What is more appropriate than starting your journey to digital clarity with your desktop, since this is where the disorder of a computer manifests itself most clearly? One could certainly design studies about the (digital) behavior of users based only on the filing structure of the desktop. There are several ways to free your desktop from the clutter of wildly filed files or rather to bring some structure into this mess. Be it special folder structures or even desktop wallpapers that designate space for certain file categories, for me there is really only one strategy to create a distraction-free desktop: the file-free desktop.
Why should I keep my desktop as file-free as possible?
The primary reason why your desktop is often used as a file dump for your computer is that it is easy to store your files here. You don’t have to worry (for the time being) about where to save a file, and you can quickly find the last file you saved on your desktop. The problem here, however, is that the initial advantages, quick saving and quick retrieval, also quickly vanish. As soon as the laptop shows more and more file icons and you have to start the global file search to find anything at all, you quickly get frustrated.
A desktop is meant to be a cache of files, if anything, not a permanent archive. Therefore, the best strategy, the simplest: remove all files to the desktop! All well and good, but how do I get rid of the current chaos on my desktop screen, I can’t just delete all files…
Step 1: Sort your file chaos into project specific folders or directly into your “junk drawer”
The easiest way to do this is to first sort all files and file links (= aliases that point to the actual location) into a “junk drawer”. For me this “junk drawer” is the download folder. You can also create a local folder with the name “junk drawer” and use it. However, for the sake of simplicity, I use the download folder for this purpose, because by default, downloaded files end up in this folder. Of course, if you’re sure that files and folders need to be kept for a longer period of time, you should put them directly in the appropriate location, not through the “junk drawer”. The magic of the junk drawer, however, is that you can copy all the files you’re unsure of where to put them and/or where you want to store them long-term right over, so that nothing on the desktop has to steal your attention anymore.
Step 2: Guard the emptiness of your desktop like a treasure
The initial move of all files away from the desktop is done super fast. If you copied most of it into your junk drawer and didn’t have to search for the actual folder structure, then the task won’t have taken you too much time. The real challenge now is to keep your desktop from getting cluttered all over again. You can use this strategy if you know that you are not very disciplined, so that from now on you store your files that you would actually save on the desktop in your “junk drawer” and maybe rearrange it during the next motivation push.
If you’re reasonably disciplined about keeping things tidy, or if you’ve been following the “junk drawer” principle described above for some time, you’re ready for the next step, the actual purpose of desktop use: Everything that is acutely needed for a task (or chain of tasks) can be stored temporarily on the desktop until the task is completed or you finish your (digital) day. Again, copy files from the desktop to project-specific folders or the junk drawer (or trash) every evening at the latest. This way you always end and start your work with a “fresh” desktop, which will greatly increase your concentration and motivation for digital work!
I’ve been living with a file-free desktop for over 11 years and I believe that this approach is the most important first step in becoming a master of your digital world.
Bonus activity if you have 15 minutes left: Which programs open first on your computer?
For a motivating start, the speed with which you can access the functions of your computer is important. No one has time to wait for the computer to boot.
To increase the boot speed, there are a few things you can do. One of them is the setting of which programs are launched when the machine starts. Even though most of us don’t realize it, when we boot our laptop, a lot of unnecessary programs are started as well. Because the devices are often only put into “sleep mode” and rarely shut down. It makes sense to shut down the devices properly, because otherwise program updates, which first need a reboot, can only become active late.
Which programs are started at startup, you can see in “System Preferences” -> “Users & Groups” -> “Login Objects” on a macOS computer. On a Windows computer you can find them under “Task Manager” -> “Autostart” +. If you use another operating system than macOS or Windows, I assume that you can find the corresponding settings without my help.
At this point you can disable those programs you don’t need directly at startup and enable important programs (I count only the cloud backup programs or cloud clients like “dropbox” or “backup and sync” from Google) if they were not already preserved in the autostart list.
Checklist:
- Move all your files from the desktop to the download folder (without exception!)
- Try NOT to save any file on your desktop for a whole month; save everything you had saved on your desktop to the download folder instead
- Move the files from your download folder to the recycle bin once a month (don’t worry, files in the recycle bin can be restored very easily and very quickly)
- Get into the habit of storing all important files directly where you want to store them in the long run and use your download folder as a storage place for intermediate files and as a “junk drawer” in future
- Enjoy the good feeling of a distraction-free desktop!