Clean off your desktop every night.
If you’re on the computer all day, there’s a high probability your desktop ends up a cluttered mess. If you’re like me and love to have your information accessible on the desktop as opposed to inside an out-of-sight folder tree, aim to keep a few folders on the desktop (even if one of them is labeled “random”) to maintain some organization.
Don’t forget the Downloads folder.
Or any other folders that files may save to when you download them automatically. It can be a place where forgotten files (like endless PDFs of restaurant menus) go to die.
Empty your trash.
Moving folders and files to the trash may clear your desktop, but the files aren’t gone until you empty your trash. Since there’s always a risk of accidentally deleting something you don’t want to lose, get in the habit of emptying your trash early and often so you have time to glance over files in the trash before deleting completely.
Mind your browser tabs.
If there’s one computer sin I’m most guilty of, it’s leaving too many browser tabs open. A ton of open tabs can slow down your browser, make it more difficult and time-consuming to find what you’re looking for, and leave you feeling generally disorganized.
