School Me: How do you Organize your Desktop?

[Charlie Bonesx]

I use the desktop as a temp working folder for exports and such until they are going to go wherever they are going


I'm all in on spotlight now for finding files now after years of Alfred. before I became so keyboard centric I used to rely on apps, docs, downloads folders placed in the doc (which is hidden at left), creating sort of an old windows style start menu

I still keep them in the doc like that but try to mostly just was the keyboard for navigation now

 

[Fallforward]

Everything whether work or personal has always been accessed one of two ways:
- All documents are highly organized in Finder by folders like clients (then folders by client name, then by project, etc) or vacations (then by date and/or locations, etc), or Finance (then by bank, insurance, broker, taxes which have another level by year...) or whatever - even a MISC folder that has a dozen odd folders within.
- Always carefully save the first version ov anything new including downloads in the right place. After that, for active work the easiest access is via File -> Open Recent.

Started doing that when the first level was a floppy.

 

[Fallforward]

The way I organized my Windows 11 desktop was to keep very few folders or items there. My passion is studying the histories and architects of pre-1930s buildings in El Paso, Texas, and publishing my research along with photographs and important screenshots. I like to use my almost empty desktop to collect the pictures and screenshots, plus opening two TextEdit files, one for my notes and one for the article. I go online to my sources where I can search for information: my favorite is newspapers dot com, and there are some others. Whatever information I find is placed on the computer desktop - pictures, screenshots of important newspaper articles, interesting facts, etc. After writing and posting the article, all of the material I gathered on the desktop is either deleted or filed elsewhere, then I go on with a clean desktop to my next project. Here is one of my articles. You may have to have a Facebook account to see it:

https://www.facebook.com/PreservationTexasWestRegion/posts/pfbid0oRVzdcngmt2v1s7Tx7VCHovKwGQZ96Ywi9VgdGpnXR2oSDBW2FCwaRbPEczq4e1Ml

After reading all of your excellent responses to my op, I believe I'll duplicate the way I used the Windows 11 desktop (on my old HP laptop) on my new MBN. One of the strengths on the MacBook is that it allows creative use. So I switched from a Windows Notebook to a MacBook to do the same thing?

For that type of work an ultra wide monitor might help. A 34 inch wide monitor can be $150-$300. Your working area could go up over 5x.

 

[Eso]

Desktop for files you can delete the moment you forget what they were for.

All personal files go into a folder with three sub-folders: Projects, Collections, Reference

Projects - things you are actively making, organized logically into folder for the thing you are doing.

Collections - music, video, etc

Reference - Old projects you're finished working on and may want to look up later (such as resumés).

 

[winxmac]

Windows: only shortcuts created by programs installed while files are stored on folders under the user or on a separate partition
Linux: only the default icons but files are stored on folders under the user
macOS: all icons hidden but files are stored on folders under the user

 

[Happy_John]

I have two 27" monitors. The screen on the left is covered in widgets, nothing else, and windows containing content that is read / watched / searched thought gets opened on this screen.

The screen directly in front of me only has the essential files and folders related to the current work project I'm on. This is the screen where the actual "productivity" is done, ie. creating files / projects and editing files in apps.

I don't "show" local storage drives on the desktop, but I do show connected network drives.

To navigate around my drives and folders, I add them into the sidebar of the finder, and/or add them as folders into the dock.

Generally, I try to avoid clutter on the desktop itself on the main screen, and the usefulness of the widgets on the secondary screen adds more convenience then their clutter causes.

 

[boswald]

This is mine at the moment. As you can see, I put useful widgets in the top left corner, under the menu bar, music on the right (I like to see which songs are coming up), and a minimal dock at the bottom. I also have a Macintosh HD icon under the music player but I never use it. I think this is a good balance between clutter and usability.

 

[Bazza1]

That's it. External local drives and aliases to my Docs and Photo folders. Black screen. Easier on eyes and less strain on monitor.

 

[ElPaso]

For that type of work an ultra wide monitor might help. A 34 inch wide monitor can be $150-$300. Your working area could go up over 5x.

Naw, for me that would be an unnecessary expense. The 13" screen on the MBN is quite sufficient. For me, organization is more critical than the larger screen.

 

[eyoungren]

I am old school. I use the documents folder for things I want on the machine.

If you are old school, I am ancient. I learned DOS in 1990 and put my files any place I wanted to. Although OS 7 through OS 9 had folders for the System, Applications and Utilities, it continued to allow me to put my stuff anywhere I wanted.

When OS X demanded that I create a user account and then also to file my stuff according to Apple's own predetermined file and folder structure, I rebelled. Today, Apple and I have achieved an uneasy peace after a vicious war for control. And so, while I am forced to use an account and Apple's home folder structure, they cannot stop me from putting anything I want on other drives in exactly the way I want to do that.

Note. I am only being semi-sarcastic. I absolutely melted-down in 2003 over Apple's home folder structure.