So, I decided to give this “Vladimir Orlov” thing a whirl. Not the person, mind you, but this organizational method, or system, or whatever you wanna call it. Someone mentioned it in an old forum, claimed it was some kind of minimalist genius for sorting out digital chaos. My project archive was looking like a bomb hit it, so I figured, why not?
My First Steps into the “Orlov” Way
First off, trying to find concrete rules for this “Vladimir Orlov” method was like hunting for a ghost. There wasn’t a manual, no neat little PDF. It was all whispers and vague interpretations. The core idea, as far as I could piece it together, was about ruthless simplicity and categorizing based on… well, that part was fuzzy. Some said by “action potential,” others by “emotional weight.” Seriously.
I decided to go with my own interpretation. My practice started like this:
- I picked one of my messiest project folders. We’re talking years of stuff just dumped in there.
- I tried to apply the “ruthless simplicity” part. If I hadn’t touched a file in six months, was it really essential? According to what I gathered about “Orlov,” probably not.
- Then came the categorization. I ditched my usual date-based or project-name-based system. I tried to think, “What’s the next action for this?” or “What feeling does this pile of documents give me?” Yeah, I know, sounds a bit out there.
Getting Down to Business
So, I spent a good afternoon with it. I created a few top-level folders: “ACT_ON_THIS,” “ARCHIVE_DEEP,” “MAYBE_LATER_BUT_PROBABLY_NEVER,” and, my personal favorite, “WHAT_IS_THIS_EVEN.” It felt weirdly liberating at first, not having to stick to rigid naming conventions.
The process of actually moving files was slow. For each document, or sub-folder, I’d stare at it and try to channel my inner “Orlov.” It was less about logic and more about… intuition? Or maybe just making stuff up as I went along. I moved a ton of stuff into “ARCHIVE_DEEP.” That felt good, like decluttering my brain.
But then, the problems started. What about files that could fit into multiple “emotional” categories? Or what if the “next action” was “wait for someone else”? The “Vladimir Orlov” whispers didn’t offer much guidance there. It was all very philosophical, not very practical for day-to-day grind.
The Aftermath and What I Really Think
A week later, I tried to find something specific. And that’s where the whole “Vladimir Orlov” thing kinda fell apart for me. My “intuitive” system from last week? My brain had already forgotten the intuition. “ACT_ON_THIS” was okay, but “MAYBE_LATER_BUT_PROBABLY_NEVER” was a black hole. I spent more time guessing where I might have put something than if I’d just stuck to my old, boring, but predictable system.
Look, I get the appeal. Trying to break free from rigid structures, aiming for simplicity. And to be fair, the initial purge part – getting rid of obvious junk – that was useful. That part of the “Orlov” idea, the ruthlessness, I’ll keep that. But the whole categorization by feeling or vague potential? Not for me, not for my work stuff anyway. It just made things more complicated in the long run.
So, my practice with “Vladimir Orlov” was an interesting experiment. I tidied up a bit, sure. But mostly, I learned that some of these obscure, overly-hyped “systems” are obscure for a reason. Sometimes, the boring, straightforward way is boring and straightforward because it actually works. I’m back to my good old detailed folders now, and honestly, I can find stuff again. That’s a win in my book.
