When you think of the end of one year and the beginning of the next, most people set goals, although a much smaller number of people meet them. Decluttering is a very popular goal to set, and it most often takes the form of cleaning the house more or getting rid of things we don’t need. But what about your computer? Since most of us live on our desktops (and you can insert the word laptop, tablet, or phone here), could it make sense to set a New Year’s resolution that also declutters your computer? Of course, it does. Here’s how a good clean-up of your personal digital desk can improve your productivity for 2023.
Why Should You Organize Your Computer?
Global consulting firm McKinsey found that we spend nearly two hours daily looking for what we need on the computer. That’s close to 10 hours a week that we spend trying to find that misplaced file on our computers. What could you do with an extra two hours a day?
This is probably the best argument for organizing your computer for the New Year. A more organized computer will lessen your frustration and stress when trying to track down the things you need. An organized desktop can increase productivity, allowing you to do something important—like making more money, getting more exercise, or just living your life. Organizing your desktop by deleting old files and cleaning things up can even increase your computer’s processing speed.
If these benefits sound appealing, now it’s time to get started on reorganizing your computer. But where do you start?
How to Organize Your Digital Life
Start with the basics and back up your computer to the cloud or an external hard drive. This can save you the sheer terror that comes from the blue screen of death, a frozen computer, or even a hacking incident.
Next, look at what you’re keeping on your desktop. The desktop is often the go-to savings location for files. It makes it easy to find the things you use constantly. It also puts these files at risk if something goes wrong with your computer. Too many files on your desktop slows down your computer, too. For all these reasons, consider storing your documents in a free Google Drive or Dropbox. If you have a Mac, use iCloud. No matter what, clean the clutter off your desktop for a calmer experience as soon as you boot up.
Now let’s tackle your inbox. Some of you may groan at this. But the average email user has more than 8,000 emails in their inbox. Most working professionals get 180 emails every single day, and no one opens most of them. Take the time to delete, mark it as spam, and unsubscribe from as many of these useless digital clutter bugs as you can. Instead of taking this on all at once, especially if you have a mountain of emails, set a goal to delete 50 a day (or 100 or whatever number seems attainable). Then ensure you won’t get into this mess again by setting a new goal to tackle emails every day in 2023.
Speaking of New Year’s Resolutions
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