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This post assumes you are on a Mac. Otherwise you may be wondering what the hell I mean when I talk about “the Dock” because I’m not talking about where my cousin parks his Mumba.

Purpose of post:

Get the most out of your Macintosh by eliminating distractions.

Assumptions (and yes, Frau Berg told me already: ASS-U-ME aka assumptions make an ass out of u and me):

You have too much crap in your doc. It shines and wiggles and you’ve never made a conscious choice about what is there. If this is not you, read no further.

Brass Tacks: Do more with your time while you lurve your Mac

Step One: Remove everything from your Dock

I know. This is scary. But do it. If you don’t do this you might as well close this browser window/tab and go home. This is the point where you stand on a hunk of wood and lean back into my arms. If you can’t get that far then there’s no point proceeding.

Step Two: Think about what applications you actually use every single day.

This is important. You have a lot of applications. Some important stuff, some paid stuff, some fun little stuff. You have a lot. But when push comes to shove, I bet you have less than five that you absolutely open every single day. One browser (unless you’re a webgeek like me–but even then you develop in Firefox and do your testing at a specific time later), your email program, your word processor or spread sheet (depending on your numerical/literary index), some very very specific piece of software relevant to your line of work (Final Cut? Photoshop? GANTT Chart Pro?) and your calendar program. Maybe you have more than this. But I bet you don’t have many more.

Luckily you don’t have to think too hard because you already did step one above.

Here’s a quick trick. Make sure you are in the Finder (the word “Finder is in the upper left of your computer screen”). Then, on your keyboard hit Command(aka Apple, it is likely next to your space bar)-Shift-A. You should see a new window that opens with a list of every application you have installed on the machine. Sweet. Remember how to do this because you’ll be doing this at least four times in the next three days.

Step Three: Do your work

Every time you need to do something, use the trick from step two to find your application. If you notice that use an application more than once per day, drag the icon (that little picture) to your Dock.

It is important to let your actual work drive your choice for putting things in the Dock. Don’t put anything there that you “think you might maybe need someday.” That’s what the trick from step 2 is for.

Step Null: Extra Credit for Productivity Ninjas

If you are desperately fearful of doing Instant-Application-Folder trick, then install Dragthing and load every app you want in there (please organize it though by usefulness or else you might as well have multiplied your dock woes instead of becoming a ruthless dock ninja).

For full disclosure, I run Dragthing and use it to categorize the multitude of context-specific applications I use weekly but not daily. I have the following tabs in my Dragthing:

• Com: for browsers, FTP clients, etc. These are specific requirements for my work, not things I necessarily use every day.
• System: I’m a machine tweaker so I have all manner of gauges for hard drive space, ram usage, CPU usage and so on as well as printer swappers and font managers; if you aren’t insane in the same way that I am then this should not apply.
• PIM: Honestly, I don’t use this tab anymore and should derez it. I have my address book and my calendar in my Dock. And I absolutely can find my finance stuff in a pinch (though I think that’s all going on line for me this year).
• Print: The host of vector/bitmap image editors, layout tools, font managers etc I need to accomplish print design jobs.
• Interactivity: The editors for coding and implementing interactive design work including text-editors, Flash and other environments.
• Productivity: This is where I put my Office equivalents (Neo Office in my case) as well as my even more used OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle. Maybe I throw in a calculator (though the Dashboard killed that really) or a database if need one.
• Utility: Again, I’m a system tweaker. You don’t need this most likely. Hell. I don’t need this.
• Distraction: Starcraft. Thinktanks. Solace. I don’t care what it is. But you need to put your brain on hold sometimes for the good thoughts to percolate up. This is where that goes.
• Audio: Same as for Print and Interactive but for Audio. This is a work-specific holding pen for a variety of applications.
• Motion: As for audio, but for motion work (video editors, animation tools, framegrabbers, and so forth)

As I review my own Dragthing usage I notice a potential good practice: review your Dragthing regularly. I have entire categories that are pretty much useless and taking up screen real estate (uhmmmm Utilities? Can’t I just find those using the Step Null Trick?). Apply the same ruthlessness to your Dragthing as you do to your dock.

Step Four: Wash-rinse-repeat

Your job will change. The tasks required for your job will change. The software best suited to accomplishing the tasks required for your job will change. Review the Dock regularly. Adjust it. Start at step one from this guide on a regular basis. Do not calcify.