When Johnny.Decimal and My Brain Fell Deeply in Love

The Johnny Decimal System showed me how important clear structures are. Each category has a number, each area has its place. This helped me organize my thoughts and manage my files deliberately rather than just dumping them somewhere. The simplicity of the system was a major advantage: no unnecessary clutter, no redundant subcategories—everything has its place.

And yes, it was a good start. The fact that Johnny Decimal uses numbers worked in my favor, since I actually have a pretty good memory for them. Plus, the system has clear hierarchies, which should work well with my brain that thinks in trees.

But here’s the catch: I’m not a fan of overly rigid systems. I like flexibility. I like being able to adapt things without feeling like I’m breaking rules.

But as often happens in life, "good" eventually isn’t enough. I realized I didn’t quite fit into the rigid structures. Not because the system is bad—on the contrary, it’s well-designed and functional. But I’m me. And I work best when things aren’t just functional but also made for me .

My issue with Johnny Decimal led me to think deeply about what I actually expect from a filing system. Essentially, I need fast storage and retrieval of documents. That means the directory tree must be quickly navigable.

So what makes a Johnny Decimal tree so easy to navigate? After some thought, the answer was clear: the path can be quickly auto-generated from just a few initial characters. I only need to type a minimal number of characters, then press Tab to auto-complete the rest. I have to conclude that

Once I understood this, I built my own variant. It requires a bit of discipline and creativity when setting up the folder structure, but it’s just as fast to navigate. I simply ensure that each level of my directory tree is designed so that all directories start with a different letter. So, if there’s already a folder called "Finanzen" (Finance), and I want to create one for my company, I won’t name it "Firma" (Company) because "F" would be duplicated. Instead, I might use "Beruf" (Profession).

On top of that, I try to use the first terms that come to mind—ideally short ones—in case I ever need to enter them somewhere without auto-completion.

My home directory, for example, looks like this:

+├── 3d
+├── aud
+├── Bildschirmfotos -> /home/andy/img/Screenshots
+├── blog
+├── cloud
+├── doc
+├── ebooks
+├── fin
+├── fotos
+├── geo
+├── img
+├── INBOX
+├── music
+├── org
+├── prj
+├── rezepte
+├── Schreibtisch
+├── slides
+├── snap
+├── Sync
+├── todo
+├── vid
+├── Vorlagen
+└── wiki

As you can see, there are occasional overlaps with the first letter. I usually handle this by capitalizing one of the terms.

In the end, it’s not about finding the "perfect" system. It’s about finding one that works for me . My system might not be revolutionary, but it’s mine. And that’s the key difference.

It feels right because I don’t feel like I’m breaking rules when I adjust something. It grows with me because my needs change, and the system changes with them. And it’s my system because I didn’t just adopt it—I built it myself. And that gives me a sense of control and ownership.

Johnny Decimal was a great starting point. But as with so many things in life, it’s not about blindly adopting something—it’s about making it your own. My system is a tribute to the strengths of Johnny Decimal, but it’s also proof that sometimes you have to break the rules to get what you truly need.

Who knows? Maybe this is just a temporary stop. Maybe I’ll change everything again in a year. But that’s the beauty of it: it’s my system. And I can change it as often as I want.

Nomen est omen - and since a child usually needs a name, this illegitimate offspring of Johnny Decimal is simply called Andy Alpha.