My principle of organization: Only see the objects you need to complete a task. Keep it simple. If a tool is irritating or slows you down, don't use it. Workfl

My principle of organization: Only see the objects you need to complete a task. Keep it simple. If a tool is irritating or slows you down, don't use it. Workflow: There are only two things you need to know. First, know the 'critical section' of your work process, and learn to NEVER TOUCH THE MOUSE. It's OK for web browsing, but you want to minimize context switches in your inner loops. Second, learn the GNU toolset, like find, grep, cut, od, and the rest. You'll find them arcane, but when someone asks you to change the group on all of the files you own on the remote server, you'll spend 3 minutes instead of 3 days :) Workspace: Maximize Emacs, split the screen into quarters. I prefer gnome-terminal or Cygwin to Emacs' built-in shell support, since alt+tab is easier than `C-x b buffer-name`. When in Visual Studio on Windows, I keep open the project view and the error console while programming. Physical desk: The space in front of my monitors is work-related (or edible). As items become unused, they get pushed out to the sides. Once a week, I throw stuff out or shove it in a drawer for long-term storage Computer desktop: Bare essentials. Files get downloaded to the desktop and moved accordingly. There's never more than a few things in my face. On Linux, I use Gnome + multiple desktops to sharpen my focus to just the windows I need. Browser on Desktop 1. Emacs + terminals in Desktop 2. Chat programs in Desktop 4.