Papers are stacked in wobbly piles, post-it notes are scattered around, used coffee cups and wrappers are hanging around from several weeks past, and drawers are overflowing and cannot be opened without significant effort.
A cluttered desk is a sign frustration. It's an open cry for help, because this person doesn't have the means to keep up with all the 'stuff' continually coming at them.
But what about computers? They're not as easy to spot as a cluttered desk because everything in them is digital. But, they can become cluttered, too. Here are some signs of a cluttered computer desktop, and some suggestions for giving it a clean up:
1. Do you have more that 2-3 files or folders on your desktop? Your computer desktop is like a physical desk, it is meant for you to work on something, then put it back where it belongs when you are not working on it.
Too often people keep files and folders on their desktop, permanently. Every file and folder should have a 'home' away from the desktop. This is why desktops get cluttered in the first place, the files or folders don't have a home. A good place to start is to put documents into the documents folder, movies in the movies folder, pictures in the pictures folder, and so on.
2. Do your files have simple names that make them easy to find? Many people keep files on their desktop because they can 'see it' there. If it's moved away, it might be lost! Giving it a name helps it become easy to find.
If you look around your computer you may notice that your files have names such as; IMG_2010.jpg, 54-21-9000.png, 55-205-1-RV.doc, and so on.
Give files a simple name that describes what it is, for example, a picture of your family during a sunset could get the name; family&sunset.jpg. Then, the picture can be put in its 'home' inside your pictures folder.
3. Do you have a simple way to search for files away from the desktop? Do you know that there's a simple, fast, and effective way to search for files on your computer, built right into your operating system?
For example: The next time you want to use that picture we named family&sunset.jpg above, just search for it. On a Mac press Command + spacebar and Spotlight will open (this is the quick and easy file searching program that is part of the Operating System).
Once Spotlight is open (the blue bar in the top right corner), start typing the name of the picture; family&sunset.jpg. After one or two letters you should see a list starting, including your picture. Click on it and your computer will open up the picture.
After you move all your files away from the desktop by giving them a simple name and a permanent home, sit back and enjoy an open and clutter-free computer space. You never know, the cleanliness may spread to other places around the office, home, and car!
(but those are topics for another day!)
