Rebuilding My Work Catalogue: A 15Year Journey Toward Better Workflow Management 

For the past 15 years, I’ve worked across a wide range of social media platforms, organizations, and school systems. That experience forced me to build—and constantly refine—a tracking system that could keep up with the volume and variety of my work. At that, consistency didn’t come naturally. In my early days, I borrowed ideas from online authors who track their chapters and story arcs. That simple frontend system eventually evolved into a full backend catalogue that now supports nearly everything I create. 

But developing that backend system also revealed something important: I had blind spots. Big ones. 

One of the clearest examples came from my blogging. When I wrote posts without drafting offline first, I often lost track of serial numbers, categories, and other markers that help maintain consistency. Anyone who followed my “Health” or “Rant” series probably noticed repeated or skipped numbers. It wasn’t intentional—it was the result of a system that wasn’t built to scale. 

And scale was exactly what I needed. For the past four years, I’ve been juggling between 20 and 32 social media accounts at any given time, plus pro bono projects. Consistency became harder, not easier. So for the first quarter of 2026, I’m doing something different: a personal “focus group.” Not a team meeting, not a survey—just me studying my own workflow to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to be removed entirely. As part of that process, I’m reducing my active platforms from 32 down to 5. It’s time to test whether my backend catalogue is as strong as I think it is. 

One thing I know works is my quarterly filing system and my backup archive process. These became essential after losing a significant amount of work in the past. If I hadn’t built an online archive, nearly half of my files would have disappeared forever. Today, I keep my catalogue on an external SSD because my laptop is aging and running out of space. That makes accuracy crucial when transferring files to cloud storage—especially since I’ve lost work through cloud systems before. 

When I compare my second-quarter 2024 catalogue to my first-quarter 2025 catalogue, I can see the shift toward streamlining. I can find what I need faster because I’m organizing with intention. This is exactly why I prefer a quarterly system over yearly or project-type systems. When categories get too large, information gets buried, and it becomes harder to distinguish recent work from legacy files. 

2024 vs. 2025: How My Catalogue Evolved 

2024 Quarter	Core Catalogue	2025 Quarter	Core Catalogue
Clip Studio Paint	Images, references, timelapse, work files	January 2025	Art, stock, blog, Bloganuary
Writing	Articles, my book, poetry, dump	Project Management	Excel templates, Resume, Planning
Volunteer	Articles, photos, social media, Branding Guide	May 2025	Art, blog, templates

In 2024, everything was organized by project type. In 2025, I shifted to a month-focused structure tied to quarterly goals. That change alone made a noticeable difference in how quickly I could locate files and track progress. 

Preparing for 2026: A New Quarter, A New System 

As I prepare for the first quarter of 2026, I’m building a backend catalogue that reflects my new goals. One major shift is moving toward a more active digital tracking system instead of relying so heavily on memory and handwritten notes. My notebook system has served me well for 15 years, but during my move from New York City to Grants Pass, Oregon, many notebooks and files were lost. Rebuilding from scratch forced me to rethink how I store and protect my work. 

The 2026 first-quarter catalogue is intentionally simple for now and will expand as needed. 

2026 Q1 Catalogue Structure 

Main folder	Core Catalogue	Secondary Catalogue
January 2026	Blog	Blog Library, Library Catalogue
	Notes
	Social Media	SMP Notes, SMP Library
	Tracker	SMP Tracker

This quarter is about identifying blind spots, strengthening my systems, and building a tighter catalogue that can scale with future growth. I’m treating it as both a reset and an experiment—one that will shape how I manage my work for years to come.