I hate having icons not organized on my desktop  I used to have a screen full of icons like shortcuts, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, pictures, and programs.  All those mismatched icons.  Always worrying I'd skipped over something important. 

I tried putting everything into folders and avoided my desktop altogether.  But trying to remember the location of all the information I needed for my presentation, like websites, shared folders, different versions all in stored in different places, some things inevitably fell through the cracks. 

Not Anymore!  I designed and built my first GO Paperless!™ Desktop 4 years ago and I swear by it.  I still use my calendar, tasks and all my PIM tools, but the desktop helps me quickly take a look at how many files I'm dealing with in a quick and visual way. 

I want to share it with you because I believe that as we take our first step to a world without paper, we will need something simple like this to manage our new modern digital desk. - HH

How it works:

The desktop is just a background you can put on your desktop. Finally you can use your desktop the way you use your desk, in piles.

There are places on the GO Paperless!™ Desktop where you can pile your information.  You can group them anyway you like just like you would your desk.  I try to put tasks together, big projects together and I use the bars on the side for my shortcuts and programs. 

You can group all the digital information that you have for a project in one place so you can quickly see all the things you are dealing with at one time.  When all your information and files are grouped, you can maximize your effectiveness.  And believe me, once you un-clutter your desktop you'll feel more in control on your digital life.  

The Compartments:

Tasks – I put daily and weekly tasks or small projects together.  Usually some shortcuts to websites, a word file of my notes and the final document I'm trying to produce.

Projects – I use these for major projects.  They are big enough that they can hold multiple parts of a big project including  Pictures, Presentations, Versions, and Research. 

Shortcuts – I use these for easy access to commonly used programs, websites or folders.  So I have links to my music, online accounts, personal files, business files, and programs that I use often. 

I use one row as my "FILE AWAY", which lets me know what I have to file away on my hard-drive or network.     

(Tip: If you right click on a folder or website and select “Send-to” or “Create Shortcut” it will add it to your desktop)

So download my GO Paperless!™ Desktop below and move all those papers from piles on your desk to your GO Paperless!™ Desktop.