Declutter Your Computer Desktop

How To Organize Your Email, Computer, and Technology: Part 3 – Desktop

 

How Do You Use Your Computer Desktop?

Today I continued with Day 2 of decluttering, streamlining and organizing my computer and technology.

Yesterday’s ninja inbox-management was gruelling – and I’m exhausted! If you launched an all-out assult on your inbox too, then I bet you’re hoping for an easy day today. Relax – it is. 🙂

I’ve spent much of today fine-tuning my email-management system and working through the tasks I created in step 6.

The new thing I’ve done is to declutter my desktop.

How I Decluttered My Computer Desktop
– With Organizing Tips For You

1. I Ruthlessly Deleted Documents, Images and Files From My Desktop

Declutter Your Desktop - Use The TrashLike many people I tend, when busy or short of time, to use my desktop as a de facto to-do list. I drop things there so I’ll see them and be reminded that I need to read something or take some action.

Before long though, it becomes untidy and distracting.

So today I scanned each item and, unless I really wanted to do something with it, I happily moved it into trash.

Love that satisfying toss-in-the-trash sound!

Organizing Tips:

  • The reality of life in the 21st century is that we will never have time for everything. Documents will remain unread, tasks undone, projects unfinished – or perhaps unstarted. Until you make peace with this reality, you will needlessly stress yourself out.
  • Once you accept that you cannot read, do, or finish everything, you can then start to put your focus on what matters most. This little gem of an epiphany is the essence of every time-management strategy there is.
  • So as you scan the confusion of icons on your desktop, remember to focus on what matters. If trying to do everything is working a treat for you then keep everything. If not, then let things go. Into the trash* with them!

* Make this decision based on your own situation. Don’t delete your boss’s pet project and blame me. 🙂

2. I Moved Everything Else Into A ‘Desktop’ Documents Folder

Now this might seem like a bit of visual trickery bet there’s a good reason for it.

I want us to get used to how organized our desktops look and how uncluttered we feel when there’s nothing there. No distractions. No mental clutter. No visual untidiness. This is what we will aim for from now on.

Organizing Tips:

  • Create a new folder under Documents and call it Desktop.
  • Drag everything you’ve decided to keep in there.
  • Note: You may already see something called Desktop at the same level as your Documents folder – this is probably your actual desktop. It should now be empty!
Tomorrow we’ll turn to all our computer filing and folders – including the ‘Desktop’ folder we created today. Wot larks we shall have!

Your Turn!

Do you need to continue with inbox-management steps from yesterday?

What do you need to do to restore order to your computer desktop?

Or do you use your computer desktop in a different way?

14 thoughts on “How To Organize Your Email, Computer, and Technology: Part 3 – Desktop

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