I’ve been a big fan of ‘The Minimalists’ for some time now and have taken and applied many of their principles to great effect. Less unnecessary “stuff” cluttering physical spaces, less psychic baggage, less consumerist behaviour and more intentionality for the purchases I do make.
There have been a lot of conversations on this topic in my office lately, mostly prompted by the release of Marie Kondo’s Netflix series, ‘Tidying Up’. The message is one I’m aligned to, however, the show doesn’t cover one thing which a lot of folks metaphorically sweep under the carpet. Digital clutter.
But in a world of cheap, abundant storage and excellent search functions, why bother?
Some of the reasons are similar to those for physical items. The digital things you choose to keep or engage with, and how you choose to do so, has functional, practical and psychological implications. The decluttering process forces questions of value and purpose onto you, perhaps resulting in a more intentional relationship with your digital world.
I’m not going to speak in massive depth about specific technology you might use in your digital declutter. Any technology I mention will I’m sure become redundant or have superior alternatives supersede them very quickly.
Going into a huge amount of depth with process and tactics would make this a very long post indeed. I will mention a handful of things that have been helpful for me, but you’re smart, you can figure out what applies best to your personal circumstances.
Here are some of the different areas of your digital life you might want to look at.
Your desktop
Let’s be honest, there are two types of people in the world, those with almost nothing on their desktop and those who’s desktops look like a nightmare hell-world of half-forgotten files. This probably represents the most obvious manifestation of your personal digital clutter, so is a logical place to start.
The general rules for files and folders below will apply — but your desktop probably looks the way it does because you’ve been treating it as a WIP (work in progress) location… but never quite getting round to sorting the files once you’re done with them.
My suggestion here is to create a very simple workflow. Have a WIP folder, one place for quick access to working docs, and when you’re done archive them to a more permanent home.
Files and Folders (including your cloud storage)
Spending some time here to set up a system that works for you can save a tonne of wasted time and mental energy searching for documents, sorting through multiple versions of the same file and trying to remember what obscure name you might have called something. A few points to consider.
- For a lot of files the “does this spark joy” question probably isn’t the right heuristic, (I’ve worked on a few proposal documents that certainly do not spark joy!). “Will this actually be useful to me at a later date” is probably more helpful.
- However you do it, create a folder architecture and file naming convention that plays well with your workflow. Which means as the first port of call giving some thought to what your workflows look like.
- Everything should have a place and I’d suggest not creating a ’stuff’ folder… this is akin to that spare room where you can’t open the door because of the number of boxes in there.
- Have a folder, a ’sandbox’ similar to the WIP mentioned above. This is a temporary location where inbound files you need to look at or find a home for later can sit (and have a periodic scan and tidy of that folder).
Your Inbox
I don’t live at inbox zero, because I think that’s largely impractical. But I do have a rule that helps me manage my ‘inbound to-do’s’. I keep my inbox so I never have to scroll to see everything in it, and I do this by following a very simple process. When I check my email things fall into one of 3 categories:
- Delete (enough said)
- Action (meaning archive, respond or forward immediately. I follow the 2-minute rule here, if it will take me less than 2 minutes to deal with it then and there, I will)
- Defer (flag with a reminder to look at it at a specific time)
Evernote (or similar “second brain” application)
If you use Evernote (my preferred app) or something similar, the same thinking around files and folders above applies when it comes to naming, categories and tags. I also use the ’Shortcuts’ function in the sidebar in the same way as I do my WIP folder, easy access to notes I use regularly or am working on at the moment.
Reading lists
Using something like Pocket or Feedly to mark interesting articles you’d like to read later is great. But if you’re anything like me you have more things in there than you actually get around to digesting. In your regular clean-up sessions, (more on that below) have a little triage and ask, “Is this still interesting to me? Am I actually going to get around to it?” If an article has been skipped over in your reading sessions a few times it’s probably best to let it go.
Playlists on music streaming services
Haven’t listened to your “My party jams 2007” Spotify compilation since, well, 2007? Think about having a curate. Overall though I think services like this are a great alternative to file ownership.
Social Networks
This is a huge topic and I intend to write more on our relationship with social media in the future. But for our purposes here the question “does this spark joy?”, or the negative frame, “does this cause me stress, anxiety and waste considerable amounts of my time?” is worth asking. Can you simplify your social (media) life?
Programs, apps and games
When was the last time you actually fired up that game or app? If you can clear a dormant icon from your dock or home screen and free up some hard drive space in the process, that’s a win.
Notifications and alerts (Including Slack)
These are an ever-present and pervasive form of clutter, and going further than that, a potential source of stress and lost productivity. Ask yourself honestly which ones you really need and which ones are just distractions. Which are other peoples (or companies) agendas that you allow to intrude on your time?
The above list is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you some food for thought to get you started.
Some parting thoughts.
Loss aversion is a strong and well-documented psychological force in humans. Experiments where people will value a mug they were just given more, when questioned as to the value they would sell it for, vs the value they would pay to acquire it, demonstrate this. So if you’re struggling to let go of some digital clutter, a useful reframing question might be “How much would I pay for this if I didn’t already have it?”, or “how much time am I willing to give up in my life to engage with this?”.
Have a ‘deletion sandbox’ as a halfway house if you’re nervous… put everything you’re considering getting rid of in there for a period of time (or set a reminder to check in with yourself about the use of social media) and if you’ve not touched it, hit delete. Though I’d wager if the ‘last opened’ date on a file is 2009 then chances are you probably won’t miss it.
Lastly, recognise that this isn’t a one and done thing. Think about setting a reminder to have a quick clean on a weekly basis. Empty your sandbox, audit your to-do list, sort your email, etc. Schedule time for a bigger audit monthly, quarterly or annually, (depending on usage and how well you do with maintenance).
I personally find keeping on top of my digital clutter has a marked impact on both my productivity and mindset.
Happy digital decluttering.