Why Categorizing Information Is Becoming More Important Than Ever

Everyday routines—waking up, having a glass of water, commuting to work, and heading home—are filled with information, whether we realize it or not.

Take that morning glass of water. If you drink it because you once heard it's good for your body, that's information at work. Checking traffic on your way to the office, watching YouTube on the subway, looking up a good restaurant on your way home—these are all tiny interactions with information. We consume it constantly, often without even noticing.

Information flows nonstop. It travels across platforms, slips into our minds, and weaves itself through conversations, apps, screens, and brains. In this hyperconnected era, information isn’t just part of life—it is life. And the way we handle it has become crucial.

As smartphones made instant access to information feel natural, now AI is shifting our focus toward information that is not only fast, but structured and lasting. No matter how quickly we absorb something, if we forget it just as fast, it's almost as if it never happened. That’s why the ability to categorize information is becoming a key skill.

When we talk about handling information well, we're really talking about being able to organize it by purpose and retrieve it when needed. Think of it like organizing your mental desk—putting similar types of information into clear drawers so they don’t pile up into clutter.

Even for those of us who struggle with cleaning our actual desks (myself included), tidying up our information is a different kind of discipline. And it’s just as valuable.

Most of the AI tools we use today operate through data and dialogue. Much like workplace chat platforms, AI relies on what’s already been said to determine what to say next.

Let’s say you’ve been working with an AI assistant on market research. If you delete the conversation history, you’re not just clearing the screen—you’re erasing all the context. The AI forgets everything and basically goes back to zero, like a new intern starting on their first day.

Just as people need time and training to become effective, so does AI. But instead of training through lectures, AI learns through context—your conversations, files, and task history.

That’s why managing each conversation thread like its own workspace makes a big difference. Instead of dumping every task into a single chat window, you get better results when each topic has its own dedicated thread.

When you organize your chats by project or task, they become more than just conversations—they become tools. Over time, a well-managed chat thread can feel like a second brain.

But getting there requires a habit of regularly categorizing and reviewing. Just like you’d tidy up folders and files, it’s time to treat your chat logs with the same care. And when you group information by category, it becomes much easier to decide which tools to use, and when.

When information is organized well, it becomes reusable, combinable, and creative. You can mix different categories, pull ideas from separate spaces, and create something entirely new.

That’s when structure turns into innovation. In that sense, categorization isn’t the opposite of creativity—it’s the foundation for it.

In a world shaped by AI and endless information, those who know how to organize what they know will always stay one step ahead!