A time sort filing system pattern

Knowledge workers share a common pain. They need paper artifacts and must store them, usually running a subject-based filing system. The Noguchi Filing System (NFS) instead offers a frequency-of-access alternative. It organizes by using and automatically optimizes itself that puts most required documents closest to hand. Every document is placed in an envelope that is dropped vertically on a shelf. The least recently used item moves to the beginning of a queue of envelopes. This procedure eliminates the need to initiate and maintain an organizing scheme of labels. Any artifact can be retrieved fast and replaced without additional cognitive effort. NFS creates a self-maintaining archive of seldom-used files (they slowly wander to the right), and present those often used together (they wait at the left end). Primary sources for NFS are only available in Japanese, secondary sources in other languages are mainly spread on the Internet. This is the first major attempt to collect definitions, explanations, and experiences, and put them together in a consistent way. All information available about NFS is arranged in a format of a single pattern. It should act as a unique source of information for any knowledge worker who wants to benefit from NFS.