How to spark joy working from home this Autumn

Do you want to smile as soon as you switch on your laptop?

Then it’s time to get rid of that horrible blue folder icon and change it for something cuter. I have to admit I didn’t even know it was possible to customise your laptop screen in this way until yesterday but I am glad to report that Apple have made it pretty simple!

I made a little video to show you how I changed the folder icons on my MacBook, which you can see here, but you can also follow these steps:

  • Find the image you would like to become your icon - I Recommend something that will work well small i.e. nothing very detailed. Naturally I went for a doodle :)
  • Right click on the image and select ‘Copy’
  • Find the folder whose icon you would like to change and right click on it  and select ‘get info’ from the list of options
  • When the info panel pops-up, click on the blue folder icon on the top left so it is highlighted. You will know it is highlighted when it looks like it has a blue square around it.
  • Go to ‘Edit’ in the menu bar at the top of your screen and from the drop down options click ‘Paste’. The folder icon should now be replaced with your image image.
  • If you want to be able to see the detail in your new image you can make the icon size appear bigger on your screen (see steps below)
  • Click on the folder icon 
  • Go to ‘View’ in the menu bar at the top of your screen and from the drop down options click ‘Show View Options’
  • A pop-up will appear with a sliding scale that will allow you to play around with the size of your icons

I realise working out how to do this was probably the peak of my back to work procrastination but I can honestly say that it was worth every minute!

I now have two very cute icons on my desktop instead of the very admin-y blue folders that screamed ‘I am dull and contain dull things’.  It’s basically  like buying myself some new stationary - small details that can really spark joy and give you something nice to look at when you are struggling to focus or in a boring meeting.

Let me know if you change yours and what symbol or icon you use.

P.S. It also helps to have a screensaver that makes you smile or gets you focused - a digital vision board would fulfil both of these functions


 


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