Helloooooooooooo to the four people that read this! I hope everyone had a lovely and restful holidays. I debated on whether to relate the Best of My Unhinged Family Moments highlight reel, but have decided not to for the sake of subject continuity. However, if your curiosity has been piqued, see me afterwards. Lol.
I used to really kind of be against New Year's Resolutions because I was like, WHEN in the history of ever has anybody actually remembered their New Year's Resolutions past January?
Plus, it always bugged me that 98% of all the resolutions I ever heard were weight-related. So when people were like, "What are your New Years Resolutions?!" I was like, "wow, no thank you." I am not going to waste my valuable time on this earth worrying about aligning with euro-centric ideals of beauty simply because men think I should take up less space. Go ahead and miss me with that. (Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk). So I had assumed that resolutions were simply not my jam, and if I actually wanted to change something about my life, then I would just do it on the day that I thought of it. (Guess how often that's actually happened.)
However, I have warmed up to New Year's Resolutions in past years. It's kind of fun, in a way, if you actually track your progress throughout the year. It's like a mysterious craft project, or a strategic plan for the soul. Will this craft project get completed this year? Nobody really knows. Not even me.
So I thought I would come up with some very fun and intriguing Records Management-related Goals for everyone that they can do on their own or within their organizations.
Whip that absolutely chaotic and cursed e-mail inbox into shape
We can do it if we believe in ourselves
At the end of every month, assess all e-mails received or written three weeks prior (or before)
If the e-mail does not capture a business decision and you don’t need it for reference anymore, delete it!!!!!! Freedom!!!!!! Be unencumbered by the hubris of society!
If the e-mail does not capture a business decision and you still need it, create a folder to store it in. Give the folder a descriptive name, avoiding names that are too general (i.e, naming a folder “Miscellaneous.” Even the mere thought of such a heresy gives me palpitations of the heart.)
If the e-mail does capture a business decision, same process as above.
At the end of the year, pdf all e-mails that captured a business decision from two years ago (i.e, at the end of the 2024 this would be all e-mails from the 2022 and prior) and store in an approved repository. Use descriptive titles so you know exactly what the e-mail was about.
Delete all emails from two years ago that did not capture a business decision, unless you are still using it for reference.
Improve the quality of your metadata
Think of yourself as the parent and the metadata as your sweet, sweet child whom you need to guide and protect. And cherish. And adore.
Just like a child needs to be taught so that they develop a trustworthy character, metadata needs to be consistently and uniformly applied so that the quality of your metadata becomes trustworthy.
This can be as simple as making sure a document has the date recorded in the same way every single time, or the file name is similar every single time, etc.
Construct a list of metadata (i.e Date, Document Creator, Subject, etc.) that your files would need in order to be considered accurate, reliable, and easily searchable, and bring it forward at your next team meeting! Huzzah! I love this for us.
Cut down on information silos
Just stop storing files on your desktop. It will be fun. You will learn to love it
Also refrain from printing documents off and leaving them in unnamed boxes
If you see your co-worker participating in any of the aforementioned behaviours, simply stare at them like this :
I can't guarantee that it will work, as your co-workers might not respond to silent shaming, but at least you'll know that you did everything you could.
That's it from me! What New Years Resolutions did everyone else make this year?
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