We try to keep Sundays dedicated to the other stuff that supports our business lives but that which often gets ignored – Goal Setting, Productivity, Motivation, Review, Health (we’ve categorised these under “Constant Progress”) and Higher Purpose (giving back to the community and feeding your soul).

My previous choice of computer wallpaper was cute but hardly inspiring. Then saw this amazing picture of a sunset on someone’s desktop (if you like his set up - there are instructions but do need some geek skills). As soon as I saw the image, it made me feel both rested and excited at the same time.

I realised that because I had so much clutter on my computer’s desktop, I was just plain avoiding it because every time I saw it, I just had this awful sinking feeling. Because I couldn’t always avoid it, I was guaranteed to feel defeated several times a day even if this was all happening subconsciously. It’s obvious to see the problems mess on our real life desks can create but I think we can easily forget the effect virtual clutter has on our productivity.

So I decided to give my computer’s desktop a spring clean to get rid of the clutter and I also wanted to see if changing the desktop image would have an effect.

I got rid of all my non essential program icons and I cleared the backlog of downloaded files and documents that had covered almost all of my desktop. I made sure that I only had links to documents that are current key priorities and a few everyday folders that I need quick access to.

I tell you what, it makes a huge difference. To paraphrase an old saying: Clean Desktop, Clean Mind. 

I’ve put reviewing and clearing my computer’s desktop clutter as part of my weekly review. And you know, because I love the image, I’m motivated to regularly clear the clutter that builds up.

I now no longer avoid going to my desktop and when I see it, it instantly fills me with energy rather than draining me of it. 

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If you like the sunset image, you can download it for your own wallpaper. Once you’ve downloaded it, open it up in Window Explorer and on PCs right click and choose “Set as Desktop Background” to make it your new wallpaper. Mac users need to go to their System Preferences and then Desktop & Screen Saver (here are some more instructions).

Click on the image below to go to the Flickr page where you can download it in a size that best suits your monitor:

(Source: wvs)