The Problem with Shared Drives
As organizations increasingly rely on Google Workspace, users often find their Google Drive flooded with files. Between the “My Drive” folder, deeply nested “Shared Drives,” and dozens of daily “Shared with me” notifications, finding the specific five or six documents you need for your current project can become a frustrating daily chore.
Google solved this file management chaos with the Priority Workspace. This feature allows you to curate personalized, virtual folders of highly relevant files without actually moving those files from their original, secure locations.
What is the Priority Workspace?
The Priority page is usually the first thing you see when you log into Google Drive on the web. It uses machine learning to suggest files you might need based on your recent activity and calendar events. However, the most powerful aspect of the Priority page is the Workspaces section located just below the suggestions.
A Workspace is a private collection of file shortcuts. You can pull a budget sheet from a Marketing Shared Drive, a presentation from your personal My Drive, and a PDF shared by an external vendor, and group them all into one single visual Workspace.
Crucially, Workspaces are entirely private to you. Grouping files into a Workspace does not change their sharing permissions, and no one else can see your Workspace layout.
How to Create a New Workspace
- Open Google Drive in your web browser.
- In the left-hand navigation menu, click on Priority (or Workspaces in newer Workspace updates).
- In the Workspaces section, click the Create button.
- Give your Workspace a descriptive name based on your current task (e.g., “Q4 Product Launch” or “Weekly Client Audit”).
- Click Create.
How to Add Files to a Workspace
Once the Workspace is created, you need to populate it with files. A single Workspace can hold up to 25 files.
- Inside your new Workspace box, click Add files.
- A sidebar will open on the right side of the screen. Google Drive will intelligently suggest files based on the name you gave the Workspace.
- If the suggested files are correct, simply check the boxes next to them.
- If you need to find specific files, use the search bar at the top of the sidebar, or navigate through the “My Drive” and “Shared Drives” tabs to locate them manually.
- Once you have selected your files, click Insert at the bottom of the sidebar.
- Click Done.
Managing and Archiving Workspaces
Because Workspaces are designed for current, active projects, you should not treat them as permanent storage folders. Keeping too many active Workspaces defeats their purpose of reducing clutter.
When a project is complete, you should hide the Workspace from your view:
- Go to the Priority page.
- Click the three vertical dots (More actions) in the top-right corner of the specific Workspace box.
- Select Hide workspace.
The Workspace will be moved to the “Hidden workspaces” menu at the very bottom of the page. Hiding a Workspace does not delete any of the actual files inside it; it merely removes your private organizational grouping.
By aggressively utilizing Priority Workspaces, you can stop hunting through endless nested folders and access your most critical documents instantly.