Photo organization example from Forte LabsTiago Forte (the Building a Second Brain guy) published this 8-minute read on 11 Mar 2024. He walks through his current setup—Google Photos plus a few settings—and then spends most of the piece on why he prints annual 100-shot photo books. I have to admit I was hoping for a deeper dive into folder or metadata strategy; the article tilts more toward enjoying pictures than organising them.
If you already live inside Google’s ecosystem and like the idea of turning every year into a slim coffee-table book, the approach will feel nicely lightweight. Anyone looking for a hard-drive taxonomy or Lightroom workflow will find less meat here.
Tools mentioned
- Google Photos – primary home for every image, with automatic cloud backup and “Explore” AI categories
- Google One – paid storage tier once you outgrow the free quota
Steps to follow
- Turn on Google Photos backup (Wi-Fi only, “Storage Saver” quality, Partner Sharing if relevant).
- Let the timeline view and Explore tab handle day-to-day organisation; search by keyword when needed.
- Optionally drop big events into shared Albums for friends and family.
- Make an annual photo book:
- Take far fewer photos in the first place—aim for one great shot per occasion.
- Early each January, sift the past year in timed passes until only 100 favourites remain.
- Use Google Photos’ built-in “Order → Photo book” flow; resist over-customising.
Advice (extras called out)
- A notes app is not the place for large media—keep them in a service built for photos.
- Buy extra Google One space sooner than later; running out mid-trip is no fun.
- Embrace imperfection: the goal is easy access, not pixel-perfect curation.
- Distill ruthlessly—prints, slideshows, calendars all start with a tight selection, not thousands of files.
Dive into the full post for Tiago’s personal back-story and detailed book-making workflow: https://fortelabs.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-storing-managing-and-enjoying-your-photos (published 11 Mar 2024).