Git is a Version Control System (VCS) that is typically used by developers for managing changes to code over time. However, it's not just for developers, you can actually use it for your productivity tasks and keeping track of documents. There are specific document control systems that you can use for documents in a team, but if you're familiar with Git already, then it can work well for what you need.

4 Version controlling documents and documentation

Git tracks your changes over time

With Git, you can "commit" changes that you make so that you can review and compare different iterations of those documents later on. You can restore previous versions too, so that Git can work as a personal safety net to keep track of multiple drafts. Plus, because you add a commit message every time you make a commit, you can document what exact changes you made.

This log of documentation can be used to go back and jump to specific stages of your project while consistently documenting it as it's iterated.

3 Easily collaborate

It's not perfect but it gets the job done

If you want to collaborate on a project with others, Git is a great way to do that. It may not be perfect for documents, but it can work, and you can also manage other projects with it, too. Between video editing projects, music production, and more, Git simply works with anything that stores project progress in files.

For simple projects that I want to collaborate with others on, I'd use Git for most things given my familiarity with it. There are plenty of other ways to collaborate depending on what you're working on, but even imagining a corpus of documentation for a piece of software, Git would be great for a team that was concurrently working on different aspects of the documentation.

2 Archive projects

Easily look back over the history of a project

Once you complete the project, you can easily archive it and keep the entire history of it intact. The entire history of the files in it is trackable from start to finish, which we've seen the results of in a good and a bad sense when companies are hacked and the data is leaked. Full games have been leaked with source code and Git history, giving outsiders a complete history of the project from start to finish.

Likewise, that experience is transferrable to any other kind of project you might work on. You can export the entire history of the project, preserving its history and giving you something to look back on in the future. GitHub is basically a visual way to view a complete Git history for a project, for example.

1 Free and open-source

Anyone can use it for free, and it's widely supported

Git is super easy to install on anything, from Windows to Linux to Mac. It's free and open-source, and it's so well documented that any problems you may run into with it can be easily resolved. Plus, it's so ubiquitous that chances are, most people you would come across in technical settings will know how to use it or will at least be familiar with it. There isn't even a license requirement, so you can use it for any kind of project, commercial or not, and not need to worry about potentially being on the hook for money.