diff --git a/custom/setup-editing.el b/custom/setup-editing.el
index ccbca5d..d7faf3b 100644
--- a/custom/setup-editing.el
+++ b/custom/setup-editing.el
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
       kill-whole-line t  ; if NIL, kill whole line and move the next line up
       )
 
+;; show column numbers
+(setq column-number-mode 1)
+
 ;; set appearance of a tab that is represented by 4 spaces
 (setq-default tab-width 4)