Organizing your desktop

January is “clean your desk” month at my place of employ, and I’ve taken that task to the desktop – digital cleaning to me is just as important (if not more so) to sanity than physical file folders.

That said, I’ve setup my desktop in organized columns.*

As you can see, each column represents a different file type, with the far-right column reserved for immediate-action items and some executables I save for regular use (since this is my work computer, any applications I’ve installed are either stored in the /Applications/CE_Installed folder (permanent), or on the desktop (temporary)). This helps me keep organized as I can now easily find the files I need that are stored for short-term access on the desktop.

* Since creating the screenshot, I’ve added 2 new columns on the right: “This Week” and “To File.” The columns better organize me by focusing on the immediate vs. long-term tasks as they relate to digital files.

Along with my CE_toDo.air application, I’m getting more done, and feeling better about the organization. This system may not be perfect – hell, it might not even be the right way to go about anything – but it works for me.