This seems to be the weekend for organization. Twenty years ago, I heard about Bob's Rules of Order, which is a lighter weight version of Robert's Rules. I recently started hearing about the Johnny Decimal system, a lightweight but comprehensive way to organize digital information. The Johnny Decimal website goes into the full details behind the process, but I’ll cover the basics so you’ve got an idea of what’s involved. Johnny Decimal was first used to manage a moderate-sized Australian government activity.

To put it simply, though, you create 10 area, each with 10 categories and then in those areas you can create an infinite number of items ([category].[item]). This results in a 11-99 numbering scheme for the category. Then items under that category are numbered 01-99. Refactor (slim down) the category if you have over 99 items at that level. A central index lists all categorized items and an inventory of where they are located (Confluence, SharePoint, GitHub, etc.)

00-09 The System
- 00 - Index
- 01 - Inbox
- 02 - Notes
- 03 - Todo / Checklists
- 04 - Bookmarks, etc.
- 05 - Templates
- 06 - Reserved
- 07 - Reserved
- 08 - Someday
- 09 - Archive
10-19 Area
- 11 - Category A
  - 11.01 - Item A
  - 11.02 - Item B
  - 11.99 - Item CU
- 12 - Category B
  - 12.01 - Item A
  - 12.99 - Item CU
- 19 - Category J

Johnny Decimal works well because of the numbering system and the shallow folder structure. It becomes easy to sort and find files, but also the decimal value means you can use this elsewhere and build up a bigger system for classifying everything in your life or organization.

The Philosophy

The Johnny.Decimal philosophy is all about creating a simple, intuitive, and scalable system for organizing your digital life. At its core, it's about reducing cognitive load and making it easy to find what you need when you need it. By breaking your information down into a hierarchical structure of areas, categories and IDs, and using a consistent numbering system, Johnny.Decimal creates a universal language for all your digital stuff. Whether it's files, emails or notes, everything has its place, and everything is easy to find. The system grows with you, adapting to your changing needs without losing its fundamental simplicity. Ultimately, Johnny.Decimal is about taking control of your digital life, so you can focus on what really matters.

The System

The strength is in the simple system:

Areas (00-09): The broadest level, areas represent the major facets of your life or work, such as Finance, Projects or Administration. You can have up to 10 areas.
Categories (10-99): Within each area, you can have up to 10 categories. These represent more specific types of information within an area. For example, within the Finance area, you might have categories like Budgeting, Invoices, and Taxes.
IDs (01-99): At the most basic level, IDs represent individual pieces of information or files within a category. For instance, within the Invoices category, you might have IDs like 01 for January Invoice, 02 for February Invoice, and so on.

The Index

A crucial component of Johnny.Decimal is the index. The index provides a centralized list of all your Johnny.Decimal numbers and what they represent. It serves as a map of your entire system, allowing you to quickly locate any piece of information, no matter where it's stored. Have content in SharePoint, Confluence, Jira, Obsidian, or somewhere else? The Index tells you where it is.

The index can be a simple text file, a spreadsheet, or even a dedicated app. Each entry in the index includes the full Johnny.Decimal number, a brief description of what it represents, and where that information is located.

For example, an index entry might look like:

42.01 January Invoice - Dropbox/Finances/Invoices/2023/01_January.pdf

PMO Example

Let's see how Johnny.Decimal could be applied to a Program Management Office (PMO):

10-19 Administration
11 Budget
12 Contracts
13 Policies & Procedures

20-29 Projects
21 Project A
21.01 Charter
21.02 Schedule
21.03 Budget
22 Project B
22.01 Charter
22.02 Schedule
22.03 Budget

30-39 Reporting
31 Status Reports
32 Metrics & KPIs
33 Presentations

In this example, all PMO-related information is organized into three main areas: Administration, Projects, and Reporting. Each area has its own categories, and within each category, individual items are assigned unique IDs.

The corresponding index entries might look something like:

21.01 Project A Charter - Sharepoint/Projects/Project_A/Charter.docx
21.02 Project A Schedule - Sharepoint/Projects/Project_A/Schedule.mpp
31.01 Status Report w1 Jan - Sharepoint/Reporting/Status_Reports/2023/01_January/week1.pptx

Implementing Johnny.Decimal

Implementing Johnny.Decimal involves these key steps:

Define your areas based on the major facets of your work.
Identify categories within each area, aiming for no more than 10 per area.
Assign numbers to each area and category according to the system.
Organize your existing files into the new structure, renaming them with their assigned numbers.
Create your index, listing each item's full number, description, and location.
Maintain and refine your system as your needs evolve.

The key to success with Johnny.Decimal is consistency. Stick with the system, keep your index updated, and over time, you'll find your digital life becomes more manageable and less stressful.

A Technology Company Example

00-09 - System
- 00 - Index
- 01 - Inbox
- 02 - Notes
- 03 - Todo / Checklists
- 04 - Bookmarks, etc.
- 05 - Templates
- 06 - Reserved
- 07 - Reserved
- 08 - Someday
- 09 - Archive

Strategy & Governance
1. IT Governance
2. IT Strategy
3. Performance Measurement
4. IT Management and Policies
5. Innovatoin
6. Stakeholder Relations
Financial Management
1. Mission Value
2. Cost and Budget Management
3. Vendor Management
4. Cost Optimization
People & Resources
1. Human Resources Management
2. Organizational Design
3. Leadership, Culture & Values
Service Planning & Architecture
1. Service Catalogs
2. Enterprise Architecture
3. Service Management
4. Leadership, Culture and Values
Infrastructure & Operations
1. Availability and Capacity Management
2. Asset Management
3. Configuration Management
4. Service Desk
5. Release Management
6. Incident and Problem Management
Security & Risk
1. Security Management
2. Risk Management
3. Security Strategy
4. Business Process Control and Audit
5. External Compliance
6. Disaster Recovery Planning
Applications
1. Application Portfolio Management
2. Enterprise Selection and Implementation
3. Application Development Throughput
4. Application Development Quality
5. Application Management
Data and Business Intelligence
1. Business Intelligence & Reporting
2. Data Architecture
3. Data Quality
Projects
1. Portfolio Management
2. Project Management
3. Demand Management
4. Organizational Change Management

Conclusion

Johnny.Decimal offers a straightforward solution for organizing your digital life. By providing a clear, consistent structure for your information and a comprehensive index, this system helps you save time, reduce stress, and boost productivity. While it requires some initial setup, the long-term benefits of a well-organized digital workspace are undeniable.

--
Ben
In tenebra solus sto