By Erin Rebello

If you’re anything like me, you know how difficult it is to keep your computer home page clean! No matter how much effort I put into keeping everything neat and tidy, within a week it goes back to its usual state of chaos. As a result of the mess, it’s been harder to feel motivated to get my work done and be productive. I decided that I needed to make a change to boost my productivity, so that’s exactly what I did! Over the winter break, I took another shot at keeping my computer tidy, and so far it seems to be working well. Without all the clutter, it’s much easier to focus on my work, and I find myself being far more motivated than I was before! Below are a few helpful tips and tricks that I used to keep my computer files organized.

1. Delete what you don’t need. Whether it’s an old book report from elementary school, or some image files you downloaded for a project, there is bound to be a lot of junk cluttering up your computer. Not only is this unpleasant to look at, but having too many files will actually slow your computer, which is certainly not ideal! The best way to deal with this issue is by setting aside a day to thoroughly sort through your computer files, and by discarding old, irrelevant, or unnecessary ones.
2. Take advantage of cloud storage. If there are any files that you want to access from multiple computers, consider using cloud-based storage solutions. Instead of saving your data to a single computer hard drive, saving to the cloud allows you to access your data from anywhere at any time – no need for those pesky USBs! You also don’t have to worry about constantly saving your work, as it autosaves! Some great cloud drive systems are Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Apple iCloud.
3. Use folders to create categories. After you’ve decided what files you want to keep, you should go one step further and organize them into categories. What the specific categories are is up to you, but personally I like to have one folder for each of my grade levels, and within these folders, I have separate folders for each of my subjects. This way, I can keep all my school-related items in one place on my computer. Other important folders I have include “Photos” “Jobs and Resumes” and “Microsoft Applications.”
4. Keep games off your main screen. As someone who loves gaming, I have had my fair share of video games saved to my computer. Although I love spending my free time playing these games, having them on my home screen can make them tempting to play when I have more important things to be doing. For this reason, I recommend putting all your games into a tidy folder and keeping it in the corner of your home screen. Personally, I’ve found that this prevents me from a lot of “impulse-playing” and has allowed me to be more productive
5. Follow the 40/60 rule. When organizing your files and folders on your home screen, make sure that you only cover 40% or less of the screen, leaving the remaining 60% empty. If you have too many files to do this, use more folders! I’ve found that this rule helps a lot with managing my files. It also makes my main screen more appealing, and less overwhelming to look at.

Although this certainly isn’t a conclusive list, following these tips and tricks should put you on the path towards a more productive computer setup!