Library · Articles
Short pieces.
Quick reads on the why and how of a calmer document life: what to keep, what to scan first, and the small things (like why your phone’s photos won’t upload) that get in the way.
- Opinion
You don’t have a filing problem. You have a finding problem.
The reason you can’t find a document is rarely that you filed it badly. It’s that filing and finding are different jobs, and a folder tree optimizes the wrong one. Here’s the reframe, with the data behind it.
6 min read
- File formats
What is a HEIC file (and why it won’t upload)?
What HEIC files are, why your iPhone makes them, why so many sites and forms reject them, and the simplest ways to convert one to JPG or PDF on iPhone, Mac, and Windows.
6 min read
- Taxes
The documents you need for tax season
A plain checklist of the documents to gather before you file: income, deductions, and the records to keep in case you’re ever audited, plus how to have them ready without a last-minute scramble.
8 min read
- Getting started
How to digitize your paper documents without making it a project
A low-effort way to digitize the paper that matters: what to scan first, what resolution and format to use, how to name files so you can find them, and what to do with the originals.
7 min read
- Opinion
Why your inbox isn’t a filing system
Email is where most important documents go to get lost. Here’s why “I’ll just search my inbox” quietly fails, and what an actual filing system does that an inbox can’t.
5 min read
- Opinion
A short defense of paper
Going digital is the right default for almost everything. But a few documents are still safest on paper. Here’s the short list, and why the best system keeps both.
5 min read