It’s time to put the Type A and Type B stereotypes to rest. Yes, there are, for the most part, two kinds of people. However, the stereotype that only Type A’s can be productive, competitive, and high achieving is entirely false.
Many people describe themselves as Type A or Type B, and some refer to this as either organized or unorganized. However, no matter where you think you fall on the spectrum between organized and unorganized, your personality is far more complex than just two categories.
There are technically four personality types: Type A, Type B, Type C and Type D. To keep it simple, the following personality types are defined as such:
Type A: Go-getters, high-achievers, competitive, goal-orientated.
Type B: Laid-back, the center of attention, outgoing, enthusiastic.
Type C: Detailed, controlled, stable, logical.
Type D: Calm (on the surface), people pleasers, cautious, task-orientated.
You might find you have characteristics in all of these types, which is why categorizing your personality type is incredibly difficult. Everyone is unique and showcases a variety of traits that make them unique. So despite your type, it most definitely is possible to organize your life. Especially your computer screen.
Why should I Bother Organizing My Computer Screen?
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Type A, B or D; whatever you are, organization benefits everyone. According to Select Health, organization is good for overall health and productivity.
So if the screen you see every day during your work or school is complete and utter chaos, just imagine what that subconsciously does to your mental health and productivity.
Type A Computer Organization: Color Coordinating Folders
For the Type A folks, color-coordinating folders will do wonders for your goal-orientated work approach. You designate a color to either a project or class to keep them organized yet aesthetically pleasing. This can help your brain begin to associate those colors with their corresponding content to increase productivity and organization on your computer.
Don’t know how to change the color of a folder? Here is a detailed article to learn how!
Pro tip: If you use a planner, try highlighting tasks or goals in the same color as their folder on your computer. This way, you will know what tasks align with what class or project without having to clutter your planner with extra words.
Type B Computer Organization: Overall Folders and Minimal Applications
Type B folks are laid back and stigmatized to be the unorganized personality group. It’s time to combat that stigma with general folders and limit the number of applications you have on your desktop.
Folders are a great way to categorize your stuff on your computer, so you always know where to look. You don’t need to have 30 folders to be organized, have a few folders that are broad enough to organize your content but not overwhelm you.
For example, you can have an entire folder for “classes” and another one for “clubs,” so you know which folder to look into depending on the type of content you’re looking for.
And lastly, limiting the number of applications you have at the bottom of your screen is a simple way to declutter your screen. Decide which applications you use daily, like Safari or Zoom, and ditch the others. Don’t worry; they’re still on your computer if you need them. You can find them simply by searching.
Type C Computer Organization: Hyper-detailed Folders
Contrary to Type B computer organization, Type C personalities would benefit greatly from detailed folders. Being detail-orientated individuals, having a niche spot for everything on your computer will let you navigate your computer quickly and accurately.
You can do this by creating a few overall folders for different areas like work and school, then creating more detailed folders for each of the folders. For example, under “School,” you can put a folder for each class, then under each class, you can put folders for the type of content found in that folder (homework, essays, projects, etc.)
Type D Computer Organization: Stickies!
For our task-oriented folks, Stickies are your best friend! Stickies are a great way to keep track of your assignments and tasks simultaneously with your computer work so you can see what you have to do neatly in front of you.
Make sure only to have one or two Stickies so they don’t clutter your computer space. You can also customize the font and color to make your tasks more aesthetically pleasing and fit the vibe of your computer screen.
How do you organize your computer? Share with us @VALLEYmag on Twitter.