We’ve all heard the endless chatter about organizing our stuff and decluttering our homes. But while it really is important to keep our living space clean, what about your digital life? When’s the last time you’ve cleaned files on your work laptop? Do you regularly declutter your phone? Since last year, it’s quite obvious that we’ve used technology more than ever-mostly for studying and working from home.
As a result, we tend to have more clutter in our digital space. We’ve got apps, photos, and files all over the place, affecting our productivity, focus, and even our mental health. Plus, that clutter can even affect our device’s performance and slow it down. Ready to declutter your digital space? Check out our tips below to get started!
Table of Contents
Audit files and photos
The first and probably the most tedious part of digital decluttering is auditing all your files on your laptop, phones, or cloud. Start with random files and delete them. Decide which files you’ve been holding on to for months or even years are worth keeping. Still, got those news articles you’ve written during your freshman year? Multiple drafts of your research paper? You’d probably don’t need them anymore.
Are you like others who got 5,000 photos on your phone? Going through all of them might seem overwhelming, but it’s necessary. Check for random screenshots or image duplicates and trash them. Do you really need to have ten shots of that one shrine you’ve visited during your Japan trip? Probably not.
Create a file-naming system
For your smartphone’s app folders, stick to the basics of naming them to keep your apps organized: utilities, productivity, finance, social media, entertainment, creativity, travel, shopping, and food, information and reading, health and fitness, and others.
As for the other files on your phone or laptop, come up with a naming system for a uniform and clean space. You can go with: Date – Project Name – Professor Name, Date – Report Name – Your Name. Think of a naming system that you can easily follow every time you download or create a new file for personal, studies, or work.
Remove push notifications
Notifications can be a very distracting thing, especially when you’re trying to do some studying or work. According to some studies, it can take about 20 minutes for your mind to get back to focus and concentration when you get distracted from a task at hand. To get a productive day at work or online class, turn off notifications from your apps or browser. You can also use the Do Not Disturb and set your own preferred settings.
Nevertheless, be sure to take at least 20 minutes of break after every 90 minutes of work. During that break, you can check your social media accounts or emails for new messages or alerts.
Reach inbox zero
Believe it or not, clearing up and organizing your email accounts can be one of the most satisfying things ever. Whether you’re currently taking up an online IT class or already working in a marketing company, email is definitely among the most used tools. This is why it’s necessary to keep it tidy – at all times!
First off, unsubscribe from any email lists or newsletters that aren’t relevant to your work, studies, or personal needs. These unnecessary subscriptions can encourage you to spend money on things you don’t need or distract you from reading or replying to important emails. Next, set up automatic filters to label all the incoming mails into different folders. You can create one filter for your IT class or other school-related things, one for your personal interests, and so on.
Take advantage of the cloud
Be kinder to your devices and store files or data you don’t need access to every day in the cloud. There’s Google Drive, MEGA, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and many more. Doing so will keep your phones, computer, or laptop in their best condition. Some clouds are free for all users with certain storage limitations like Google Drive has a limit of 15GB for free. Others offer affordable pricing for users who need more storage.
Digital clutter can surely affect various aspects of your life, from your productivity to your focus. By decluttering your digital space, whether it’s your tablet, computer, or smartphone, you’ll have a more organized environment where you can get all your work done in no time. Having an organized digital space also allows you to care more about your current devices, saving you from getting a new one. So many benefits, right? Start your digital decluttering now and enjoy those perks!
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