If you’ve found yourself constantly left with little to no time to find the proper place to store or save your important documents, chances are that your desktop is a mess. When you start your computer, your screen may be a maze of overlapping files, programs, photos, and shortcuts. It’s like walking into a home office or cubicle at work when the piles of paperwork, folders, and office supplies have exploded on a space that remains efficient only when and if there is a system of organization. No map or colorful legends will help you restore the sanctity of your workspace enough to convince you that organizing your desktop need not be done.

While overwhelming and intimidating, the decision to take control of the materials that litter your desktop will no doubt lead to productivity and peace of mind. You must begin with power and energy, ready to categorize the many projects left unassigned to proper folders. If you start by creating a folder for every arena in your life, the aptitude for true organization will be rich. On the other hand, if you attempt to start your clean-up process by creating 1 of 150 folders, you will undoubtedly quit before you finish with such an industrious ambition. The key is narrow as you move along and initially, you should work to spread the materials out, as you would on a table or floor.

Every round of organization should create bigger piles with which you will continue to tailor. The tailoring involves organizing your work into folders and sub-folders, but  per logic, sub-folders should not be created before the folders themselves. Once you have a practical idea of the materials you are working with, you will be better equipped to judge just how to organize them most effectively. Always leave room for evolving adaptations to your organization system, as new projects are always being added to our workloads that may require a different form of organization.