7 tips to organise your digital life

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Are you overwhelmed by your digital life?

We have data everywhere it feels like is taking over our life. Well, it is time to take control with my simple seven tips for organising your digital life and finally taking control.

Tip 1: Empty Your Inbox
If you have emails from three years ago still in your inbox, if you haven't done it yet, you are not going to do it now. So I would recommend taking emails that are at least six months old and putting them into a folder that says archive and leaving it there and see how long it takes you to actually go and find any of those emails. If they are still there after 2 months then delete them. Or if you are feeling crazy just delete them!

Tip 2: Unsubscribe
Spam emails are the equivalent of having stuff thrown around your desk and around the floor. You don't need them and they are not very helpful, but unless your unsubscribe they are not going anywhere. So unsubscribe from those emails random emails that you keep getting about that newsletter you subscribed to ages ago, scroll down to the bottom and unsubscribe. Even the stuff that's in your junk folder is worth a look at.

Tip 3: Delete Unused Apps
We are constantly downloading apps and programmes to our computers and then forgetting that we've done it. Now is the time to uninstall and get rid of them.
On your phone, go to your apps list and you can sort them by the last time you access them then delete the stuff that you haven't used for ages.
On your computer go to the uninstall section, have a scan down to see which things you are not using anymore and uninstall.

Tip 4: Empty Your Downloads Folder
We download files all the time, especially to our computers. So go in and empty that Downloads folder. Have a quick scan, make sure there's nothing in that you need, then select it all and delete. Then don't forget to delete it from your trash bin on your computer. You can also do it on your phone!

Tip 5: Sort Your Bookmarks
We bookmark sites all the time and I am particularly bad when it comes to this, I love a book but it can get out of control. So go through your bookmarks. Decide which random bookmark of some shoes you wanted that you decided to bookmark that you no longer need and delete them. Especially go through the toolbar that appears at the top of your web browser. Do you need all of those icons there? Get rid of the stuff you don't need, it is time to say goodbye.

Tip 6: Delete Your Notes
If you're like me, I have a memory like a fish and I use my phone all the time to take notes of what I need to remember to buy or the WiFi password at the hotel I am staying at. But I don't need to keep them forever so a regular clean-up is always a good idea. So go into your notes app and delete the notes that you no longer need. You might be fascinated by what you find there!

Tip 7:  Delete Your Photos
Naturally, this is a favourite of mine as I am all about photos. We are always taking screenshots, pictures of receipts, and random things to remind us that get muddled up in our beautiful photo memories on our phones, but we also can take multiple photos of the same event to make sure we get the best shot. I recommend doing a regular review of those photos, it doesn't need to be a big job, maybe while you are waiting for a bus or avoiding the ironing, do a quick flick through your camera roll and see what can go. Don't be afraid of the delete button!

Bonus Tip
But maybe you want to keep the screenshot or receipt as a reminder, but also want to keep your camera roll for all your precious memories so you can find and enjoy them easily. What do you do? Well a nifty trick is to save those photos to your notes app for safekeeping and delete it from your camera roll. On both Apple and Android phones, select the photo, hit share and select your notes app. The photo will save to a note and you can delete it from your camera roll.

Now you can take control of your digital clutter and it doesn't need to feel overwhelming you can do a little at a time, step by step!
Happy decluttering!

What Next?
Are you still struggling and don't know how to get started with photo organising? I have put together a simple straight forward quick start guide to organising your photos which you can find here.