A crowded desktop on a computer can present the same challenge as several stacks of paper on your desk.  The challange, and the productivity loss, is the time spent searching for a document.  Yet keeping these unsorted documents is easier for many people who do not file because they recognize that, once a document goes into their file folders, the chances of seeing it again are slim. 

It is difficult for these people to locate something in the future because they can’t figure out what they called it.  There is a better chance of finding it by going through a stack or two, or searching the desktop’s littered surface, than it is to remember where they ended up putting the paper in the file cabinet or in My Documents.

The immediate impact of a crowded computer desktop vs. a physically stacked desk seems to be less.  Since others do not immediately see the mess, the first impression of being unorganized, or even out of control, is not presented.  Yet the same issues follow you.  The clutter is distracting and causes you to loss time.

A reader of this blog wrote in to say that he uses a program called “Clutterkiller” to maintain a clear desktop, and he suggested that I share this with my readers because it “really helped clean up my messy desktop and organize my files into something usable.”  ClutterKiller claims it cleans your desktop of shortcuts, folders and files. Entire folders of files can even be organized quickly, according to extension type.  If filing and finding electronic documents is one of your challenges, you might want to explore an electronic solution.