How do I Organize Materials?

Welcome to Packrat Week! This is the fourth in a series of posts about the art and science of gathering material for sermon prep. Be sure to check out the rest of the series here.

How do I Organize Materials?

Over the past two days, we have introduced a “packrat” mentality when it comes to sermon prep material, what these materials look like, and where to find them. But how do you collect these materials? And what do you do with them once you have collected them?

Both of these questions depend on whether you wish to store them in a physical or digital format. There are pros and cons to both formats. Having physical copies of the resources is more tangible and can allow you to collect materials at all times, but it can be slow to find exactly what you are looking for. Digital format allows for quick saving and searching, but you must be at a computer (or phone) to save and search your files. My college youth ministry professor was a 20-year veteran of a physical filing system, yet he begged us to use a computerized system. The system you use is entirely dependent on your preference, but I would recommend a digital system, if only for ease of searching (plus it is green).

Collecting Materials

For a physical system, this is very straightforward. If you see a neat ad in a newspaper, tear it out. If you see a cool photo or interesting story in a magazine, tear it out. Found a great game idea on your friend’s blog? Print it out. Just like any good GTDer, you should place your newly collected materials in your Inbox, ready for processing. For physical copies, it is smart to write down the date you found the resource, along with source and a potential category.

For a digital system, collecting material may take a little more upfront work, but will pay dividends in the end. If you find a physical article or picture, scan it in (preferably as a PDF) and give it a descriptive label. If there is an interesting article, email, or blog post you would like to save, I suggest printing the page as a PDF. Windows users can use doPDF to create a fully searchable PDF copy, while Mac users have PDF printing built in. If you find a photo or graphic online, you can save the picture (again, with a descriptive title) right into your filing system. Mp3s and videos are the same way.

Remember, you are collecting materials you may use someday, so feel free to grab as many as you can. When I started out, I set a goal of collecting 5 resources a day. This can quickly turn into 10-20 new resources per day as it grows into a habit and a part of your Internet browsing.

Organizing Materials

For physical storage, the most common way is with alphabetized file folders. Label each folder with a different topic (example: “Friends,” “Relationships,” and “Jokes”), placing your new resource in the folder it best fits in. Don’t put it into two categories; this will only add more paper and make you more confused.

Digital storage systems do not need to be as organized as the physical counterparts, due to the immense power of search applications. Mac users can use Spotlight or Quicksilver (my new favorite app) to quickly find materials, while my favorite Windows search app is Google Desktop Search. Even with these powerful search programs, I still prefer organizing my resources. On my laptop, I have a Resources file, which contains approximately 200 different categories, all with their own folder. I try not to have nested folders, as that can become very confusing. And since ease of use is the reason you are using a digital filing system, confusing is not desired.

Tomorrow, we will learn how to mine these goldmines of materials and resources in order to help shape and improve your message.

(photo credit jazzmasterson)