Basics4Mac - GTD Makeover for Your Desktop

Organizing your temporary files

Desktop View Options
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Is your Desktop covered with icons? Mine used to be until I found a GTD (Getting Things Done) technique that makes better use of the desktop than just a dumping place.

Very similar to this tip about keeping your Inbox clear the idea here is to only keep files on your desktop that you are working on currently.

Many of the files that you save are only useful for a certain period of time. Such a file might be a travel confirmation or a memo you are working on or components of a larger project. You need the file to be handy for now but at some point in the future you will want to either trash the file or store it in a permanent location.

The Desktop makes a perfect location for these temporary files because it is easy to save to and always in view.

Try these actions to give your Desktop a makeover:

Only save files that are likely to be temporary to your Desktop. If you know that you will need to keep a file, save it in your Documents folder.
Use Exposé (F11) to get quick access to the files on your desktop
Right-click on the desktop and choose "Show View Options." Check "Show item info", Show icon preview", and "Keep arranged by Name." Select Label position to be "Right." These view options will snap your icons into an organized list and show you more information about the files without needing to open them.
Go to Finder Preferences and to the General section. Uncheck all the "Show these items on the Desktop" checkboxes. Your hard drives, CD and connected servers are all shown in the Finder Sidebar so they don't need to be on the desktop as well.
Create a folder called "_Desktop Items" on your Desktop. (That is an underscore character at the beginning of the filename. That will insure that your _Desktops items folder will always be at the top of the list of files.

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My Made Over Desktop
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Now, every day, week, or whenever the desktop starts to look a little crowded, do a little sorting:

The files you don't need anymore, drag to the Trash.

The files you need to keep, drag to your Documents folder

If you aren't sure or just want to keep a file in limbo, drag it to the _Desktop Items folder for later sorting. (Danger: If all you do is drag all the files off of your desktop and into the _Desktop Items folder, then all you have done is moved your mess from one place to another. Use the _Desktop Items folder sparingly.)

With a little work, you can keep the thousands of files you accumulate over time under control.