Strategies to Minimize Digital Clutter at Work – Part 1

When most of your work day requires the use of technology, it’s no surprise that the physical clutter in your office space has evolved to now include clutter in your digital space. Before you tackle the digital clutter, it’s important to understand how an organized digital space can improve your productivity.

1. Focus – Just like working at a disorganized desk makes it difficult to stay focused, having a cluttered desktop and email inbox causes the same issue.
2. Productivity – With minimal distractions and increased focus, your productivity will improve.
3. Efficiency – An organized space means that you are on top of tasks to be done so there are less missed deadlines.

Here are this NYC Professional Office Organizer’s tips to digitally declutter your tech tools in the office.

Declutter Your Computer, Tablet, and Phone

Create an easy system for managing all your passwords. Don’t waste time trying to search through documents, written notes, or emails to try and locate a password. You want to make sure your passwords are not easy to guess – use upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols – so that you can keep your accounts safe, but that doesn’t then mean you want to waste time searching for your passwords. Instead, consider using one of the password sites like LastPass so that your passwords are readily accessible and very secure.

Get rid of files you don’t need. Odds are you’ve saved some documents that you don’t need, perhaps appointment reminders or other type of notes that are no longer relevant, or documents that you have downloaded multiple times. Pay particular attention to your desktop when doing this as that is typically where lots of random documents will land up. Delete what isn’t needed anymore and store everything else according to the file system you created.

Clear out the icons. Start with your computer and remove all those icons that are no longer relevant. A cluttered screen is similar to a cluttered desk. If you need to quickly access specific icons from the desktop, create a folder to store these important start links rather than have them scattered across the screen. The other option is to put them in a specific area or zone on your desktop.

Remove unnecessary programs. Scroll through your phone – I bet there are several apps that you’ve never used, and maybe even some you don’t remember downloading! Uninstall any app that you aren’t using and clear that clutter from your phone screen. Let’s be clear – don’t just delete shortcuts, make sure you are uninstalling the actual app. Group similar apps together into one labeled folder.

Follow through with updates. Have you ever seen a pop-up that asks you to update something on your computer and just hit ignore? We’ve all done it, especially if you are in the middle of a task and don’t have time for an update that will restart your computer. But these updates are important, not only for optimal functioning of the tools you use every day, but especially if the updates are security related. The same goes for your phone or tablet.

Head over to LinkedIn to read part 2 of “Strategies to Minimize Digital Clutter at Work” by this Professional NYC Office Organizer, where I focus on decluttering your online tools.