If you look around your physical space, it’ll be much easier to spot clutter such as a child’s toys scattered across the living room floor, or dishes piling up in the sink. Similarly, our digital devices also accumulate clutter, though it’s less visible. This digital mess, found in devices like phones and computers, can slow them down and cause stress when navigating through excess information.
Digital clutter takes various forms, such as crowded email inboxes, overloaded desktops, or unused apps. This digital mess can be as anxiety-inducing as dealing with physical clutter. The good news is that you can do a “digital declutter” to organize your digital space and improve your device’s performance.
You can tackle digital clutter by using services or tools designed for the purpose. For example, backing up important files to a cloud-based storage service allows you to remove data from your device without losing it. Hardware solutions like external hard drives or flash drives can also help by storing old photos and documents.
Other methods include deleting or clearing unwanted data. Web browsers have functions like “Clear Browsing Data” and “Clear History” that remove unnecessary information. Regularly clearing the browser’s cache and cookies can also help. Uninstalling unused apps, including preloaded ones, can significantly free up space and speed up your device. Out-of-date apps can contribute to sluggishness, so regularly check for updates in the app store and your device’s system preferences.
Perhaps the largest digital clutter contributor, email inboxes have a way of piling up without realizing. Taking a proactive approach and archiving old messages and categorizing incoming ones with folders or labels can help managing this. Additionally, unsubscribe from services or organizations you no longer use to reduce future clutter in your inbox.
To learn more about the ways in which you can declutter your digital life, review the resource supported alongside this post.
Digital Declutter & Minimization Guide, was provided by Great Plains Communications, a leading managed wifi service provider
