Creating a Productive Workspace Environment

“How We Organize Design Files in Figma” (+ Figma Kits) (https://lnkd.in/e4i9aNcm). With practical guidelines for keeping project files and designs neatly organized. By Lee Munroe. Good organization starts with a good cover page. It includes status, name, date/quarter and people who are involved in the project. It also has an introduction for onboarding, link to product requirements, link to the main design page and a Slack channel for reference. Each project has a state of progress that can be indicated on the title card: 🛠 Designing — default and probably the most common state ✅ Ready for Dev — we’re waiting for development to start work on it 🐑 Shepherding — we’re working with development on it ⏸ Paused — something we’ve decided no longer priority currently 🔮 Future — something we’re thinking would make a good future project 💥 Discarded — didn’t use or not useful 🚀 Shipped — now in production In general, projects follow the following folder structure: 🎨 Designs ← Design work to be referenced, for engineers, PMs. 🧱 Components ← Local components, proposals or temporary work. 🕹 Prototype ← Interactive prototype to play and see how it works. ✏️ Wireframes ← Wireframes, sketches and early ideas. 🧪 Usability Testing ← User testing, prototypes with feedback. 🕵️ Research ← Screenshots of production, competitors, past studies. 🗄 Archive ← Abandoned things that we want to keep for reference. 🔖 Kit Template ← Examples of how to lay things out, internal tools. A wonderful reminder that a good organization can go a long way to not just help designers organize their work better, but also collaborate with other people on the team or other teams — by just having a well-established file organization practice in your company. Thanks for the write-up, Lee! 👏🏽 Useful resources: File Thumbnail Kit (Figma), by Joey Banks https://lnkd.in/eJ7Amf4n Mixpanel Annotation Kit (attached cover, Figma) https://lnkd.in/dDwJ-9gm Deliveroo File Management Library (Figma) https://lnkd.in/d3_Ur9wA Spotify Ways Of Working (Figma) https://lnkd.in/ek9ZzZQg The Library + Flow Approach For Figma, by Tess Gadd https://lnkd.in/eNX4HFEm How We Organize Figma Projects, by Lee Munroe https://lnkd.in/ec7KPH2n Hygraph Organization in Figma, by Darshan Gajara https://lnkd.in/eJNQrJMw --- ✤ Design System Organization in Figma Design System Structure for Projects and Files, by Luis Ouriach https://lnkd.in/eFZUjUCU DoctoLib Design System Organization, by Jérôme Benoit https://lnkd.in/eK7bhQeS Booking Design System Organization, by Nicole Saidy https://lnkd.in/edueYQPG How To Organize A Design System (Figma Kit), by Saurav Rastogi https://lnkd.in/dWV-Y6vv How do you organize your Figma files, and what templates do you use frequently? Happy organizing, everyone! 🎉🥳 #design #figma

Dealing with multiple document libraries in Teams? I've seen many IT professionals and team leads grapple with this, let's try and simplify things. SharePoint Views and Teams Tabs. Here's a straightforward method I've implemented with clients, with pretty good feedback and results. Here’s how it works. - Use SharePoint Views to organize documents (e.g., Approved, In Review) - Copy the URL of each view - Add a SharePoint tab in Teams, pasting the specific view link - Rename the tab (bonus: add an emoji for quick recognition) - One click, and you’re where you need to be. No endless searching. No frustration. This setup works even if your files live in different SharePoint sites! Plus, you can take it further by creating a file dashboard in SharePoint and embedding it into Teams for a seamless experience. I’ve implemented this approach with multiple clients—and the feedback has been amazing. More efficiency, less chaos. This simple adjustment can help bridge the gap between SharePoint and Teams, creating a seamless workflow. Try it out and let me know how it works for you! Question for you. What's your biggest challenge with file management in Teams and SharePoint? Have you found any hacks or solutions that made a difference? Share your experiences below—your insight might just help someone turn their workflow around. 👇

Your WFH Setup: From Survival Mode to Productivity Powerhouse 🚀 Remember those early WFH days? Kitchen tables, questionable chairs, maybe even an ironing board desk? (No judgement!) While we've adapted, truly thriving remotely requires investing in your setup. In COVID I learned quickly that your environment massively impacts your work and well-being. Here’s my breakdown of WFH essentials. Trust me, your body and brain (and colleagues!) will thank you: Ergonomic Chair: Your dining chair was built for meals, not marathons. Proper office chairs are designed for 8-10+ hours, offering crucial lumbar support and armrests. Investing here isn't a luxury; it's preventing future chiropractor bills! 😅 Standing Desk: Sitting all day? Standing all day? Both get tiring. An adjustable desk lets you switch it up! Alternating boosts circulation, energy levels, and focus, plus studies link it to reduced back pain. Keep moving! 🚶♀️↔️🧘♂️ Good Light: Dim lighting = eye strain, headaches, and drowsiness. Good lighting (a mix of indirect ambient + direct task light) is scientifically proven to enhance concentration and reduce fatigue. I got a proper office lamp. Brighten up your productivity! ✨💡 Multiple Screens: One screen is like trying to code with tunnel vision. Multiple monitors are proven productivity boosters. Research often cites gains of 20% or more by slashing window-switching time and keeping info visible. See more, do more! 🖥️🖥️ Laptop Stand: Hunching over your laptop = guaranteed neck ache. A simple stand elevates your screen to eye level (ergonomics 101!), promoting better posture and saving your neck and shoulders. Straighten up! 💪 Keyboard & Mouse: Laptop keyboards/trackpads are fine for quick emails, not coding deep dives. External peripherals allow for natural wrist/hand positioning, reducing strain (bye-bye RSI risk!) and boosting typing speed/comfort. Click happy! 🖱️⌨️ External Webcam: Ditch the grainy, awkward laptop cam angle! An external webcam offers superior quality and lets YOU control the frame. Look sharp, feel confident in meetings. 🎬 Good Mic/Headset: This one might be more for your colleagues, but PLEASE! 🙏 A decent mic or headset drastically improves audio clarity and cuts background noise. It transforms virtual meetings for everyone else. Be the audio hero your team needs! 🎤🎧 Google Logo (not for everyone 😄): Starting remotely during peak COVID felt surreal. So I needed a physical reminder that I'd actually switched jobs beyond just closing one laptop and opening another. Sometimes you need that little anchor! Might make sense for you to use a different logo ;) Investing in your WFH setup is investing in your health, focus, and overall effectiveness. What's the one WFH upgrade that made the biggest difference for you? Share below! 👇 #WFH #HomeOffice #RemoteWork #Ergonomics #Productivity #Tech #Google #SoftwareEngineering #WorkFromHomeSetup #HealthyHabits

Everyone talks about using AI for writing. I use Claude to run my day. It’s not a tool. It’s an operations partner—if you give it the right prompts. Here’s exactly how I use Claude as my assistant (connected to Gmail, Drive, and Calendar): 1. Morning Briefing Prompt Start the day with clarity. “Check my calendar, unread emails, and recent docs. Summarize today’s meetings with prep notes. Pull any open loops or tasks from emails. Suggest a time-blocked plan for deep work + admin. Flag anything urgent or out of alignment.” I open Claude before I open my email. 2. Pre-Meeting Prep Prompt No more last-minute scrambling. “I have a meeting with [Name] about [Topic]. Pull key context from emails, docs, and last calendar invite. Extract action items from last call. Draft talking points and 3 smart questions to ask.” Perfect for client calls or collabs. 3. Research & Synthesis Prompt Working on a project? Claude becomes your researcher. “I’m working on [project]. Pull relevant threads from Gmail. Scan docs with [keyword] and summarize insights. Build a timeline of progress + open items. Draft a quick project update I can send or post.” This alone has saves me 3 hours a week. 4. Workspace Organization Prompt Your brain, but with folders. “Find all docs related to [project]. Suggest categories or themes. Create a folder/tag structure that makes sense. Highlight outdated files or duplicated info. Build a cheat sheet with links + purposes.” Perfect if your Google Drive looks like a tornado. 5. Smart Inbox Prompt Catch up without the chaos. “Find unread emails from VIP contacts. Summarize key threads and flag what’s urgent. Draft quick replies where possible. Link any emails to related docs or calendar events. Build a follow-up plan so nothing slips.” It’s triage for your inbox—with logic. Claude isn’t just for content. It’s for operations, decisions, and daily momentum. Want more tips like this? Join 3,400+ readers of 9-To-Thrive → https://lnkd.in/gXMzXweK

As a data analyst, it can be hard to stay organized with countless projects and data requests. So here are 4 simple things I do to stay organized. 1. Good file naming conventions As a data analyst, you’ll likely have many folders containing many files with SQL code, Excel workbooks, and Tableau/Power BI reports. Therefore, it is crucial that you name these files well so that you know what each file holds just by the name. Do this even if you don’t think you’ll ever need that file again! (You never know.) For example, if you write a SQL query for an ad-hoc data request that pulls west region sales data for January, don’t name the file “SQLcode7484”. Give it an appropriate name like “January_West_Sales_SQL” so that you immediately know what the file is without opening it. 2. Write searchable email subject lines There is often a lot of valuable information included in email exchanges, and you never know when you need to go find a past email. So give your email a subject line that will help you search for it if needed. Continuing the above example, if you emailed out an Excel file and insights related to the above data pull, similarly you could use the subject line “January West Region Sales Report”. I don’t know if it’s the same for every data analyst, but I search through my inbox quite often to reference old emails. 3. Document project progress in OneNote It’s an all too familiar story for a data analyst to be working on a project on a Friday, pause for the weekend, then come back Monday and forget where they were. Therefore, as I’m working on a larger project, I like to keep notes about what I’ve done so far and what still needs to be done. This helps me get a quick start on the project on Monday and saves a lot of confusion. (If you don’t know, OneNote is Microsoft’s note taking app. If you don’t work for a Microsoft organization, you can keep your progress using something else.) 4. Write goals for the following day It’s easy for me to get overwhelmed when there are 15 tasks in my queue to complete. It helps me to prioritize these by writing down 3-5 things at the end of the day I want to prioritize the following day. I try to break down bigger projects into smaller tasks to make progress more visible. Then, if I finish early then can move onto whatever else you want to. These four tips are nothing too crazy or technical, but they go a long way to help me stay organized. What do you do to stay organized?

Virtual Team Rooms ‘If you have a remote team, you can create a virtual team room using online tools. This works for hybrid and partially remote teams, too, but be careful: in-person conversations shut remote team members out. If some people are remote, the people working in person need to use the virtual team room for all their collaboration, too. A decision to use a virtual team room is a decision to act as if everyone is remote. Remote equipment and tools… Remote teams need an electronic version of the team workspace: - Videoconferencing software, such as Zoom, for real-time conversation - Messaging software, such as Slack, for asynchronous conversation - Virtual whiteboard software, such as Miro or Mural, for freeform, simultaneous collaboration - Collaborative versions of task-specific tools, where possible, such as Figma for UX and UI design - A document store, such as DropBox, Google Drive, or a wiki - Inexpensive tablets for collaborative whiteboard sketches - An additional monitor or tablet for videoconferencing, so people can see one another and work at the same time - For Delivering teams, collaborative programming tools, such as Tuple or Visual Studio Live Share, that support pairing or mobbing (see “Pair Programming” and “Mob Programming” for details) As with an in-person workspace, do not purchase Agile Lifecycle Management software or other tracking software. Designing remote collaboration Collaboration is easy when people are colocated. Achieving the same level of collaboration in a remote environment takes careful design. When your team establishes its working agreements during alignment chartering, make a point of discussing how you’ll collaborate. Remember that the goal is to maximize the performance of the team, not the individual. As work progresses, be sure to evaluate and improve your communication techniques frequently. I asked people who had experience with great in-person and remote collaboration experience for their remote collaboration tricks. There were several excellent suggestions: - Make time for personal connections. In-person teams form bonds of friendship and mutual respect, and this allows them to make decisions quickly and effectively. In a remote team, be sure to set aside time to socialize and keep up with each other’s lives. Options include virtual coffee breaks to help ease tension, a dedicated chat channel for greetings and personal updates as people arrive and leave their office, and a 30-minute call every day for chatting or playing games. One team made a habit of reserving the first 5–10 minutes of every meeting for socializing; people could either show up early to chat or just come for the content as their mood dictated. Another set aside time specifically for celebrating successes. - Ensure safety. In an...’ ― James Shore with Diana Larsen, Gitte Klitgaard, and Shane Warden, The Art of Agile Development https://lnkd.in/gEh4acmf

As someone juggling multiple projects and needing to stay on top of everything, I know how overwhelming it can get—especially when your desktop looks like chaos! Here’s my setup: 📂 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐨𝐰: For files I’m actively working on, like presentations or ongoing programs. 📂 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭: High-priority items that need my attention soon. 📂 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐬: Resources I need when preparing or presenting demos. With this system: ✅ I spend less time searching for files. ✅ My mental clutter is reduced (a clear workspace = a clear mind!). ✅ It’s easier to focus on what’s important now. For me, the real benefit, it’s in reducing the mental load that comes with clutter. It’s a simple system that works with my brain, not against it. 💡 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: 1️⃣ Use a desktop wallpaper with zones to visually organize your files. 2️⃣ Label the sections based on what makes sense for you (projects, deadlines, etc.). 3️⃣ Clean up weekly to maintain order. This small change has saved me hours each week and helps me stay focused on what really matters. 🌟 And it gives me joy every time I look at it.

Managing shared folders and documents efficiently is crucial for maintaining productivity and ensuring smooth collaboration. Here are some best practices and tips for document management in shared folders: 1️⃣ Organize Folder Structure Create folders by project, team, or department to ensure easy access. Use clear naming conventions, such as including project names, dates, and versions (e.g., ProjectX_Report_v2_2025_03_25), and break large projects into subfolders like Documents, Contracts, or Reports. 2️⃣ Set Permissions Control access by defining permissions for each role (e.g., Admin, Editor, Viewer). Share only with those who need access to avoid clutter and security risks. 3️⃣ Version Control Track document versions using automatic tools or manual version labels (e.g., v1, v2). Mark the final version clearly with terms like “FINAL” or “APPROVED.” 4️⃣ Centralize Document Storage Use cloud storage platforms (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) for easy access, backup, and collaboration. Avoid local storage to prevent version inconsistencies. 5️⃣ Ensure Searchability Use consistent naming conventions and add metadata (e.g., tags) to make documents searchable. Choose descriptive titles to make files easy to find (e.g., Q1_2025_Budget_Plan). 6️⃣ Implement Retention Policies Set guidelines for how long documents should be stored and when they should be archived or deleted. Archive inactive files and ensure compliance with industry retention requirements. 7️⃣ Collaborate and Communicate Use comments and suggestions for feedback instead of editing documents directly. Notify stakeholders of updates through alerts or email notifications. 8️⃣ Ensure Security and Backup Secure folders with two-factor authentication (2FA). Regularly back up critical documents and encrypt sensitive files to protect against unauthorized access. 9️⃣ Automate and Integrate Automate file organization using workflows based on criteria (e.g., date, type). Integrate your file platform with collaboration tools like Slack or Teams for seamless communication. 🔟 Train Your Team Provide clear guidelines on folder structure, naming, and permissions. Review practices regularly and train your team on using collaboration tools like Google Docs or Office 365 for real-time work. 🔵 (Optional) Consider Document Management Software If needed, invest in specialized document management software (e.g., SharePoint, DocuSign, M-Files) for more advanced features like automatic version control and detailed permissions. To manage shared folders efficiently, create a well-organized folder structure with consistent naming for easy access. Set clear permissions to control who can view, edit, or delete files, reducing security risks and clutter. Following these practices will help keep documents organized, enhance collaboration, and simplify file management for your team. #documentmanagementsystem #documentcontrol #sharedfolder #sharepoint #documentcontroller #organize

Stop wasting time searching for "Logo_Final_v3_actual_final.png" A messy project folder doesn't just waste your time, it adds mental clutter, looks unprofessional to clients, and creates confusion when sharing files. I'm a big fan of this simple and effective folder structure to neatly organize any design project from the start. It breaks everything down from one MAIN FOLDER into four clear categories: 1. LEGAL DOC: Holds the Project Proposal, Contract, and Invoice. All the admin in one place. 2. DISCOVERY: Contains all the preliminary work like Research, Moodboards, and References. This is the "why" of the project. 3. DESIGN: The creative hub. This is for your Working files, Mockups, Assets, and Presentation Exports. 4. FINAL: The complete handover package. This includes Guidelines, Fonts, Logo Files, and all final Export Files. Adopting a clean structure like this is a game-changer. It’s not just about being tidy, it's about building a professional system. It simplifies sharing with clients, prevents confusion, and honestly, just frees up mental space so you can focus on the actual creative work instead of file management. How do you organize your project files? Do you have a go-to folder structure that saves you time? Share your best file-naming or organization tip in the comments! #design #graphicdesign #folderstructure #organization #designprocess

I cannot stress enough how critically important it is to take the time to build out systems that allow you to spend 0 time thinking about where your files are or how to access them. I have saved countless hours by taking more time upfront to set proper workflows and storage space for all my working and personal files. Some general principles to get you started: 1️⃣ Nothing is allowed to float - EVER. Don't let files float in your downloads folder or on your desktop. It will take you twice as long (if you are lucky) to find the file you need if things are allowed to float. Here is an example: Need to pull up a text editor to take notes during a meeting? The FIRST thing you are doing after that meeting is over is saving those notes (with a proper file name!) and storing it in the correct project location. Which brings me to point number 2: 2️⃣ Have a unique project location for every project. Projects of a similar type should all follow the same storage structure, but each project needs to have its own unique working space - no overlap. Example: Have two different projects for the same client? - each of those projects needs its own distinct working space to prevent misplacing items. 3️⃣ Have a specific system for each different file type you work with. Take and store meeting minutes the same way you do across all projects. Create, edit, and store deliverables the same way you do across all projects. Consistency is Key. 4️⃣ Last but not least - don't wait until the last minute to do these things - keep up with your notes and file saving as you work on these items. In the first example above where you pulled open a text editor to take meeting minutes - don't get in that situation in the first place. You should have your meeting minutes template opened and filled out with the meeting details already entered ahead of time. Work can be hard sometimes - no reason to make it harder on yourself - stay organized out there. Happy Sunday