7 Ways to Clear the Clutter for Girls Who Want Clean Digital Presence ...
By Alison • 3 Comments
By Alison • 3 Comments
Smart phones and gadgets are so much a part of our lives these days that it's hard to remember (or imagine, for younger people!) a time without them. However, these gadgets can present a problem. We become dependent on them and are constantly checking our phones or playing on our tablets. So if you think you really need to cut down on the time you spend on your gadgets, try these tips to declutter your digital life …
How many email accounts do you have? Probably several, so start decluttering your digital life by cleaning up your email. Close any accounts you rarely use, although it's useful to have a 'spare' account to give to anyone you don't want to have your main account. Unsubscribe to those sites that send you endless updates, and delete messsages you don't want as soon as you read them (it will save you a lot of time later).
Do you really need 1,000 'friends' on Facebook? Delete the people you're not really interested in hearing from. If you want to keep them on your list, but don't want to delete them altogether, Facebook has a handy page to help. Go to facebook.com, which will show you friends you rarely interact with. You can then choose to put them on your 'Acquaintances' list.
Do you worry about missing a message, so you keep your notifications on? Save those for the really important things, such as work emails. The rest can be turned off. You don't need to know every time someone posts on Facebook or Twitter. Resist the urge to check every 10 minutes as well. It's such a timewaster!
It's not just your house that needs cleaning regularly, but also your computer. Give it a spring clean, which will help you find what you need more easily and also help your computer run faster. Remove unwanted icons from your desktop, delete unwanted files, get rid of temporary internet files - and don't forget to empty the recycle bin when you're done.
It can take soooo long to copy files to your computer, which you then spend even more time uploading elsewhere. Use cloud storage instead! Look for browser extensions that you can use to save items directly to your Dropbox. This also removes the worry of losing your files if your computer crashes.
Are you always forgetting your passwords? Me too! But there's an answer in the form of a password manager. These will store your passwords safely, as well as help you work out strong passwords (always important). So you need never again waste time trying to remember and recover your passwords!
Now that we all have smart phones, we have another digital time-consuming gadget. Get your phone organised so that you can easily access the apps you use most. Put those on the home screen, and save the other screens for apps you use less frequently.
Phones, laptops and tablets can eat up so much of our time, so it's worth organising your digital devices and making the way you use them more efficient. Our devices should make our lives easier, not take them over! What's your biggest digital timewaster?