Consider grouping like items in large categories such as subject area. From there you can create subfolders that fit under your broad category. This will help to keep like items stored together and easy to find when needed.

Store items that are specific to that school year in a separate folder. This will help to eliminate clutter from your necessary files, while still keeping important information easily accessible.

*This also works great for Student Google Drive Accounts*

Assign each subject area/topic a specific colored folder. This will not only make your Google Drive visually appealing it will be easy to find the specific topic you are looking for. The color will be easier for you to spot, rather than having to read each individual folder name. To change the color of your folder within Google Drive, simply right click on the folder icon. Select "change color" from the drop down menu. Then select the color from the available color selection.

Just as your colors are easier to spot, graphics such as emojis are easy to spot on a given folder. Consider those folders you use most frequently and add an emoji icon to that folder name. This could be a book emoji for ELA, or possibly a video camera for your Screencastify videos. One important note when adding emojis to your names, if the emoji appears before the name that folder will appear first in your list within Google Drive, rather than in the alphabetical order. If you place your emoji after the folder name, that folder will appear in alphabetical order within Google Drive. To add an emoji to your Google Drive folder simply copy an emoji icon from any website. I like to use this site. Once copied, right click on the folder within your Google Drive. Click "rename" from the dropdown menu. Within the pop-up window paste your emoji icon next to your folder name.

By default your folders in Google Drive will appear in in A-Z or Z-A alphabetical order. However if you are looking to create a different order in which your folders appear in your Google Drive, you can simply add numbers to the front of your folder name. For example if you would like your morning meeting folder to appear first in your list of folders inside of Google Drive, simply label that folder 1. Morning Meeting. By adding the one, this will be the first folder that appears in your list.

Many of us have files that we access on a weekly or even daily basis within our Google Drive. Rather than having to search for the same files over and over again consider adding them to "starred items." This will keep your items inside of your Google Drive, however will also make them easily accessible under the "starred" tab on the left hand side of your screen. This can be useful if you have a Google Slide deck that you use every morning for your morning message, or possibly to keep a folder with all of the necessary materials you will need for your current unit. To add files or folders to your "starred" simply right click on the file or folder you would like to add. Then click "add to starred" from the dropdown menu. To access these files simply click the "starred" option located on the left hand side of your screen within Google Drive.

Your "Shared with Me" houses everything that everyone has shared with you through Google Drive. These files all belong to the person in who originally created the resource. While this area of Google Drive can look overwhelming and very cluttered, I encourage you to leave it alone. It can be tempting to want to organize this area, however, these files do not belong to you. Meaning if the creator deletes a file, it will also delete from your "shared with me." It is also very likely if you are using Google resources with your students frequently that you will be receiving new files every day. To keep all of this incoming information organized can be a full time job just in itself. Rather than trying to organize all of this information, I recommend adding the information that you will need to your Drive. To do this simply right click on the folder or file that has been shared with you, then select "Add Shortcut to Drive."

Please keep in mind that this file or folder still does not belong to you. Therefore, if the original creator deletes the resource, you will also loose that information. If the file is something that you would like to ensure you always have access to I would recommend making a copy. To make a copy right click on the file or folder that has been shared with you. From the drop down menu select "make a copy." This will make a copy that is put directly into your Google Drive, and will make you the owner of that file. This will also give you full editing rights to make any changes you see fit within the given file.

Often times when you are working on a larger project or a Unit of Study you may have multiple files that are needed. To help keep you organized, and make the files needed easy to find consider using your Workspace within Google Drive. Workspace allows you to group files together into one category. Just as with your "starred" files, your workspace files will remain in your Google Drive. However, when you select the "priority" option from the left side of your Google Drive screen, you will see all of those files grouped together into one category. You even have the option to title each individual category allowing you to create multiple workspaces for different projects or units.

To create a workspace begin by clicking on the "priority" tab on the left side of your Google Drive screen. Once under "priority you will see the word "Workspace" with a button that says "create" to the right. Click the button "create" to start a new workspace. Give your Workspace a title. Then select the files that you would like to add by clicking the "add files" button that appears in the pop-up box on your screen. Once you have finished adding your files click done. Once your workspace is created you can add additional files by clicking on the workspace name under the priority tab. Then click the "add files" option in the upper right hand corner of the pop-up window that appears on your screen. Any type of file (.png, .doc, .pdf, etc.) can be added to a workspace from your Drive.