I stopped organizing my NAS like a PC, and everything got easier to back up and maintain

Organizing a NAS with a PC-style folder structure leads to messy backups, duplicated data, and permission headaches. A better approach is to structure storage around data types rather than user accounts, using top-level directories like /data, /services, /backups, and /misc. This makes it easier to configure backup frequency per category, grant service access (e.g., Plex, Immich), and restore the system quickly after a failure.