Digital Clutter: This is Day 10 of our 30-Day Declutter, De-stress, Simplify Challenge! If you are not signed up for the challenge sign up here to join the fun!
Digital clutter is sneaky.
Digital clutter is sneaky because it’s not always staring us in the face, but it can cause problems. It causes devices to crash, important emails to get lost, late fees to pile up and toxic information to seep into our minds.
Deleting the contact number of a toxic person or unfollowing a negative social media account can feel so good, so let’s get started!
There are 5 areas of digital clutter we will focus on during this 30-Day Challenge.
Your Contacts
Start your digital decluttering by getting rid of unnecessary contacts. It can be liberating to delete people from your contact list whom you no longer have an interest in contacting.
Go ahead and delete the number of someone you’d rather not speak to again. Maybe, your rude college roommate or a condescending ex-coworker. You can also delete pest control guy’s number if you no longer need his services.
These contacts are merely taking up space on your phone. Deleting them off your phone may even clear some mental clutter. Bonus!
Your Social Media Friends and Followers
Give yourself permission to delete followers or “friends” that aren’t actually friends. If they add nothing of value to your social media experience, delete them. It’s not rude. You are allowed to delete whoever you want to delete.
In addition, hit the “unfollow” button of any negative social media accounts that make you feel agitated or overly emotional after seeing them.
Unnecessary Apps
Is your phone or tablet overloaded with unused apps? Free up valuable storage by deleting apps that you are no longer using.
If you are using certain apps, but notice that you feel worse after spending time on a certain app then it’s time to get rid of it. It could be a social media app, an entertainment app, a certain game, etc. Just pay attention to how you feel after you have used the app. Do you feel guilty, unproductive, irritated? If so, you might consider deleting your account.
Emails
Most of us are bombarded, on a daily basis, with unnecessary emails. If you receive emails that don’t interest you, unsubscribe. It takes seconds to scroll to the bottom the email and hit that unsubscribe button.
I have discovered a free service that helps lump all promotional ads together so that nothing slips through the cracks. It also helps you quickly unsubscribe from emails you no longer want to receive, in quick batches. It’s called unroll.me, and I’ve found it to be pretty helpful in dealing with email clutter.
Pictures and Videos
We live in a world obsessed with documenting and sharing our personal lives. That being said, you probably have duplicate photos or old videos you have already shared or posted on social media. Free up space by deleting those photos and videos. Another tip: try to live in the moment. Put the phone down for a hot second.
Today’s Assignment:
- Start decluttering one of the 5 areas mentioned above. Do a little bit every day until it feels manageable.
- Then, move onto a new area of digital clutter.
Deleting digital clutter is an ongoing job because it is always coming in. There are always more pictures to take and emails to read. Stay on top of it by decluttering a little bit every day until you are left with the music, photos, apps, videos and people that you love and care about.
Day 10 Recap:
- Digital clutter is sneaky because it’s hidden and not tangible, but it’s real.
- During this 30-Day Challenge you have 5 areas of digital clutter you can work on.
- Pace yourself by doing a little every day.