The COTA Solution

Do you waste a lot of time searching for that elusive but crucially important file that is buried somewhere in your computer’s hard disc? Do you mutter to yourself about why you can never find anything quickly (and not so secretly blame your computer)? And finally after spending way too much time, you finally locate it. Now you are too frazzled to do anything with it and you forgot why you needed it in the first place. 

Well, if that sounds familiar, you are in luck. There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Your salvation is at hand.

In a delightful book in which readers are introduced to the much overwhelmed hamster referred to in the title ‘.. The Hamster Revolution’, authors Vicki Halsey, Mike Song, and Tim Burress present readers with a very effective and efficient way to manage all the folders and files on their computers hard disc. The secret is in the simple acronym COTA, outlined below. All you need to do is organize your hard disc according to this acronym and clarity is yours!

New Folders

CLIENTS - The files/folders that have to do with your clients

OUTPUT - The files/folders that contain your (or your team’s) products and services 

TEAMS - The files/folders that refer to your team’s activities, plans, etc.

ADMINISTRATION  - The files/folders that refer your non-core job responsibilities 

Storing all your files and folders in these categories will simplify searching for them immensely. All you need to do is think about what the file or folder you are searching for refers to and you immediately know where to begin searching. Now, instead of looking through several hundred (or so) files and folders, you need to look through only five! What could be simpler. 

I converted to this method of filing at my previous job and it saved me many hours of frustration since I was able to locate the exact file I was looking for quickly and efficiently. Now you can save a lot of time too, and we can all use a few more minutes a day, can’t we.