Thinking Beyond Science

In the physical world, every piece of paper, manila file folder, and object takes up precious space. Therefore, you have to make a decision about what to do with each and every one of them, even if that decision is simply to throw it away.

But the digital world is different. Digital objects don’t take up any physical space; they take up digital space, which these days is essentially unlimited. This means you never really have to throw anything away. You can keep it all.

This may seem like a blessing, but in fact it’s a curse.

The problem with keeping everything is that it quickly starts to consume a resource even more scarce than physical space: your attention. Every time you see all those random files strewn across your computer desktop, Documents folder, cloud drive, or notes app, some of your mental energy gets drained away.

You may think you can close your laptop and just ignore it, but a small part of your brain will continue worrying about the chaotic state of your digital environment until you put it in order.

From the perspective of your brain, your information environment is just as important as your physical one, and it won’t let you rest as long as it feels uncertain and threatening.

You can keep everything, but you can’t keep it front and center in your attention. It needs a place to go for safekeeping-one that is secure but completely “out of sight, out of mind” until you need it.

That place is the Archives. Think of it like “cold storage” for your digital life. By placing something there, it gets “fro-zen” in time in exactly the state you left it, ensuring you can access it again in the future without having to worry about it in the meantime.

Most of us seem to have a sense of duty toward our digital pos-sessions. From a young age, your parents probably taught you to care for your belongings and treat them with respect. It almost feels like a moral obligation to meticulously upkeep our digital environment the same way we tidy our physical surroundings.

But this attitude makes no sense in the digital world. Trying to preserve every last bit of data is like a hoarder trying to keep every old trinket and empty pizza box in their home. Most of this content appeared without our consent, and therefore we can archive it away without a sense of attachment.

Remember: you aren’t losing anything. If you really need something from the past, you are always free to dive into your Archives and resurrect it. I’m guessing, however, that you’ll do so far less than you expect, if ever.

The truth is, search technology is getting better every year, and the most likely way you’ll access your files in the future is through increasingly advanced search algorithms. Artificial intelligence is also on the way, which means that in the future you’ll probably just ask an Al to search through all your old information and find what you need. That’s why any time you spend meticulously organizing your stuff is likely to be wasted.

Source : The PARA Method: Simplify, Organize, and Master Your Digital Life by Tiago Forte

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/134634583-the-para-method