Organize Everything With The LIFT principle

In this article, I will introduce the LIFT principle for organizing digital information.

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What is the LIFT principle?

The LIFT principle was introduced by Google as part of the AngularJS and Angular style guides. It is a code organization best practice for software developers. But in reality, this principle applies really well to Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) and Information Management (IM) in general.

LIFT is an acronym for:

• Locate
• Identify
• Flat structure as long as we can
• Try to stay dry

This principle's goal is to ensure that we keep files and folder structures as flat as possible in order for us to be able to quickly locate and identify what we need. Also, it recommends applying the "Don't Repeat Yourself" (DRY) principle and thus avoiding duplicating information as much as possible.

Whenever you organize information, whether it is code, personal or work information, try to keep the LIFT principle in mind.

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Conclusion

In this article, I've introduced the LIFT principle, a recommendation to keep your organization systems as simple and as flat as possible in order to always be able to quickly locate and identify what you need.

That's it for today! ✨

References

• Angular LIFT principle: https://angular.io/guide/styleguide#lift

About Sébastien

I'm Sébastien Dubois, and I'm on a mission to help knowledge workers escape information overload. After 20+ years in IT and seeing too many brilliant minds drowning in digital chaos, I've decided to help people build systems that actually work. Through the Knowii Community, my courses, products & services and my Website, I share practical and battle-tested systems. You can follow me on X 🐦 and on BlueSky 🦋.

I am an author, founder, and coach. I write books and articles about Knowledge Work, Personal Knowledge Management, Note-taking, Lifelong Learning, Personal Organization, and Zen Productivity. I also craft lovely digital products.

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