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This article is dedicated to my friend Pam Rock in NC, who each year calls me so I can walk her
through a major clean up of her computer.
In the early 2000s, I helped Pam redecorate her office and back up her computer. She had
purchased a new computer and had yet to use it. She needed her files backed up (and deleted)
because she was going to give her old computer to an employee. It turned out that the computer
had at least 4 years of files on it – none of which was in any sort of order. And nothing had ever
been backed up!
EGADS.
So I went to work cleaning out everything, and below you’ll find the 9 steps I used to do it. (Oh,
and Pam’s kept her new computer organized and backed up!)
NOTE: The process of cleaning out your computer takes about 1-1/2 hours, not including
backing up files.
Next go to www.adobe.com and if they have a more recent version of Adobe Reader, download
it and follow the instructions.
8) Organizing
Everyone organizes differently. The main thing is that you create a system that works for you
and that you will continue doing!
I organize by year, then type of folder, then files. So I create a folder called 2007 and in it are
subfolders named MS Word, MS Access, MS Excel, PDF, Audio, and lots of other folders, too!
When I backed up Pam's files, I set up her system like that. So I created folders called "Prior to
1998," "1999," "2000," and so on. Within each of those folders, I then created the subfolders
for the different types of documents (Word, PDF, Audio, etc).
Next I backed up all her folders to CD. She brought the CD to her new computer, created a
folder called "OLD FILES" and put all her older work in those files. She took the backup CD
home with her, just in case something ever happened to the office computer.
Pam slightly modified my system so that it works for her. She created a folder for each year in
2007 and has subfolders based on the types of projects she’s working on. She's a child
nutritionist, so her subfolders look like this:
WIC
Breast Feeding Marsala ElevatingYourBusiness.com Page 4 of 4
State Association, etc.
9) Backing up
Once a week (or so) I back up any new files to my older backup computer. When you run an
Internet business, it’s imperative that you have a backup computer. Mine is an inexpensive
desktop PC.
At the end of the year, I completely organize that year’s files and back them up on two CDs. I
send one CD to Pam in NC so that if anything happens to my computer, I won't lose everything.
Why NC? One thing that I've seen happen during hurricanes, nor'easters, windstorms, or
I also put very few files "on" my computer, or at least move the files to an external hard drive I
purchased on sale years ago. Now, I can walk out of the house with the hard drive when I go on
vacation, leave the house for a few days, or in case of some other weather emergency. OR I
can back up the external hard drive on a “flash” drive or CD RW.
© 2008 Maria Marsala, founder of Elevating Your Business, and Business Strategist draws on
her Wall Street trading experience and 30-plus years of business success to help business
owners nationwide. Her specialty is helping business owners build bigger, better businesses by
streamlining the parts of business they choose to ignore—planning, administration, operations.
Maria’s written more than 200 business and Internet articles and has appeared on TV & radio
shows on both coasts. Her most recent venture is the CD series "Corporate Secrets for Small
Business Success", a self-coaching system in a box. Visit us at
http://www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com and http://www.BusinessAndMarketingPlan.com