Do you tend to leave a lot of active and running applications in your PC because you just know you will be needing them again soon? Does this behavior further cause you visual distractions and otherwise hinder the productivity you were trying to maximize in the first place? Lifehacker’s Swept Away might be the solution for you.
If you are like most computer users you find yourself using the same small subset of your currently installed applications. For me, I typically always have a few Chrome and Firefox sessions, iTunes, Thunderbird, GIMP, and Microsoft Word executing at any given moment – even though I’m not actively using them. I know that I will be using them soon enough so, since I have ample PC resources, it makes sense to just leave them open rather than lose a few seconds of start-up time the next time they are needed. However, having all these open application windows in your desktop can cause you to lose focus on your current application and work-flow. If you are diligent, you could minimize everything but the currently active application but this process becomes tedious and annoying.
Swept Away is a free portable application from the folks at Lifehacker that is responsible for one task and one task only – sweep or minimize applications that haven’t been used after a certain time period elapses. The configuration options are sparse; allowing you to customize the time interval before activation.
Swept Away also includes the ability to exclude applications, accessible from it’s tray icon, by maintaining a white list. If you always want quick access to your media player, like iTunes in my case, placing a check mark next to the application will exclude the sweeping behavior indefinitely.
If you suffer from OCD, ADD, or just appreciate a spartan working environment Swept Away is an excellent component towards that goal.
