How to Use Google Drive Like a Pro: Easy File Sharing & Smart Storage Tips

Frank Bravo 0:08
Hi, welcome to your Tech Makeover, the podcast that gives you tips and tricks to help you simplify and get more out of the technology in your life. I'm your host, Frank Bravo. This episode is part of a mini series all about sharing and syncing data. Or I'm explaining what the tools are, how they work, and why you might want to use them. Aside from the introduction episode that gave you an overlap of the tools and how they work, each of the episodes will dive into a particular one and really understand how that one works. Today, we're talking about the cloud storage service that is practically everywhere, and yet many people only scratch the surface. That service is Google Drive. Maybe you've used it to open a PDF or maybe a file from your phone, but this tool is much more than a digital filing cabinet. I want to talk through how you can make Google Drive your digital command center for sharing, optimizing, organizing, collaborating, and integrating with other tools in the Google universe and all of that without making it feel like you've dropped into a maze of folders and permission settings. So first, let's get the basics out of the way. If you already have a Google account, which if you've ever had a Gmail address, you have a Google account, then you already have access to a Google Drive. Just go to drive dot google.com. Log in with your account information and you're in. The standard Google account is free and it starts you with a 15 gigabyte storage limit that is shared across all your different applications, from Google Mail to Google Photos to drive. And if you're thinking to yourself, 15 gigs, well, I can blow through that faster than a 90s kid went through their AOL minutes. Don't worry. You can always upgrade pretty easily to their Google One platform if you need more space. In the United States, plan start at about $2 a month for about 100 gigs, which is great if you're thinking multiple devices and storing lots of media. But there's also higher tears. There are tiers, even up to 30TB of space. If you're managing family photos, work files, or you just don't like to delete anything ever, Google one has plans to help you come with extras that you may not even know you need until you get in there, so you may just want to check it out for the extras as well. A quick shout out to listeners like you who helped make your tech make over possible. It's your support that helps keep this podcast going and I truly appreciate it. Want to contribute? Just click the link in the show notes or visit your Tech makeover.com plus as a special thank you, supporters who give $25 or more will get a $25 off of one time consultation with me to help you simplify your tech. Thanks for being part of the your tech make over community. Now back to what I was saying. Before you upload your life's work in every dog photo you've ever taken. Here's some advice you should always start with creating a folder structure first. Think of it as unpacking moving boxes. You wouldn't just toss everything on the floor. Hopefully you would start with simple categories and work your way from there. So think about your storage in your cloud storage the same way you might think about things like work or school, or personal finance, or just personal in general, and then go deeper from there. It's always a good strategy for any kind of file structure that you're organized from the start. And as a pro tip, use clear and descriptive names for your folders. Things like stuff and random might seem good now, but in six months you'll have no idea what's inside. The more clear you are and the more clear you are about your names, the future self will thank you for that. One of the Google drives best tricks is for sharing files and folders with other people. But if you've ever accidentally made something public to the entire internet, you know that it can be a bit powerful. So here are some things to remember. First, you can share by email address and then pick whether or not somebody can view, comment, or edit on your file. Make sure the person you're sharing with has the right permissions. If it's something you don't want them to change, make sure you don't give them editing rights and editing. People, of course, can comment so it is backwards compatible. Their power users will know how to use both when someone share something with them. For real time collaboration, these settings are kind of gold. Many people can work on a doc all at once, or a sheet or a slide deck all at the same time, so that you can work together collaboratively instead of sending a file off, and then coming back to that file after somebody made changes. But you do want to be careful with the anyone can edit link option. You know, it's super handy to give out to people so you don't have to think about security, but it's also like giving your house keys away to everyone in your neighborhood. You probably don't want to do that. And don't forget to turn off access when your project ends. It's Digital Housekeeping 101 plus that will clean up the files for the person you shared it with, making them happy as well. So a little bit more about organization. If your Google Drive feels like a digital junk drawer. Here's how to make it more zen and less. Where did I put that file from 2020? One thing that helps me is to color code folders. Yes, in Google you can actually assign color coded folders. And it's not just fun, it's really functional. Next to each folder, click on the vertical three dots. Select organize and you'll see a rainbow of colors to choose from. You may decide that certain types of documents and folders have one color, and something else may have something else. You can also add stars to frequently use folders and files. Think of it as a favorites menu. This will allow the items to bubble up and show in a starred list of items, filtering them for easy for you to use. The real pro tip here is to remember to remove the stars when you're not using them anymore. You know it's no good to give a star to everything. You can also try the priority or workspace views, which it will learn what you use most and put that in front of you so that you can go to the Google Drive home and see the files that it thinks you're probably more likely to work with. The outline for this podcast actually showed up in my priority, because it knew that in my calendar, I had recording this on my calendar. You could also use a search bar with filters. When you search for something. Type the file name or the owner or even a keyword inside the document and it will find it. But the integration with Google Tools is where Google Drive really shines, for instance. Google docs, sheets, and slides all live inside your Google Drive. You can create and edit files without ever downloading the file as long as you have internet access. When you use Google Forms, it responds and it comes directly into the Google Drive. And if you're a mail user, if you're trying to attach something, you can attach those items straight from the Google Drive by inserting them into the message. No need to download them or drag them. This is why Google Drive isn't just storage, it's really a workflow engine, but it is not limited to just Google Drive files. You can put any kind of files in there by dragging and dropping those files into your browser, or even adding the Google Drive app to your computer. In that case, it actually lives on your computer, and you can interact with the folders directly from within the operating system. Now, this may all seem like a lot, but there's different ways that the Google Drive experience is manageable. And here's some tips for that. You should review and declutter monthly. Now, maybe not monthly, but at least at some interval. Maybe at the end of the year when it is when you like to do it, or in the spring for spring cleaning. Any time that really works for you, you should set a calendar reminder to archive and delete unneeded files. I've talked about archiving and storing files offline. You could go find that podcast here in the channel. You might also want to consider limiting how many shares you accept. You know, if somebody shares something just because they think you might want to have a copy of it, you don't have to accept it. It is up to you to decide, and you can actually not accept something now and go back later on and accept that as long as it's still shared with you. You can also try using Google Drive on mobile. The app is surprisingly good for scanning documents sharing on the go, and you can even mark files for offline as so that if you don't have internet, you can still access those files. And yes, Google Drive works with iOS two, so you don't have to be on Team Android to enjoy it. So how are you using Google Drive? Are you making the most of sharing and collaborating files, or are you still using it as a digital junk drawer? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Let me know. And as always, if you have ideas for topics for this podcast, you can contact me via email at Frank at your Tech Makeover. Com. That's it for now. Thanks for listening to your tech makeover, if you haven't already. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast platform so that you don't miss an episode. And if you like this episode, make sure you give it a thumbs up or best stars on that platform, and you can always check out your Tech makeover.com, where you'll see more information about each episode. If you want to find out more information about me, please visit Bravo. It's com. Until next time, I'm Frank Bravo. And this has been your technique over.