How to stay organized

Some people are more organized than others, and I confess I would probably be found more in the ‘others’ category than in the organized one. In school, I was good at math and English and you would think that someone good at math would be somewhat organized although, I think I was good at math simply because I could think but I think there are people who would disagree on my ability to think based on some of the life decisions I have made. I don’t know how many times I have been asked, “What were you thinking?” but I know it is more than once.

Computers promised to be a great aid in helping us stay organized, but I think that was only true for those who already had some organizational skills. Or are they talents? Whatever they are, I don’t seem to have much of either.

I decided I would solve this entire problem by creating a folder titled: “Admin_LOOK_HERE_FOR_SHIT_YOU_CAN’T_FIND.” Why I chose to put the latter name of the folder in uppercase escapes me. Perhaps it was to make me realize the folder’s importance. Or maybe it was to give me an easy way out: “I’ll just put it here.”

This morning I decided to inspect this folder. (In the event you don’t know, if you put an asterisk at the front of the folder name, that folder will go to the top of the list.)

You’ll see at the top of the list of shit I can’t find is a folder labelled “*William Lower Photo”. Right way we have a problem. It’s with the word “Photo”. It’s singular. If there is only one, why do I need a folder? The next folder is the bane of my existence: “Writer_Bios”. I cringe when I have to write these. Following that is another cringe-worthy folder labelled “*Legal”; a mislabeled folder. It should have been labelled, “*Legal: Enter at Your Own Risk.” Continuing with cringe-themed content is a folder “*Lower_resume” that goes right up there with the bios folder. Why not contain the two into one folder and contain the cringe in one place?

Following that is the first file that is not in a folder, but it, too, has an asterisk, and it is labeled “mailing addresses Mexico copy”.

Don’t you have a file that tells you where you live?

And why ‘copy’? That must mean there is another file with that name somewhere else on my computer, and if so, why is it not in the folder to find shit I can’t find?

Next is “*Website Copy,” which I have not looked at in over six months. Probably for good reason.

Then we have “*Writer_ad_bio” bringing us back to the cringe category and why it isn’t in the “*Writer_Bios” folder?

Now we come to a folder labelled “*Writing.” That’s it. “Writing”. Since that is all I have been doing for my entire life in various genres and media, this is a museum-quality vague folder label.

I wonder if there are any love letters in there?

What follows is the first entry that doesn’t begin with an asterisk. In fact, there are two files with the identical name, but in two different formats.

ADHD.

The presence of those files could be attributed to the name of the master folder, ““Admin_LOOK_HERE_FOR_SHIT_YOU_CAN’T_FIND.” Or it could have something to do with the folder beneath it labeled “CA_US”. I lived in both Canada and the US, so inside that folder is who knows how much darkness of government files?

Then again, ADHD could simple have been research I was doing on something I was writing.

Yea. That’s it. That’s my story, and I am sticking to it.

Below that is a file called “Community Bank” — a file with nothing in it, just like my bank account.

Then we get to “HBH_financials_misc”; a client who spends 29¢, miscellaneously.

Following that is the folder “House_sale_buying”, last opened January 2, 2025, although why, I don’t know. The transaction was over three years ago.

Then there is a solitary file labelled “Jamie”.

I don’t know who the fuck Jamie is.

“Koolkuty_domain_GD.pdf is the next file although why I haven’t trashed it which is beyond me. It is something I toyed with and I think GD stands for GoDaddy. Feel free to do a search on its reputation.

“Legal FR & EN”. I think that’s Pandora’s folder.

There are two files which should be combined, titled “Linkedin” and “Linkedin-v2” which is probably mislabeled. It should read “Linkedin_v324”. I have never enjoyed a fulfilling relationship with LinkedIn although they are courteous enough to send me frequent invitations to join their Pro Plan.

“Lower_ID_docs” and the following “Mexican_legal-docs” are most likely the only two folders that truly deserve an asterisk at the head of their folders’ names. I must make a point of doing that.

Then there is “Monthly Expenses” last opened July 19, 2025. I really should re-visit that. I’ll put that on my To-Do list (coming up).

The file named, “myfonts_order_646313613994.zip” is a file that truly belongs here. How the hell else would I find it?

I have no idea why I have a folder called SMART.

The following file is truly sinful. One lonely file simply titled ‘Theology’. There are libraries, even entire universities, devoted to the topic, and what do I have? A 118KB Apple Pages document.

Then we have the file “To Do_June 9_2025” last opened June 9, 2025.

Lastly, is a folder “University Receipt”. I have enrolled in a Spanish course. I am hoping it will be easier to understand than Theology.