I did a search on my computer the other day just because I was curious. I typed in *.pdf to see how many PDF files I have languishing on my hard drive.
Turns out it’s 1,077.
Ouch!
Upon closer inspection of some of them (who has time to go through all of them?), I discovered some are add-ons to programs I’ve purchased and aren’t really standalone PDFs and some are things I’ve created. However, the majority of them are from other sources and in no particular order.
It’s hard for me to admit it – I’m a PDF Hoarder.
Yes, I’m the perfect person for you if you give away free things to entice someone to sign up for your newsletter, get into our webinar, get access to your RSS feed, etc.
Hmm. Let me rephrase that. I used to be.
I’ve gotten much more adept at evaluating what’s going to be useful for me, my clients or you, Dear Blog Reader. So I no longer download everything. But I do admit to being tempted at times.
Upon reflection, I think I’ll revise what I said earlier. I’m a recovering PDF Hoarder.
But if you’re like me, what do you do with all the STUFF now taking up space?
I suggest you consider what my good friend, Debbie O’Grady of Revenue Recharge did. She actually took the time to go through her entire hard drive to pull out all the training information and programs she’d either purchased, downloaded or been sent – and put them into relevant folders so she could actually find them easily. To make them easy to see, she labeled the folders with an underscore first (example: _TRNG [topic]. Now when she looks on her “C”drive, these folders are front and center.
A novel concept. OK, not really, but when your hard drive is crammed full like mine is, it seems novel.
Lucky for Debbie, she didn’t find any duplicate products. I say lucky because if you don’t know what you have available on your drive already, and you were wooed by an earlier pitch for a product you purchased, it’s not a stretch to think you could be enticed by the same product pitch again. So – organizing can also save you money.
Now that’s she’s organized, Debbie’s in a much better position to actually utilize the trainings she has available and less likely to buy anything new for a particular category until she’s exhausted her current resources. This is just smart business sense. When I asked her if there were any other upsides to organizing her training files she laughingly said, “Now I have the incentive to get my physical environment as organized as my electronic environment. It just felt so good to get that done!”
Yes, a daunting task. For me, knowing that I have 1,077 PDFs waiting for me, and heaven knows how many other documents, getting my head around it will be the hardest thing. I asked Debbie how she did it. “Baby steps. I set aside 5 minutes each day to do a little bit. Otherwise, it felt overwhelming. Then the hardest thing you have to do is remember where you stopped,” she stated.
What about you? What shape is your computer hard drive in? Are you up to the challenge of organizing it?
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I’m definitely an information junkie. I’ve recently cleaned out some of the PDF files on my computer so no more freebies for me!
Oh my… there are others out there that collect every downloadable file available, purchased or free, hoping to find a nugget of unknown wisdom inside. BUT life gets in the way, most are unread, filed somewhere on my hard drive! Yikes!
Great Article.. good reminder to organize and get them OFF my hard drive to my external drive — and to STOP the download frenzy too!
I thought it was only ME – what a relief that it’s simply something modern biz women do! Grin!
Thanks for the smile!
I am not a hoarder and sometimes too organized. I have recently realized I do have some PDF files that I can’t remember who I got them from or if I’ll be needing them. So I have decided to take the time here and there, open up the file, and rename it with the person’s name that wrote it in the title also. This way, when I’m looking for something Michelle has written I can go straight to the M’s. All the PDF’s I’ve received from Michelle will start with Michelle Schaeffer, then the title name.
Many of my clients are ‘information junkies’ and that is not such a bad thing as long as you
… have enough storage
… have a backup
… organize it into a ‘finding system’
I personally work in the clouds; what that means is that I have an online workspace where I store and manage all of my files. I can access my information at anytime and from any computer, as long as I have internet access. It’s secure, fast, has lot of storage, and I can find my stuff like you would with Google! here
Many of my clients have made the transition over to working in the ‘clouds’ – and love it! Ask Debbie =)
My hard drive crashed this past Monday and I lost EVERYTHING that was on my computer, but thanks to my virtual workspace I still have all my files, except for a few of my latest files!!!
I do not recommend hoarding PDFs and/or files, but if it’s necessary to save, then just find a system that works best for you. You have to be able to find and AND you have to have a back up in case of emergency!
Lisbeth,
I am a recovering hoarder. Both in life and on my computer. A while back I thought my computer was running slow because of all the stuff on the desk top. I took a day and cleaned it up. What I found was that I had a hard time emptying the trash. But I did it.
The same thing in life. We had a fire in our garage…my storage area. That has forced met to get rid of stuff. I still have a few areas to clean up once the weather is warmer.
These were both forced conditions but it work!
It interesting how it has played out, with cleaning out all the stuff life is much more simple. And I have not collected new stuff to replace the old.
Great comments and lots of good suggestions. “Baby Steps” is my new mantra.
Love this post Lis!
I laughed when I saw your title and your picture!!I am a hoarder of sorts, lots of sorts!! I do occasionally go in and delete that which I don’t’ need, or is outdated. I have had a couple of computer crashes and lost things due to that a, funny thing, I don’t know what I am missing so it hasn’t been a problem! I have recently bought an external hard drive and maybe I ‘d better go in and do some work on filing and downsizing some of the things I have!! Great post!!! Now to be patient enough to go through things, like Debbie says 5 minutes at a time as long as you remember where you left off!!
Hi Lis:
Oh boy I am an information junkie and have all kinds of pdfs and training manuals on that hard drive!
I also would purchase information products and never open them, but boy that product or this audio was the key!
Now I have tempered that instinct; sometimes it is so hard; but I decided that I am going to go through what I have first before purchasing more.
However, first I must find them all, and I plan on organizing my hard drive as you suggested.
Thanks for being open and honest because it is so helpful!
Hi Lisbeth,
When I saw this posted in the Blog Challenge Group, I was hesitant to read it because my answer was Yes. A few days ago, I was just thinking I need to unsubscribe to a lot of emails I am receiving because they don’t serve me anymore.
As for the trainings and pdfs, I have so many and it does make financial sense to see what you have before buying another training program. The interesting thing is my physical space is in order and now I need to get around to sorting out my computer!
My HD fried… I was bummed. Then I got a new one, bigger! I suddenly had another 100 gigs to stash stuff. Now I’m happy! I don’t think that I have 1k PDFs, but I do have a lot of stuff. Folder management is essential. A friend told me I had too many clothes, she said that if I hadn’t worn something during the last year to get rid of it. That was a great help! My advice, if you have programs etc that you haven’t used in the last year… well, you know what to do.
Well, Lis, I just realized you’re a lot more courageous than me.
I shudder to think of the number of pdf’s collecting dust on my hard drive and I don’t think I’d be brave enough to divulge that number publicly.
I’m one of those gals who keeps promising myself I’m going to “look into it” but I keep shoving the task further and further down my priority list. Your post and Debbie’s advice to take ‘baby steps’ is the little nudge I needed to knock this task off the ever lovin’ to-do list. I’m sure I’ll feel great about it once it’s done — and much relieved.
Soon I’ll be able to call myself a ‘recovering pdf hoarder’ , too.
Great post, Lisbeth! I must admit that I fall for that trap as well, myself. I’ve lost track of ho many things that I downloaded. I think it is because in the beginning, I didn’t want to mess any lessons to get started, but then, I realized that about 90% of the stuff in the offers is about the same as something someone else put out anyway, so that helps me fight it a little bit better now.
I am SO happy to say that I am not a hoarder! I clean my computer all the time. I might be a bit compulsive about it!
Routinely taking a look at what is on your computer is really important, though. I love this post!
Ladies,
I am the ULTIMATE PDF, video, free report hoarder! The secret is to file well WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD THE FILE. Make sure you download the file into the properly labeled folder. I have a file for Training and Courses for EACH year. Same for Audios (for each year); same for video replays that I’ve downloaded, and anything else I download. I never download anything to my desktop.
Why for each year? Because otherwise the files get way too big. And it helps me know how current that information is, as things do change from year to year online.
Within each file, I have many folders of different categories or subjects.
Occasionally, I’ll find a topic that I want all in one place, so I create a special folder for it that usually goes in an axillary drive, but could go on my hard drive if I will be needing it a lot.
Still, I run out of room and have to burn DVDs of many of my training courses and wipe them off the hard drive.
How to listen to it all? That is the question… One way is when I’m exercising. Or I’ll load up my mp3 player and listen while driving. Sometimes, I’ll watch a webinar or listen to an audio while doing a repetitive task online. But I don’t know if I’ll ever get to them all…
Rufina
WorPress Mastery Training
I would like to say that I am a recovering hoarder. The problem with that is I moved 2000 off my computer and right to an online storage account. Maybe they have PDFAnon for people like us. This is the first time I have been to your site. I had the link pass through my twitter. Happy I did. Thanks for the smile.
Hi Lisbeth,
Great post
I’ve never, ever been a hoarder. If anything, I’m the opposite. My home and work space are orderly, just always been that way. When I feel a little stashing urge come on, I check out what I’m trying to hold on to, see the attachment, and if I’m not using it, into the recycle bin it goes, and the trash is emptied.
Thanks for sharing!
RB
Lisbeth,
I was the same way for a long time, especially when I was wanting to learn how to make a blog before I started. I have gone through my PDF files a few times to delete and organize. I’ve put several on CDs from a different topic and I’ve been considering doing the same for marketing and blogging files.
I love the picture, great choice for this post!
Stacy
PS: If you’re looking for a freebie I’ve got a new one in the post on commentluv.
I definitely need to go through all of my files. Upon searching for PDFs, it turns out I have 1,119 on my laptop. The majority of the files are legitimate work files, drawings, floor plans, invoices, etc. Most of them are categorized into appropriate folders as well, but I don’t necessarily need them all on my computer anymore. I need to work on removing old files to portable harddrives & CDs. I guess it is about time for that Spring Cleaning of the computer!