I actually call my [02:42] downloads folder with an extra s on the [02:44] end. That way I'm never confused when I [02:47] see any internet browser telling me what [02:49] downloads folder it's going to. We go [02:51] open this downloads folder and we're [02:53] going to notice a lot of things here. [02:55] But looks like 125 items. Here's how I [02:59] think about organizing all these [03:01] downloads because this isn't the best [03:04] use of my time. It's not really going to [03:07] net me too much unless I'm really [03:09] feeling the pinch with the space on my [03:11] computer's hard drive. I shouldn't be [03:13] spending time here. I should be spending [03:14] time with my ideas, with my [03:16] communications, those sort of things. [03:17] What I like to do immediately is one [03:20] sort by kind. I want to see what folders [03:22] I have. And if I do that, I can see, and [03:26] this is kind of the hint that we're [03:27] going for, every year the downloads. And [03:31] you can see going back to 2020 and how [03:33] many downloads are in each of these [03:36] folders, how many files I give in [03:38] parentheses here. So, we could start [03:41] this if we wanted to for 2026 right now. [03:44] Now, before we do, there is one other [03:46] thing that we want to do, and that is [03:48] sort by size. Now, I said we're not [03:51] going to spend time manually sorting all [03:53] this. But what we want to do is look at [03:55] any file that is over 10 megabytes. [03:59] That's my threshold. If something is [04:01] under 10 megabytes, I'm going to let it [04:02] slide. Too many files to worry about. [04:04] It's not worth it. But for things that [04:06] are over 10 megabytes, I want to look at [04:08] these and ask myself which of these I [04:11] can delete. Uh, as it turns out, I can [04:13] definitely delete at least these ones [04:15] I'm pretty confident in. And already [04:17] that feels pretty good. Now, we go back [04:19] to sort by kind. And let's pretend it's [04:22] the end of the year. That's the time [04:24] that I would actually then create the [04:26] new folder. And I would go 2026 [04:29] downloads. And then I'll give it a [04:31] number. Then I just simply highlight [04:33] everything. And then I drag and drop. It [04:36] looks like 103 items. Next, do you take [04:39] screenshots? I use an app that I [04:41] absolutely love. It's called CleanShot [04:43] X. I've talked about it in a separate [04:45] video that we'll point to. And I'm [04:46] taking screenshots throughout the day [04:49] most days. So, if we go back to the plus [04:51] folder that I asked you to create, this [04:54] is also where you should spin up, if you [04:55] don't already have something like this, [04:57] a screenshots folder. Now, this place is [05:00] a mess. Now we see 1,467 [05:03] items. Again, I'm going to do the same [05:06] thing. First, I'm going to sort by size [05:08] and everything. I have one thing that's [05:11] a video, so that shouldn't be in here, [05:12] and that's a good catch. And then [05:14] everything else, my 10 megabyte rule, [05:17] just these two things. So, that's [05:19] something that I I'll deal with later. [05:20] And then we go into kind, sort by kind. [05:23] If you scroll to the top, you'll see a [05:25] lot of folders. Right now, there are too [05:27] many folders, but I'm going to do the [05:29] same thing where I create the 2025 [05:32] screenshots [05:34] folder. And I actually get to now [05:36] consolidate and archive my 2025 [05:38] screenshots. The first thing I'll do is [05:41] clean up all these 2025 [05:43] folders. [05:45] I'll just throw those in the 2025 [05:47] screenshots and start to collapse that. [05:50] Then because I know that I've already [05:52] archived 2023 and 2024, all of these [05:56] screenshots, almost all of them should [05:57] be in the year 2025. [06:01] And I can double check this later. I'll [06:03] just drag and drop. And now we have [06:06] 1,446 [06:08] images all going to the 2025 screenshots [06:11] folder. That feels good. That feels [06:13] satisfying. And now I have an archive [06:15] and a record. [06:17] 1465. That number now goes into [06:20] parenthesis. 1,465 [06:22] images. And what's fun is I get to [06:24] compare the years. So I see that 2024 [06:27] was a lot more than that. And then 2023 [06:30] was basically on pace with 2025. And now [06:33] we can throw in from the desktop the [06:35] 2026 screenshots. So if you take a lot [06:38] of screenshots, make sure you have a [06:39] single source of screenshots just like [06:41] you have a single source of downloads. [06:43] And that's how we organize our digital [06:45] life. But more and more these days, I'm [06:46] not really organizing these digital [06:49] files. It's not important. What's [06:51] important to me are my digital notes, my [06:54] ideas, and how I can link them together. [06:56] So, for that, we're going to go into [06:58] organizing our thinking space of the big [07:00] clean process. Now, before we go any [07:02] further, if you want to go even deeper [07:03] with this process, we walk through all [07:05] of these steps and more in greater [07:07] detail inside the knowledge academy. [07:09] Once a year, I go through this entire [07:11] process and a lot more alongside you [07:13] hands-on step by step with guidance and [07:15] we record it and we break down the full [07:18] details of how you can keep your mind [07:19] and digital home clean. And by joining [07:21] the knowledge academy, you don't just [07:23] get the big clean, you also get the [07:25] February linking your thinking workshop, [07:27] a live experience connecting ideas [07:29] together. You get Obsidian Flight [07:30] School, the world's best jump start to [07:32] learning the Obsidian app, as well as [07:34] all my best Obsidian templates, and [07:36] regular monthly workshops, just like the [07:39] Big Clean. The Academy only opens for a [07:41] limited window, so check out the link in [07:43] the description or the QR code here for [07:45] more details. Now, we're in my Obsidian [07:48] vault. I call it my ideaverse. Why [07:50] that's so important is because an [07:51] ideaverse is a connected ecosystem of [07:54] ideas, and that is how we need to [07:56] organize. We need to organize for [07:59] context. That's what it's all about. The [08:02] relationships between these ideas. Like [08:04] why did we save these notes in the first [08:05] place? So that we could remember them at [08:07] the right time so that we could use them [08:09] in this context. So for me, I have guess [08:12] what the plus folder. So just like in [08:15] the file system where we had the plus [08:17] folder for downloads and screenshots, in [08:20] my thinking system, I also have a plus [08:22] folder for any new note that I create [08:24] that's unsorted. All right. Right. So, [08:26] if I hover over this, we can see it says [08:29] 165 files. I've let this thing build up [08:32] because I have better things to do. But [08:34] now I'm feeling a little bit of a [08:36] cluttered mind and I need to declutter [08:38] my thinking space. If I twirl open the [08:41] plus folder, you can see all sorts of [08:43] strange types of notes. This is [08:45] overwhelming. Just looking at this, I'm [08:47] thinking to myself, what am I going to [08:49] click individually on one note at a [08:51] time? So, I'm going to process 165 notes [08:53] and try to add context to each one and [08:55] then file it appropriately. That does [08:58] not sound like fun, but there's value in [09:00] doing it. So, how do I make this work [09:03] and make it work effectively and [09:05] efficiently? Click on search and we're [09:08] actually going to select the path. Now, [09:10] select whatever that folder is. So, for [09:13] me, it's the plus folder and then I'm [09:15] going to delete once and then add a [09:17] slash. So that's now targeting the plus [09:20] folder, that file path, and we can see [09:23] 165 results. It matches. Did you know in [09:26] Obsidian you can click right here in [09:28] these three dots, copy search results. [09:32] Now I can actually copy everything. Copy [09:35] results. Copied it to my clipboard. And [09:38] now I can paste it right here. That's [09:40] pretty cool. And we can take it even [09:42] further. So if I click copy search [09:44] results this time link style I'm going [09:47] to make it a wiki link. Now all these [09:49] are going to be links. So I can copy [09:52] results and now when I paste it in we [09:55] get all of these results. Now 165 is a [09:59] lot but something is coming really [10:01] apparent to me that I have a whole [10:03] linking your thinking section. So move [10:05] to light and I can just tell myself [10:06] anything that's linking your thinking [10:08] related I can move all of these to [10:11] linking your thinking. That's a huge [10:12] section. So that's going to change this [10:14] file path really fast if I can move all [10:16] these. So let's go ahead and now go back [10:19] to the path here. We're going to [10:22] organize file name A to Z. And for [10:25] everything that's linking your thinking, [10:26] let's see if I can do this. If I click [10:28] on this one and then I go and shiftclick [10:31] over here, rightclick. Now I can just [10:34] move 25 items. And just like that, I'm [10:37] going to move it to my linking or [10:38] thinking folder. Atlas and light. Now, [10:41] just like that, we don't have 165 files. [10:43] We have 140. And that's feeling a lot [10:46] better. But let's look at some other [10:47] examples that aren't so simple where we [10:49] actually want to jump into the note. So, [10:51] let's go back to all these things. Now [10:53] that we've moved them to the light [10:55] folder, we can remove those. Now, [10:57] something else that I think would be [10:58] useful is I have a lot of people. So, I [11:01] could just start to move around and [11:03] group people. So, I'm just going to [11:04] start to move these people around. When [11:07] I find another one, I'll add that [11:09] person. Looks like those are the only [11:10] ones so far. And just like this, I have [11:13] a group that I can now say, you know, [11:16] move to people. What I want to show you [11:18] are the notes that we jump into for [11:19] these. Let's do unlin concepts. This is [11:23] a fun one. Okay. So, I'm just going to [11:25] scroll through all these notes. That's a [11:27] nice concept. This is a statement idea I [11:29] like a lot. Three rules of engagement [11:31] with AI. That's something I want to look [11:32] at as well. Okay. Now, I'm going to look [11:35] at one of these and just say, where do I [11:37] want to spend my time right now? I like [11:39] this idea. Billions, trillions are spent [11:41] on how to best hijack our attention. [11:43] Let's open it up into a new tab, which [11:45] I've done here. Okay, this is cool. Now, [11:47] I'm thinking to myself, it's actually [11:48] quite well linked. I know I want to [11:49] mention it in the book I'm writing. It's [11:51] a part of a collection that I have [11:52] called statements because it's a [11:54] statement note. I also want to see what [11:56] else I might have on the topic of [11:58] attention. So, this is where [12:00] autocomplete is such a key for you. So, [12:02] all you have to do is hit the brackets a [12:05] couple times and then type a keyword [12:07] like attention and then I'm going to see [12:09] is there anything wo grievance-based [12:13] attention farming. So, this reminds me [12:17] of grievance-based attention farming. [12:20] This is a well-connected note. It's [12:22] short. It's sweet. It's to the point. It [12:24] connects to a big effort of mine. I can [12:26] also find it through the statements. So, [12:29] that's all I need to do. I don't need to [12:31] file this note anywhere. It does not [12:33] need to exist in any folder, but for my [12:35] purposes, I'm going to throw it in [12:37] Atlas. So, let me just go ahead hit move [12:40] and then I'll just move it to Atlas. So, [12:42] now whenever I need to find this note, [12:44] that's where it will always be in the [12:46] Atlas folder. You can have subfolders or [12:48] you don't need subfolders. But if you [12:50] think to yourself, how am I organizing [12:52] this by context? That's our whole point [12:54] here. How am I organizing this for [12:56] context so I'll find it again? Will I be [12:58] able to find billions, trillions? Now, [13:01] will I be able to find this note? You [13:03] tell me. I can find it if I look at my [13:04] light book note, if I look for [13:06] statements, or if I look for some other [13:08] note, or if I just happen to be in the [13:10] atlas folder. So many different ways to [13:12] find this note. I feel calm and I feel [13:15] relief. But to get there, we started [13:16] with our physical space, our digital [13:19] file space, our digital thinking space, [13:21] so we could get to this mental space of [13:24] clarity, calm, and focus. If you want to [13:27] go even deeper with this process, join [13:29] the knowledge academy and you can [13:30] complete all these steps alongside me in [13:33] real time and also watch the recording. [13:35] We go through so much more. Plus, you [13:37] get everything else included in academy [13:39] so that you can master Obsidian, you can [13:41] master link notes, and you can have an [13:42] idea verse that supports you in every [13:45] aspect of your life. But if you want to [13:46] learn just the most important 80% of [13:48] Obsidian in just 15 minutes, then check [13:51] out this video next.  [[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/How to Organize Your Files Better Than 99% of People|Full Document Contents]] ## Document Notes --- tags: #organization #productivity #digital-minimalism author: Linking Your Thinking source: YouTube reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac30885Y_38 date created: 2025-01-11 14:30 --- # 🏷️ Title: How to Organize Your Files Better Than 99% of People ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Implement the "Big Clean" three-part process — physical → digital → mental spaces #organization - [H2] Create plus folder system for unified downloads and screenshots — centralize digital intake #productivity - [H3] Set up Obsidian context-based organization with linking — connect ideas meaningfully #knowledge-management ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [[#📝 Summary]] - [[#📖 Main Content]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📚 References]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase]] - [[#📰 Newsletter]] - [[#✅ Action Items]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🛡️ DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### 🔗 References - [Knowledge Academy](https://linkingyourthinking.com) - [CleanShot X](https://cleanshot.com) ## 📝 Summary - Nick Milo presents a three-part "Big Clean" process for organizing physical, digital, and mental spaces - The system prioritizes context over rigid filing, focusing on findability and meaningful connections - Key innovation is the "plus folder" approach for unified digital intake and Obsidian-based idea organization - Argues that external clutter directly impacts cognitive clarity and work quality - Bottom line: Organization should serve thinking, not become an end in itself ## 📖 Main Content The "Big Clean" methodology addresses the connection between external environment and internal mental state. Milo argues that cluttered spaces—whether physical desks, digital downloads folders, or disorganized note systems—actively drain cognitive resources and impair clear thinking. The three-part process moves from concrete to abstract: first cleaning physical workspace, then organizing digital files through unified intake systems (the "plus folder" containing downloads and screenshots), and finally structuring mental space through context-based note organization in Obsidian. The digital organization phase emphasizes efficiency over perfection. Rather than manually sorting every file, Milo recommends annual archiving by year and size-based deletion (10MB threshold). This approach recognizes that most digital files have declining utility over time. The mental space organization in Obsidian focuses on linking and context rather than hierarchical folders. Notes are organized by how they'll be found and used, not by topic categories. The system uses autocomplete and wiki-linking to create discoverable connections between ideas. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=0) — [H1] External environment mirrors internal state - Key idea: Cluttered environments drain cognitive ability and impair best work - Evidence: "Your external environment is a mirror of your internal state" #### ⏱️ [01:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=90) — [H2] Physical space cleaning first - Key idea: Clean physical workspace provides calm foundation for thinking work - Evidence: "It is so much nicer to have a clean physical space around you, wherever you're doing most of your thinking work" #### ⏱️ [02:45](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=165) — [H1] Desktop decluttering with single folder - Key idea: Quickly organize desktop chaos by grouping everything into dated folders - Evidence: Demonstrates moving all desktop items into "2026 screenshots" folder instantly #### ⏱️ [03:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=210) — [H1] Plus folder system for unified downloads - Key idea: Create single source of truth for all downloaded files across browsers - Evidence: "You do download things from the internet... it's probably not unified" #### ⏱️ [05:15](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=315) — [H2] Size-based file deletion strategy - Key idea: Only manually review files over 10MB threshold for deletion - Evidence: "If something is under 10 megabytes, I'm going to let it slide. Too many files to worry about" #### ⏱️ [06:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=390) — [H2] Annual archiving by year - Key idea: Archive downloads and screenshots annually rather than constant organization - Evidence: Shows folders labeled "2020 downloads" through "2025 downloads" with file counts #### ⏱️ [08:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=480) — [H1] Screenshots need unified management - Key idea: Create single source for screenshots just like downloads to prevent scatter - Evidence: Demonstrates 1,467 screenshot files being archived into yearly folders #### ⏱️ [10:15](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=615) — [H1] Digital notes more important than file organization - Key idea: Ideas and their connections matter more than perfect file hierarchies - Evidence: "I'm not really organizing these digital files. It's not important. What's important to me are my digital notes" #### ⏱️ [11:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=690) — [H1] Organize for context, not categories - Key idea: Structure information systems around how you'll find and use content - Evidence: "We need to organize for context. That's what it's all about. The relationships between these ideas" #### ⏱️ [12:45](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=765) — [H2] Plus folder for unsorted notes - Key idea: Use intake folder in Obsidian for new notes before proper organization - Evidence: Shows 165 unsorted files in plus folder that need processing #### ⏱️ [14:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=840) — [H1] Batch processing with search results - Key idea: Use Obsidian search to copy and batch-move related notes efficiently - Evidence: Demonstrates copying 165 search results and moving 25 "Linking Your Thinking" notes at once #### ⏱️ [16:30](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=990) — [H1] Link-based organization over folders - Key idea: Notes should be discoverable through connections rather than hierarchical filing - Evidence: Shows note findable through book links, statements category, and topic searches #### ⏱️ [18:00](https://youtu.be/ac30885Y_38?t=1080) — [H1] Multiple pathways to rediscovery - Key idea: Well-organized notes can be found through various contexts and connections - Evidence: "So many different ways to find this note. I feel calm and I feel relief" ## 📚 References - [Linking Your Thinking YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@linkingyourthinking) - [Knowledge Academy](https://linkingyourthinking.com/academy) - [CleanShot X Screenshot Tool](https://cleanshot.com) - [Obsidian Note-Taking App](https://obsidian.md) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - The state of your external environment directly reflects and influences your internal mental clarity, making organization essential for cognitive performance - A systematic three-phase cleaning approach moves from physical workspace to digital files to mental note systems, building calm and focus progressively - Digital organization should prioritize efficiency over perfection, using annual archiving and size-based deletion thresholds rather than manual micro-management ## 📰 Newsletter Transform your digital chaos into cognitive clarity with Nick Milo's "Big Clean" methodology! This systematic approach tackles the hidden productivity drain of disorganized spaces through three progressive phases. Start with your physical workspace—that cluttered desk is literally cluttering your mind. Then tackle digital files with the brilliant "plus folder" system: create unified download and screenshot folders that you archive annually rather than obsessively organizing. The real magic happens in the mental space phase using Obsidian. Instead of rigid folder hierarchies, organize notes for context and discoverability through linking. Use intake folders and batch processing to efficiently handle accumulating notes. Key insight: Your external environment mirrors your internal state. Clean surroundings support clear thinking, while clutter creates cognitive drain. The goal isn't perfect organization—it's findable, useful organization that serves your thinking rather than becoming an end in itself. Resources: [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/), [Developer Docs](https://developer.wordpress.org/), [WP-CLI](https://wp-cli.org/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create "Big Clean" workshop for developer productivity and documentation organization - Education: Develop curriculum on knowledge management for technical professionals - Developer experience: Audit and organize developer documentation using context-based principles - Developer marketing: Share organization systems that support technical content creation - Community management: Implement intake folders for community feedback and feature requests #### OSPO - Policy & Governance: Organize governance documents using findable, linked structure rather than deep hierarchies - License Compliance: Create unified intake system for license review requests and compliance artifacts - Security Management: Implement context-based organization for vulnerability reports and security documentation - Software Inventory: Structure SBOM data for multiple discovery pathways and cross-referencing - Developer Support: Organize training materials and support documentation for easy retrieval - Community Engagement: Create systems for tracking and organizing upstream community relationships - Strategic Alignment: Organize OKRs and KPIs with linking structure for cross-functional discovery #### Community - Maintainers: Implement organized systems for roadmap documentation and decision records - Contributors: Create clear intake and organization systems for contribution guidelines and onboarding materials - Sponsors: Organize funding documentation and impact reports for multiple stakeholder discovery paths - Ecosystem: Structure cross-project coordination documents for findability across initiatives #### WordPress - Core: Organize core development documentation using linking principles for cross-component discovery - Core Performance: Structure performance testing data and documentation for multiple access patterns - Core AI: Implement organized systems for AI ethics guidelines and evaluation frameworks - Documentation: Apply context-based organization to DevHub and HelpHub content architecture - Community: Create organized systems for meetup resources and WordCamp coordination materials - Training: Structure learning materials for multiple discovery pathways and cross-referencing - Support: Organize knowledge base using context and linking rather than rigid categories ## 🧪 Hypotheses - External environment organization directly correlates with cognitive performance and work quality - Annual archiving systems require less maintenance overhead than continuous micro-organization - Context-based note organization improves information retrieval compared to hierarchical folder systems - Unified intake systems reduce cognitive load from managing multiple scattered information sources ### 📊 Methodology - Study design to test hypothesis 1: Measure cognitive performance metrics before and after implementing Big Clean process - Data sources and analysis for hypothesis 2: Compare time spent on file management between annual vs continuous organization approaches - Experiments to validate hypothesis 3: A/B test information retrieval speed between linked vs folder-based systems ### ❓ Questions - What organizational systems work best for collaborative teams versus individual knowledge workers? - How can context-based organization principles apply to shared repositories and wikis? - What metrics effectively measure the cognitive load reduction from better organization systems? ### 🔮 Future Research - Long-term studies on organization system sustainability and maintenance overhead - Cross-cultural research on organization preferences and effectiveness - Integration patterns between personal and collaborative organization systems ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Shift from perfectionist organization to efficient, context-based systems that serve thinking - Policy: Implement intake and archiving policies that reduce maintenance overhead - Security: Consider organization systems that support audit trails while maintaining usability - Education: Teach organization as cognitive tool rather than administrative task - Funding: Account for the productivity costs of disorganized information systems ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 8th grade #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Desktop cleanup demonstration, folder structures, before/after comparisons - Improve: Flowcharts showing decision trees for file organization, visual maps of linking structures #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Full video narration with clear explanations - Improve: Audio summary of key principles, podcast version for review #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of concepts like "plus folder" and "context-based organization" - Improve: More analogies comparing organization systems to familiar concepts #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Step-by-step demonstrations, hands-on folder creation and file moving - Improve: Practice exercises with sample messy folders, interactive organization challenges #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear three-step process, decision criteria for file deletion - Improve: Flowcharts for organization decisions, metrics for measuring system effectiveness #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community academy mentioned for group learning - Improve: Discussion prompts about personal organization challenges, peer accountability systems #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Individual reflection on personal organization state - Improve: Self-assessment checklist, private journaling prompts about organization obstacles #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Ecosystem metaphor for connected ideas in "ideaverse" - Improve: More natural system analogies for organization principles ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive titles for video sections - Improve: Alt text for visual demonstrations, audio descriptions of screen actions #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard video player controls - Improve: Keyboard shortcuts for jumping between sections, transcript navigation #### Contrast and readability - Present: Good contrast in video interface - Improve: High contrast mode option, adjustable text size in related materials #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive video player - Improve: Scalable interface elements, reflow-friendly transcript formatting #### Media and captions - Present: Full transcript provided - Improve: Time-synchronized captions, downloadable transcript option #### Forms and interactions - Present: Basic video interactions - Improve: Accessible controls for playback speed, clear focus indicators ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Universal organization challenges applicable across contexts - Improve: Examples from different cultural approaches to organization and space #### Inclusive language - Present: Clear, jargon-free explanations of technical concepts - Improve: Alternative terms for "cleaning" that don't imply moral judgment about messiness #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Step-by-step process, visual demonstrations alongside verbal explanation - Improve: Accommodation suggestions for different cognitive processing styles, sensory considerations #### Representation - Present: Focus on systems rather than personal characteristics - Improve: Acknowledgment that organization needs vary by individual and circumstance #### Psychological safety - Present: Non-judgmental tone about messy spaces - Improve: More explicit messaging that organization challenges are normal and addressable ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Clear logical flow from cluttered environment to cognitive impact to systematic solution - Inductive strength: Good examples supporting general principles about organization effectiveness - Causal reasoning: Strong connection between external organization and internal clarity - Analogical strength: Effective use of "mirror" metaphor for environment-mind relationship #### Fallacies - Appeal to authority: Minimal, mostly relies on demonstrated systems rather than credentials - False dichotomy: Appropriately avoids perfectionist vs chaotic organization false choice #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Encouraging and practical, with genuine enthusiasm for organization systems without being preachy ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No defensive patterns observed - Attack: No attacks on viewers or alternative approaches - Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender dynamics present - Emotional cues and rhetoric: Positive, encouraging tone focused on empowerment rather than blame ## 🎯 Conclusion The "Big Clean" methodology provides a practical framework for transforming environmental chaos into cognitive clarity through systematic organization of physical, digital, and mental spaces. The key insight is organizing for context and findability rather than perfection, creating systems that serve thinking rather --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] Your external environment is a mirror of [00:02] your internal state. A cluttered [00:03] desktop, a downloads folder with 3,000 [00:05] files, an obsidian vault overflowing [00:07] with half-baked ideas that you swore [00:09] you'd organize later. These aren't just [00:11] annoyances. They actually start to drain [00:13] your ability to think clearly and do [00:15] your best work. That's why every so [00:17] often I go through a personal process [00:19] for cleaning the gutters of my physical [00:21] and digital lives. A three-part process [00:24] I call the big clean. We'll clean our [00:26] physical space first, the place where [00:28] we're doing most of our work. Then we'll [00:30] clean our digital space, our files, our [00:32] folders, our desktop. And last, we'll [00:34] clean our mental space, our idea verse [00:36] in Obsidian, so that we can move forward [00:38] with focus and clarity. Part one of the [00:40] big clean process is to clean your [00:42] physical space. It is so much nicer to [00:44] have a clean physical space around you, [00:47] wherever you're doing most of your [00:49] thinking work. If it's messy, it's not [00:52] going to work well. For me, when I'm [00:54] here, it's this desk. It's kind of [00:56] satisfying in a strange peculiar way to [00:59] just clean parts of your desk and then [01:02] at the end of it have something that [01:03] feels so much more calm with so much [01:07] fewer distractions. And yes, this is [01:10] feeling pretty good right now. You ready [01:12] for the digital space? Oh my, this is my [01:15] desktop. Well, it's not really. It's an [01:17] example of what can cause great anxiety. [01:20] And here's the thing, it doesn't have to [01:22] be this way. We can actually clean [01:23] things up in a hurry. So, what I'm going [01:25] to do right here on the desktop is [01:27] create a new folder. And these are all [01:29] screen grabs, screenshots that I've [01:31] taken. And for now, we're just going to [01:33] put here 2026 [01:35] screenshots. [01:37] Not all of them. But now what I can do [01:39] is let me throw this folder somewhere [01:42] where I can now select everything else [01:44] essentially. And it's going to be pretty [01:46] magical once it happens. So, you ready [01:48] for this? We select everything and boom. [01:53] Just like that, our desktop is cleaned [01:55] up. So, step one, if you do have a messy [01:57] desktop, go ahead and immediately throw [01:59] all that stuff in one folder. Then, [02:01] we'll go over to step two. If you're on [02:02] a Mac, open Finder. On Windows, open [02:04] your file explorer. And what I encourage [02:06] you to do is create a folder called the [02:09] plus folder. It's just a plus icon. Just [02:12] create that folder. For me, I have it in [02:15] Dropbox, but whatever your syncing [02:17] solution is, go ahead and create a plus [02:19] folder if you haven't already. Now, in [02:21] that plus folder, you should create two [02:24] folders, but definitely one. You do [02:26] download things from the internet. I [02:27] know you do. Where do those downloads [02:29] go? They probably go to some other [02:31] downloads folder, and it's probably not [02:33] unified. And if you use multiple [02:34] internet browsers, it's all over the [02:36] place. What you want to do is have the [02:38] single source of download. And that's [02:40] what I've done here. I actually call my [02:42] downloads folder with an extra s on the [02:44] end. That way I'm never confused when I [02:47] see any internet browser telling me what [02:49] downloads folder it's going to. We go [02:51] open this downloads folder and we're [02:53] going to notice a lot of things here. [02:55] But looks like 125 items. Here's how I [02:59] think about organizing all these [03:01] downloads because this isn't the best [03:04] use of my time. It's not really going to [03:07] net me too much unless I'm really [03:09] feeling the pinch with the space on my [03:11] computer's hard drive. I shouldn't be [03:13] spending time here. I should be spending [03:14] time with my ideas, with my [03:16] communications, those sort of things. [03:17] What I like to do immediately is one [03:20] sort by kind. I want to see what folders [03:22] I have. And if I do that, I can see, and [03:26] this is kind of the hint that we're [03:27] going for, every year the downloads. And [03:31] you can see going back to 2020 and how [03:33] many downloads are in each of these [03:36] folders, how many files I give in [03:38] parentheses here. So, we could start [03:41] this if we wanted to for 2026 right now. [03:44] Now, before we do, there is one other [03:46] thing that we want to do, and that is [03:48] sort by size. Now, I said we're not [03:51] going to spend time manually sorting all [03:53] this. But what we want to do is look at [03:55] any file that is over 10 megabytes. [03:59] That's my threshold. If something is [04:01] under 10 megabytes, I'm going to let it [04:02] slide. Too many files to worry about. [04:04] It's not worth it. But for things that [04:06] are over 10 megabytes, I want to look at [04:08] these and ask myself which of these I [04:11] can delete. Uh, as it turns out, I can [04:13] definitely delete at least these ones [04:15] I'm pretty confident in. And already [04:17] that feels pretty good. Now, we go back [04:19] to sort by kind. And let's pretend it's [04:22] the end of the year. That's the time [04:24] that I would actually then create the [04:26] new folder. And I would go 2026 [04:29] downloads. And then I'll give it a [04:31] number. Then I just simply highlight [04:33] everything. And then I drag and drop. It [04:36] looks like 103 items. Next, do you take [04:39] screenshots? I use an app that I [04:41] absolutely love. It's called CleanShot [04:43] X. I've talked about it in a separate [04:45] video that we'll point to. And I'm [04:46] taking screenshots throughout the day [04:49] most days. So, if we go back to the plus [04:51] folder that I asked you to create, this [04:54] is also where you should spin up, if you [04:55] don't already have something like this, [04:57] a screenshots folder. Now, this place is [05:00] a mess. Now we see 1,467 [05:03] items. Again, I'm going to do the same [05:06] thing. First, I'm going to sort by size [05:08] and everything. I have one thing that's [05:11] a video, so that shouldn't be in here, [05:12] and that's a good catch. And then [05:14] everything else, my 10 megabyte rule, [05:17] just these two things. So, that's [05:19] something that I I'll deal with later. [05:20] And then we go into kind, sort by kind. [05:23] If you scroll to the top, you'll see a [05:25] lot of folders. Right now, there are too [05:27] many folders, but I'm going to do the [05:29] same thing where I create the 2025 [05:32] screenshots [05:34] folder. And I actually get to now [05:36] consolidate and archive my 2025 [05:38] screenshots. The first thing I'll do is [05:41] clean up all these 2025 [05:43] folders. [05:45] I'll just throw those in the 2025 [05:47] screenshots and start to collapse that. [05:50] Then because I know that I've already [05:52] archived 2023 and 2024, all of these [05:56] screenshots, almost all of them should [05:57] be in the year 2025. [06:01] And I can double check this later. I'll [06:03] just drag and drop. And now we have [06:06] 1,446 [06:08] images all going to the 2025 screenshots [06:11] folder. That feels good. That feels [06:13] satisfying. And now I have an archive [06:15] and a record. [06:17] 1465. That number now goes into [06:20] parenthesis. 1,465 [06:22] images. And what's fun is I get to [06:24] compare the years. So I see that 2024 [06:27] was a lot more than that. And then 2023 [06:30] was basically on pace with 2025. And now [06:33] we can throw in from the desktop the [06:35] 2026 screenshots. So if you take a lot [06:38] of screenshots, make sure you have a [06:39] single source of screenshots just like [06:41] you have a single source of downloads. [06:43] And that's how we organize our digital [06:45] life. But more and more these days, I'm [06:46] not really organizing these digital [06:49] files. It's not important. What's [06:51] important to me are my digital notes, my [06:54] ideas, and how I can link them together. [06:56] So, for that, we're going to go into [06:58] organizing our thinking space of the big [07:00] clean process. Now, before we go any [07:02] further, if you want to go even deeper [07:03] with this process, we walk through all [07:05] of these steps and more in greater [07:07] detail inside the knowledge academy. [07:09] Once a year, I go through this entire [07:11] process and a lot more alongside you [07:13] hands-on step by step with guidance and [07:15] we record it and we break down the full [07:18] details of how you can keep your mind [07:19] and digital home clean. And by joining [07:21] the knowledge academy, you don't just [07:23] get the big clean, you also get the [07:25] February linking your thinking workshop, [07:27] a live experience connecting ideas [07:29] together. You get Obsidian Flight [07:30] School, the world's best jump start to [07:32] learning the Obsidian app, as well as [07:34] all my best Obsidian templates, and [07:36] regular monthly workshops, just like the [07:39] Big Clean. The Academy only opens for a [07:41] limited window, so check out the link in [07:43] the description or the QR code here for [07:45] more details. Now, we're in my Obsidian [07:48] vault. I call it my ideaverse. Why [07:50] that's so important is because an [07:51] ideaverse is a connected ecosystem of [07:54] ideas, and that is how we need to [07:56] organize. We need to organize for [07:59] context. That's what it's all about. The [08:02] relationships between these ideas. Like [08:04] why did we save these notes in the first [08:05] place? So that we could remember them at [08:07] the right time so that we could use them [08:09] in this context. So for me, I have guess [08:12] what the plus folder. So just like in [08:15] the file system where we had the plus [08:17] folder for downloads and screenshots, in [08:20] my thinking system, I also have a plus [08:22] folder for any new note that I create [08:24] that's unsorted. All right. Right. So, [08:26] if I hover over this, we can see it says [08:29] 165 files. I've let this thing build up [08:32] because I have better things to do. But [08:34] now I'm feeling a little bit of a [08:36] cluttered mind and I need to declutter [08:38] my thinking space. If I twirl open the [08:41] plus folder, you can see all sorts of [08:43] strange types of notes. This is [08:45] overwhelming. Just looking at this, I'm [08:47] thinking to myself, what am I going to [08:49] click individually on one note at a [08:51] time? So, I'm going to process 165 notes [08:53] and try to add context to each one and [08:55] then file it appropriately. That does [08:58] not sound like fun, but there's value in [09:00] doing it. So, how do I make this work [09:03] and make it work effectively and [09:05] efficiently? Click on search and we're [09:08] actually going to select the path. Now, [09:10] select whatever that folder is. So, for [09:13] me, it's the plus folder and then I'm [09:15] going to delete once and then add a [09:17] slash. So that's now targeting the plus [09:20] folder, that file path, and we can see [09:23] 165 results. It matches. Did you know in [09:26] Obsidian you can click right here in [09:28] these three dots, copy search results. [09:32] Now I can actually copy everything. Copy [09:35] results. Copied it to my clipboard. And [09:38] now I can paste it right here. That's [09:40] pretty cool. And we can take it even [09:42] further. So if I click copy search [09:44] results this time link style I'm going [09:47] to make it a wiki link. Now all these [09:49] are going to be links. So I can copy [09:52] results and now when I paste it in we [09:55] get all of these results. Now 165 is a [09:59] lot but something is coming really [10:01] apparent to me that I have a whole [10:03] linking your thinking section. So move [10:05] to light and I can just tell myself [10:06] anything that's linking your thinking [10:08] related I can move all of these to [10:11] linking your thinking. That's a huge [10:12] section. So that's going to change this [10:14] file path really fast if I can move all [10:16] these. So let's go ahead and now go back [10:19] to the path here. We're going to [10:22] organize file name A to Z. And for [10:25] everything that's linking your thinking, [10:26] let's see if I can do this. If I click [10:28] on this one and then I go and shiftclick [10:31] over here, rightclick. Now I can just [10:34] move 25 items. And just like that, I'm [10:37] going to move it to my linking or [10:38] thinking folder. Atlas and light. Now, [10:41] just like that, we don't have 165 files. [10:43] We have 140. And that's feeling a lot [10:46] better. But let's look at some other [10:47] examples that aren't so simple where we [10:49] actually want to jump into the note. So, [10:51] let's go back to all these things. Now [10:53] that we've moved them to the light [10:55] folder, we can remove those. Now, [10:57] something else that I think would be [10:58] useful is I have a lot of people. So, I [11:01] could just start to move around and [11:03] group people. So, I'm just going to [11:04] start to move these people around. When [11:07] I find another one, I'll add that [11:09] person. Looks like those are the only [11:10] ones so far. And just like this, I have [11:13] a group that I can now say, you know, [11:16] move to people. What I want to show you [11:18] are the notes that we jump into for [11:19] these. Let's do unlin concepts. This is [11:23] a fun one. Okay. So, I'm just going to [11:25] scroll through all these notes. That's a [11:27] nice concept. This is a statement idea I [11:29] like a lot. Three rules of engagement [11:31] with AI. That's something I want to look [11:32] at as well. Okay. Now, I'm going to look [11:35] at one of these and just say, where do I [11:37] want to spend my time right now? I like [11:39] this idea. Billions, trillions are spent [11:41] on how to best hijack our attention. [11:43] Let's open it up into a new tab, which [11:45] I've done here. Okay, this is cool. Now, [11:47] I'm thinking to myself, it's actually [11:48] quite well linked. I know I want to [11:49] mention it in the book I'm writing. It's [11:51] a part of a collection that I have [11:52] called statements because it's a [11:54] statement note. I also want to see what [11:56] else I might have on the topic of [11:58] attention. So, this is where [12:00] autocomplete is such a key for you. So, [12:02] all you have to do is hit the brackets a [12:05] couple times and then type a keyword [12:07] like attention and then I'm going to see [12:09] is there anything wo grievance-based [12:13] attention farming. So, this reminds me [12:17] of grievance-based attention farming. [12:20] This is a well-connected note. It's [12:22] short. It's sweet. It's to the point. It [12:24] connects to a big effort of mine. I can [12:26] also find it through the statements. So, [12:29] that's all I need to do. I don't need to [12:31] file this note anywhere. It does not [12:33] need to exist in any folder, but for my [12:35] purposes, I'm going to throw it in [12:37] Atlas. So, let me just go ahead hit move [12:40] and then I'll just move it to Atlas. So, [12:42] now whenever I need to find this note, [12:44] that's where it will always be in the [12:46] Atlas folder. You can have subfolders or [12:48] you don't need subfolders. But if you [12:50] think to yourself, how am I organizing [12:52] this by context? That's our whole point [12:54] here. How am I organizing this for [12:56] context so I'll find it again? Will I be [12:58] able to find billions, trillions? Now, [13:01] will I be able to find this note? You [13:03] tell me. I can find it if I look at my [13:04] light book note, if I look for [13:06] statements, or if I look for some other [13:08] note, or if I just happen to be in the [13:10] atlas folder. So many different ways to [13:12] find this note. I feel calm and I feel [13:15] relief. But to get there, we started [13:16] with our physical space, our digital [13:19] file space, our digital thinking space, [13:21] so we could get to this mental space of [13:24] clarity, calm, and focus. If you want to [13:27] go even deeper with this process, join [13:29] the knowledge academy and you can [13:30] complete all these steps alongside me in [13:33] real time and also watch the recording. [13:35] We go through so much more. Plus, you [13:37] get everything else included in academy [13:39] so that you can master Obsidian, you can [13:41] master link notes, and you can have an [13:42] idea verse that supports you in every [13:45] aspect of your life. But if you want to [13:46] learn just the most important 80% of [13:48] Obsidian in just 15 minutes, then check [13:51] out this video next. ## Highlights - folders, our desktop. And last, we'll clean our mental space, our idea verse in Obsidian, so that we can move forward with focus and clarity. Part one of the big clean process is to clean your physical space. It is so much nicer to have a clean physical space around you, wherever you're doing most of your thinking work. If it's messy, it's not going to work well. For me, when I'm here, it's this desk. It's kind of satisfying in a strange peculiar way to just clean parts of your desk and then ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kjg4c1bdmntanr8y0bhvkakb)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - a mess. Now we see 1,467 items. Again, I'm going to do the same thing. First, I'm going to sort by size and everything. I have one thing that's a video, so that shouldn't be in here, and that's a good catch. And then everything else, my 10 megabyte rule, just these two things. So, that's something that I I'll deal with later. And then we go into kind, sort by kind. If you scroll to the top, you'll see a lot of folders. Right now, there are too many folders, but I'm going to do the same thing where I create the 2025 ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kjg4c1c41xbtepccs8jp7zdq)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - over here, rightclick. Now I can just move 25 items. And just like that, I'm going to move it to my linking or thinking folder. Atlas and light. Now, just like that, we don't have 165 files. We have 140. And that's feeling a lot better. But let's look at some other examples that aren't so simple where we actually want to jump into the note. So, let's go back to all these things. Now that we've moved them to the light folder, we can remove those. Now, something else that I think would be useful is I have a lot of people. So, I ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kjg4c1dpdd4ht5jhkgqcyk40)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted