I’ve met exactly one person that seemed comfortable with the way he managed his information. He caught me off guard while I was leading a discussion about the new IT system. “This will help everyone in the department collect and share information,” I remember saying. He raised his hand and asked, “What if you have a way of organizing things that works already? I know where all of my stuff is.”

Apparently, some people have it figured out

I was surprised. I’d never gotten that question before. I can’t remember exactly what I said in response. I probably stammered something about the benefits of collaboration or the need to preserve records at a departmental level or something.

I felt a bit sorry for him afterward. He was one of the lucky ones that had figured out how to stay on top of everything without feeling overwhelmed, and we were about to force a new system on him. I hoped it might work as well as his old one.

But in the years since, I’ve actually felt sorrier for the rest of us — the ones that haven’t found a good way of keeping their stuff together.

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