Effective email & laptop folder structure?

Question

Hi all, I would like to seek your advice on the best practice of Email folders & laptop folders:

1) Email folders: How would you structure your folders? Would you structure it as To Be Done vs. Done? I have tried this approach but always ended up not adopting the structure as it takes too much effort. Is there a way to better track if the email has pending items?

2) Laptop folders: What would be your way of structuring the folder?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Hey! Interesting question!

Based on my experience at McKinsey at would suggest you the following: For email, consider using a project-based structure instead of generic folders like "To Be Done" or "Done." This keeps everything related to a specific topic together for easier access. I always implemented action tags to highlight emails needing responses and create a "Follow-Up" folder for those that require action but aren’t urgent. I also, conducted a monthly review to clean up my flagged emails by archiving or moving them to the appropriate project folder.

Regarding laptop folders, try a functional organization with main folders based on tasks like "Reports," "Presentations," and "Client Work," rather than getting too specific. For projects, I established a folder for each one, with subfolders for different stages like "Drafts," "Final," and "Client Feedback," this enabled me a better tracking of progress. Lastly, create monthly or weekly archives to keep your active workspace clean by moving older files to designated archive folders.

Maybe some of those strategies also work for you?

Best, Alessa :)

Answer 2

Hi there,

Before answering your question on best practice, I would like to emphasize that what works best for you is what you should adopt as best practice for your email and personal laptop folders i.e. if you don’t need a structured system for your personal inbox/files, don’t feel compelled to use one.

If you need a structured system:

For project emails, it’s usually most practical to structure by case modules and / or stakeholder groups. For projects that had been ongoing for months before I joined, I usually also had a ramp up folder with the most useful emails I used to get up to speed
For project folders, it is imperative to have a structure so it’s easy for everyone to know where to find whatever files. Potential structure includes folders such as Admin, Data Analysis, Reference Documents, Internal meetings, External meetings, Case modules.
For personal folders on your laptop, just adopt any method that feels most intuitive for you - it doesn’t really matter

Feel free to let me know if you need additional tips on any of the above points.

Fathu

Answer 3

Hi there,

1) There are a few best practices to choose from. I would recommend you try it out for yourself and see what works best.

A lot of people I met at McK (including myself) did not use any system. :-)

2) Most of your files are saved on the cloud for the whole team to access. It's usually the EM or a more experienced ASC who sets up the shared team drive. Just look at the naming conventions they employ for folder and files and adopt it!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 4

Hi! For both email and laptop folder organization, a smart, consistent structure can save a ton of time and mental energy. When it comes to laptop folders, I would advise you to try EZFolders, it's a new productivity tool that uses AI to automatically generate well-organized, customized folder structures tailored to your specific projects or workflows. It's really easy to use, as it doesn't need coding but you can just upload a CSV file or type a simple natural language command and have your folders ready instantly.