In so many ways, technology has improved our lives and increasingly, we default to using it more in multiple areas of our lives.
Simultaneously, it’s also taken a lot of our time and massively reduced the interaction we have in person with other people. Also, most of us spend a big portion of our day in front of screens. The result – digital clutter.
In a world where we use multiple devices, apps, and online services, digital clutter can quickly accumulate, leading to:
- Disorganization
- Decreased productivity
- Increased stress
- Distraction
- Exhaustion
- Reduced mental health quality
For these reasons and more, digital decluttering has increasingly become popular.
What is Digital Decluttering?
Digital decluttering refers to the process of organizing, cleaning, and simplifying your digital life by managing and reducing the digital content and data you accumulate and use across various devices and online platforms.
How Do I Digitally Declutter?
The decision to start the decluttering journey might seem like an easy one to get to.
But, once you actually get to the decluttering, it’s easy to get lost and be unsure of where to start. Just like decluttering physical belongings, everything seems important until you take a closer look and are more strict with yourself.
Below are some tips that can help you embark on the decluttering journey and spend your 24 hours on the things that actually matter.
5 Ways to Start Your Digital Decluttering
1. Separate your emails.
This is my favorite because when I learnt of it, my life changed.
If your emails aren’t sorted, everything lands in your inbox, and it doesn’t take long for your inbox to look very full. Consider sorting your emails by the primary, social, and promotions labels. (You can do this by looking for the ‘Settings’ icon on your inbox.)
This way, all the ads and social notifications go into folders different from the one where emails that need your attention go to.
Not only does this make it easy for you to respond to important emails since they won’t be buried, it also makes the experience less overwhelming. Because let’s be honest, some companies don’t hold back on those promo emails and it’s easy to get ten from the same company in a day.
From a glance, it might look like you have eleven emails when in reality, only one is worth checking and responding to.
2. Delete duplicates.
It is easy to end up with multiple versions of the same pictures or videos.
Often we will take more than one picture so we capture that ‘perfect’ shot. Unfortunately, we forget to delete the other versions once we find and post that perfect picture. Eventually, our galleries overflow with the same memory from different angles.
Take some time to go through your phone and delete duplicates. Most phones also have a feature that picks up duplicates and helps you choose the best version which you might need to keep.
3. Limit who you follow.
When scrolling through social media, it’s easy to end up following more accounts than we should.
As a result, our timeline is full of material that we are not interested in, overshadowing the content we want to engage with.
Take a bit of time to do some social media auditing and unfollow the accounts that do not enrich you. Moreover, as we are constantly changing, our interests and habits change too.
So, there is a need to always look back and make sure we interact with accounts that align with our interests and goals.
Also make use of the time-limiting feature that comes with most phones to help you spend as little time as possible on social media.
4. Limit notifications.
The psychology behind notifications is interesting and honestly, a little terrifying.
When your phone pings, your brain is triggered. You feel the need to immediately check what that notification is about. Unfortunately, most of the notifications you get aren’t actually important.
But because you’ve already unlocked the phone, you end up aimlessly scrolling, and before you realize it, you’ve lost an hour. Limiting your notifications means your phone will only ping when there is something important that requires your immediate attention.
This will allow you to focus on other things with minimal distractions.
How to limit notifications on IPhone.
How to limit notifications on Android.
5. Organize your apps.
Categorizing your apps into folders makes it easy for you to find them without overwhelming you with the whole screen covered in icons.
Moreover, this will also allow you to look through your apps and delete the ones that are never used, yet are taking up space on your phone. You can also delete some apps you barely use and download them as needed.
Remember, you don’t lose your account simply because you have deleted the app.
Digital Decluttering: Simplify Your Digital Life
There is a lot of focus on decluttering physical items, and the benefits of leading a minimalist lifestyle have been widely studied.
Similarly, having only what we need in the digital world can also reduce the noise and allow us to focus on what is important to us. Digital decluttering is not easy, but if we are intentional, it does get easier over time.
With endless options available and new applications being dropped every day, it is easy to feel like you need to have everything and follow every account you come across. But in reality, you don’t.
Remember, our phones, laptops, and technology are supposed to be tools that we use to make our lives better.
Tell us…How do you keep your digital clutter under control?
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Feb 6, 2024 and has been updated to improve reader experience.
