Digital decluttering: what is it?

Decluttering your digital area entails getting rid of your:

All the files, messages, and programs you no longer need are on your computer, tablet, phone, or inbox—or all of them.

It entails coming to terms with the fact that relatively few of your installed programs, applications, and extensions are truly useful in your personal and professional lives.

Put differently, clearing out digital clutter affects how you handle:

Your devices, the recycle bin, professional and personal files, and online persona.

Cal Newport, a computer science professor and ardent supporter of digital decluttering, wrote the books Digital Minimalism and Deep Work, which we will draw on for insights and advice as we walk you through the process.

This blog post aims to give your digital life a complete spring clean so that you may become less distracted and more productive. You can call it a feng shui exercise or a digital declutter.

 

1. Unsubscribe from any publications you don’t read

digital declutter: Removing oneself from email lists

The first step to living a digital life as Zen as possible is bidding farewell to any email subscriptions you no longer find valuable or interesting.

To unsubscribe from any e-newsletters you don’t read, search through your inbox for them (organizing your emails by the sender can help with this — see the following tip for details).

This implies that you will have to clear up your inbox less frequently and deal with less clutter in the future.

 

2. Organize your inbox, but do it wisely

digital declutter: Organizing your inbox

Emails are the scourge of most people’s lives, let’s face it. All they do is make a to-do list that is exaggerated to the point of actually impeding any productive work!

So, having as few emails in your inbox as possible is the holy grail of email management.

Sorting all your emails according to sender is one of the simplest ways to eliminate them. By doing this, you may quickly view a list of all the people clogging up your inbox and archive or bulk delete several emails from a single sender at once.

Outlook makes it simple to group (and delete) messages based on the sender.

If your mail software does not allow you to group emails by sender, the best course of action is to sort by sender and choose which ones to move or delete (you can typically select numerous emails from the same sender at once by using the shift key).

 

3. Tidy up your desktop computer.

digital declutter: Organizing your desktop

If your desktop is anything like mine, it’s covered in sporadic files you never open.

This makes it more difficult to find items on your desktop that you need to use frequently.

Take a brutal approach to any files you don’t need; move as many of them as possible to the trash can and permanently remove them. To ensure you know what’s what when it comes to what’s left, arrange any leftover files according to type.

Likewise, tidy up your taskbar (or “dock,” if you’re on a Mac) by deleting unnecessary apps or shortcuts. Once more, this dramatically simplifies opening essential programs.

Finally, change your current wallpaper from that sweet but excessively noisy and colorful photo of your kid. Change it with a simple background that makes it easier to see and access any icons still on the desktop.

 

4. Uninstall any unnecessary apps.

digital declutter: removing software

Examine every app on your device, then remove any you don’t require.

This will not only provide you with extra valuable storage space, but it can help speed up the gadget in question.

 

5. Empty your downloads folder’s contents.

digital declutter: Eliminating downloads

It is straightforward for your downloads folder to grow unmanageable and consume a significant amount of crucial hard drive space.

Eliminate any unnecessary downloads from there to free up space on your hard disc and speed up your system a little.

 

6. Turn off unused startup applications

digital declutter: Turning off startup applications

If you’re tired of waiting a long time for your desktop or laptop to start up, concentrate on the most likely culprits: startup programs.

Examine each program that launches at startup, and turn off those you are sure you don’t require. The kind folks at How-To-Geek have provided instructions on how to accomplish this. Instructions for Mac and Windows are available here.

 

7. Turn off your smartphone’s non-essential notifications.

digital declutter: Turning off notifications on a smartphone

Ensure you are only getting essential notifications by going through the settings of every app you use.

Usually, this entails bidding farewell to several social media notifications.

Eliminating these (usually insignificant) alerts will improve your concentration on the task at hand and ensure your smartphone has enough battery life to finish it. They also drain your device’s energy and interfere with your mental process.

 

8. Optimise your web browser

digital declutter: Organizing a web browser

Three essential actions you may take to optimize and boost your browser’s speed are as follows:

Delete any websites that are not necessary from your browser history.

Remove cookies. Turn off or remove any unnecessary plugins or addons.

By doing this, you should see a boost in web browser speed and online privacy.

It’s worthwhile to invest some time in improving the organization of your bookmarks when cleaning up your browser since this will enable you to access essential tools and frequently visited websites more rapidly.

 

9. Look at what the apps on your phone are doing in the background.

digital declutter: Smartphone running applications in the background

Examine all the apps on your mobile device and see what is happening in the background.

Most of them will be doing “background refreshes” or using location services when you don’t need them to, which can slow down your smartphone and drain its battery (using location services by your phone also affects privacy).

Therefore, turn off location services and background refreshes.

 

10. Disable any extraneous visual effects

digital declutter: Graphical elements on a desktop PC

Superfluous graphic elements impede productivity by slowing down your computer or mobile device. Removing all but the most necessary visual effects will add more zip to your gadget.

Usually, your device’s settings area can delete visual effects.

 

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