Organize It!

So I have ADHD. That means a lot of things, but other than the obvious focus issues, it means I have a hard time with organization. Honestly, I’m really proud of my organization skills- unfortunately it’s just not a thing that comes really naturally. My first instinct for anything physical is just putting something down. So papers go in the first folder available, mail gets put down wherever I am (or the kitchen table), and essentially everything gets shoved somewhere until I can deal with it and actually organize it later. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. Starting in middle school I lost textbooks in the hallways, and now that I live in my own place I’ve even lost important checks (see: paycheck) even though I have an accordion folder to put it. And unfortunately, it follows me into the digital world.

I’m sure you’ve seen “that one computer” where someone puts all their stuff on their desktop, or they don’t create new folders and you can’t find anything. Man I’ve even see someone use their trash to keep important documents. I am thankful to say my clutter is not that disorganized, but I’m bad about computer organization in the other way. I’m the kind of person who forgets that I left a program or two open, or have so many tabs open you can barely see the icons (and yes they’re ALL NECESSARY). *see example below*

Obviously this slows my computer down and eats up more memory and CPU than needed. I personally want to save my computer from an early death. And I can! In fact, Windows 10 makes it really easy to spread out open applications and unclutter your desktop.

Now included in Windows 10 is a feature called virtual desktops, where I can put application windows on a new clean desktop. Before, I used the ALT + TAB command to cycle between open windows all on one desktop.

Now I can keep track of what’s open on multiple desktops, which are all used for a specific function.

The best part is, there’s a key command to cycle between desktops! If you press CTRL + WINDOWSKEY + LEFT/RIGHT, you can switch between open desktops. If you’re more of a mouse user, you can get to this view with Task View, which on the above picture is the button on the task bar between the windows store and Cortana.

I cannot begin to describe how vastly improved my user experience is after adopting virtual desktops into my routine. I’m more focused because my desktop is less cluttered and I close apps because it’s so easy to cycle between desktops and see what’s open. This is by far my favorite feature of Windows 10 and I’m excited to see what comes next.

~The Fey Technologist~