I’m going to expand on OPs initial question and offer that organizing documents is one part of a personal database or personal data management system. I realize

I’m going to expand on OPs initial question and offer that organizing documents is one part of a personal database or personal data management system. I realized late in life that I needed a hierarchical organization of different kinds of data. Documents is one kind. I manage a file cabinet of folders (health, financial, family, vehicles, etc.) On an annual basis, some gets archived to bankers boxes, some gets shredded, and some stays in the file cabinet. I have a special metal lock box that has absolutely critical things and documents that, should the house catch fire, I’d take that out first. But this is just physical records and the scope of it is getting smaller every year. Other data includes contacts, events, communications, negotiations, login credentials and their associated code words, URLs, etc. and other interesting information. Most of it is electronic. Most of it has been collecting for over 40 years. I have a search method that starts with Gmail or Google Contacts or Google Calendar or Evernote or LastPass. (For work these are replaced with MS Office365 equivalents) One or more of these usually comes up with either the root data or key attributes that I can use to search on again. Often I get a communication that has a date and a name associated, this leads me to a calendar event or a note in Evernote. I often make a note in Evernote that gives some context and maybe points me to a doc in a specific document or paper file folder (or bankers box). It’s important that I use similar folder, tag, keyword, or category names in electronic file systems, email folders, and even paper folders. Eg. “Family/Jason/Health/Dental” or “Finances/Taxes/Taxyear2020/IRS”, etc. Lastly, the older I get, the more I commit to electronic records. Rather than remembering the names of an acquaintances children and the date their spouse passed away, I record this info in my contact for that person. I only wish I had faithfully started this system when I was 20 rather than gradually since I was 40 years old.