Screenshot

My current screenshot. The desktop image is called “Aurora 2” and I’m sorry to say I can’t remember where I got it from. I’m running three Geektool scripts: an iTune’s script, a PandoroBoy script, (both of which occupy the same spot on the screen and simply don’t show up when they are not playing) and a script that I sorta-kinda created for Things that shows my to-do list. The “sorta-kinda” is because it is largely based on one of the other scripts on the Things Wiki and I did a lot of editing and tweaking but didn’t create the script from the ground up. The only other script I’d like to put together is one that will show iCal events, but since most of my days are pretty much the same, it isn’t a priority. Once I get back into a Ph.D. program and have a busier schedule, I’ll probably add that on.

As you can tell, I’m not a fan of a cluttered computer desktop, but I do find that having my tasks list embedded on the desktop to be helpful in forcing me to keep in in mind. If my task list is relegated to a program, even if that program is easily called up, I have a tendency to put those out of sight items out of mind.

The other thing I’ve discovered is that the more abstract my desktop image, the less apt I am to want to change it. Used to be that I’d be changing backgrounds weekly, going on DeviantArt regularly to hunt for new and interesting backgrounds. I even when through a period of creating collage backgrounds based on Gillian Anderson photos — though that was a long, long, time ago, so I don’t want to hear any snide comments about how nerdy that is. Recently, however, I’ve been sticking with more and more abstract images that play with color or shapes but don’t represent anything specific and find that I don’t have the urge to spend way too much time looking for those new and interesting images. I will still occasionally check out DeviantArt, but usually one every several months instead of every week or two.

I’m not sure what point I’m trying to make, or even if I have a point to this entry, but I spend a lot of time on my computer and thinking about how to eliminate distractions from my workspace. Keeping my computer desktop simple, colorful, and useful seems to help eliminate at least a few distractions from my digital world.