Desktop Zero Skill

A cluttered desktop isn't a filing failure — it's three systems living in the wrong place: a to-do list (files kept visible so they're not forgotten), a working set (the stuff from current projects), and a landing zone (screenshots, downloads-adjacent debris). Sweeping it into a Desktop-backup folder treats the symptom and reliably regrows the mosaic. Desktop zero is achieved by replacing the three functions with their real systems — then the clear desktop maintains itself, because nothing needs to live there anymore.

What This Skill Produces

• The today-pass — the desktop emptied in ~30 minutes using bulk rules, not item-by-item agony
• The function read — which of the three jobs this desktop was doing, and how much of each
• The replacements — reminders → the task system; working set → a Current/ folder or workspace; landings → redirected at the source
• The weekly two minutes — the maintenance pass, plus the wallpaper trick that makes clutter visible again

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The census — roughly what's there: how many icons, what kinds (screenshots? docs-in-progress? shortcuts? installers?)
• The honest function — "I keep things there so I don't forget them" vs "it's just where things land" — the replacement plan differs
• The real systems available — is there a task system to receive the reminders? A folder structure (folder-structure-designer) to receive the files? Absences get patched first

Framework: The Three-Function Rules