3 Quick Ways to Declutter Your Digital Workspaces

It’s that time of year when many of us get the urge to purge. Like our physical spaces, our digital devices can become dumping grounds for old files, programs and digital junk.

As an Executive Assistant or Office Manager, you are flooded with “digital paperwork” day in and day out. You may not be sure where to start when it comes to cleaning out old files.

We have a few quick tips to help you manage your digital clutter and start 2022 more organized.

1. Clean up your computer desktop. Most of us clean our physical desk regularly but forget to do the same for our digital desk. Your computer desktop is a space you see every day, so digital clutter can have the same psychological effect as physical clutter. If you see stacks of files rather than your serene desktop image, consider taking 30 minutes to purge and file. It might be tempting to use Stacks to hide the clutter on a Mac, but that can be the equivalent of shoving things in the closet if you don’t periodically file and purge them.

o   Quick tips: 

• Create a desktop folder for time-sensitive or frequently accessed files so they aren’t spread across your desktop.
• Remove folder or application shortcuts you no longer need to access.

2. Archive old project folders. It’s easy to keep everything when you have space for it. If you haven’t cleaned up your folders recently, set aside an hour to review last year’s project folders.

o   Quick tips:

• Delete files you don’t need to keep.
• Archive folders you want to keep for reference. You can either create an “archive” folder within recurring project folders or create one master archive folder in your documents and move them there. The important thing is that this saves you time combing through folders and keeps only your current projects front and center.

3. Remove apps and programs you no longer use. This one applies to all your digital devices (laptop, phone, tablet). Take 30 minutes to review your computer programs and apps.

o   Quick tips:

• Uninstall anything you won’t use again or that is no longer supported.
• Folder common apps together where you can.
• Review your computer dock/favorites and remove any programs you don’t need to access on a regular basis.

In just 2 hours, you can implement these easy tasks to declutter your digital workspaces.

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Office Otter User Tip: Set up recurring monthly or quarterly tasks for decluttering so you are ahead of the game come next January.

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