My desk at home is tidy: Its surface is clean, drawers organized, plants watered. But my desktop, until recently, was a hodgepodge of image files and documents, cluttered folders, and forgotten emails.
1. Keep your desktop clear.
Whether digital or three dimensional, a cluttered desk is an impediment to clear thinking and getting work done.
Workstead Partner’s desk in Gallatin, New York.
Who needs a virtual assistant when you can smart calendar apps like Any.do Cal and Mynd Calendar to sync your calendar, your contacts, and your email if you’d like.
2. Reap the benefits of a smart calendar.
Sarah Lonsdale’s Napa Valley desk.
In his book Get Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, author, consultant, and international lecturer David Allen recommends taking your to-do’s out of your cluttered mind and writing them down, yes, but also further breaking them down into Next Action lists.
3. Effectively manage your to-do’s.
4. Get a handle on your newsletters and junk mail, and bring your inbox down to (nearly) zero.
The app Self Control allows you to keep out distractions.
It’s hard to concentrate when reading, socializing, and shopping are ever lurking, just one click away. Self Control lets you block your own access to distracting websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the Internet.
5. Work sensibly and productively online.
As author and founder of The Energy Project, Tony Schwartz explains, the daily battle is not about time management but energy management. Customize the app as you like, and then on schedule your screen will start to slowly dim as your breather begins.
6. Take frequent breaks.
Dagmar Daley’s hidden desk.
Photograph by Matthew Williams
7. Organize your files in the Cloud.
Keeping track of your files and making sure that everything is safely backed up is relatively pain free, thanks to programs like SkyDrive, DropBox, and Google Drive.
1password helps you to create strong, secure passwords for all of your accounts—and equally importantly remembers them for you.
8. Streamline (and boost the security of) your passwords.
Workstead Partner’s desk detail, in Gallatin New York.
Go through all your apps and delete the ones you never use. Put your apps into category-based folders such as travel, music, or food.
9. Consolidate apps on your tablet or phone.
10. Expand your access.
LogMeIn allows you remote access to your desktop from anywhere.