If there’s one thing I love getting, it’s a good deal at a low price, especially when it comes to cloud storage. As someone who works across multiple devices, I must be able to access files when they’re most relevant. And the answer was staring me in the face.
Google Drive has been my de facto driver for just about anything work-related (and even personal stuff, like prepping my dungeon master notes or creative writing), so it’s not like integration is a problem. In fact, I think of Google Drive as a multi-tool, but to get the most out of its features, I had to expand my storage.
Google Drive gives you 15GB of storage right away
That’s three times the storage iCloud gives for signing up
Considering both my personal and work Google accounts, I’ve been using 30GB of space for years. It’s only recently that my goal has shifted towards backing up personal files, images, and even invoices—at least one digital copy—outside of housing family photos on a laptop that doubles as my Plex server.
And I got a good discount, too. For just $0.49 a month, I nabbed Google’s Basic storage plan—that’s 100GB of space—for the next three months. I’m a month into the service, and I’m already considering the 2TB option if I’m to make a digital copy of everything. I’ll make good use of the storage before it goes up to $2.99 a month, but that’s when I’ll make the jump.
More importantly, I don’t just work on one device. I need to be able to sync between my laptop, tablet, and smartphone for both work and personal use, especially when I’m playing D&D and need to access my notes.
I work almost exclusively with Google’s other apps
I haven’t cracked open Microsoft Excel in a while
I’m embarrassed to say I don’t recall the last time I opened up Microsoft Excel, though Microsoft Word still gets some use. Having Google Drive alongside Google’s other apps has been incredibly convenient. Since my work documents are done exclusively through Google, I can send my files to the cloud and pick up where I left off on another device. Otherwise, creative writing is done in Microsoft Word, but I resort to Google Docs for campaign writing.
Additionally, people I work with also usually use Google’s apps and share those files with me. Google Drive makes it very easy to spot who saved what when I see the file in my cloud folders, where it’s located, what’s been shared with me, and by whom. And I can quickly change a file’s sharing permissions at a moment’s notice.
I’ve been pushing towards organization
Creating folders and cleaning up my documents is easy
One minor trait of Google Drive that has been a godsend compared to, say, iCloud, is the teeny icons next to the files. Each one has it, indicating the app it’s associated with, and since I know each icon by heart now, I know the kind of content I’ll come across. For example, when I saw the green paper icon, I knew that it was Google Sheets. And if it’s Google Sheets, it’s likely an invoice.
Just those icons alone have made quickly organizing my files into general folders has been life-changing because it’s so easy to see what the file is at a single glance. Once files from Google Sheets are all in one file, I’ve been able to run a fine-tooth comb through everything and section the content into finer bits.
The Google Drive app is also pretty intuitive to use
I like that both in-browser and the app look fairly similar
That intuitive UI is also extended towards the app, since it shares many of the same general design elements. When I use Google Drive in a browser, most of my attention is drawn to the center of the screen, where my files are. Meanwhile, all the quick options are on the left, including the ability to create a new file (depending on the app, like Docs or Sheets).
The same design is seen with the Google Drive app, though the option to create a new file (or upload something) is in the lower-right, which is appreciated. That’s where my thumb tends to rest when I’m scrolling through notes or trying to look for a specific file. More importantly, the same icons that distinguish between Google’s apps are also present in the app. If I see the tiny yellow square, I know I’m dealing with Google Slides.
Google Drive is the most convenient and best value option
Sometimes the best option is staring you right in the face, and the fact that I paid less than $1 for over triple the space I was working with (30GB, remember?) is just icing on the cake. IIt’llalso make it really easy to move over to a new computer when I finally retire my work PC.