A Guide for Self-Organization: Digital Life

In all honesty, our digital life is probably one of the messiest areas of our lives. I know in my journey to get myself organized in every way possible, I am still working on the digital zone.

The digital zone encompasses the electrics or apps where you store information. Examples: computer, camera, phones, memory cards, tablets, email inboxes, photo apps, daily task apps, etc.

It may be easy to push this one to the side, especially if you are still trying to get organized in other areas of your life. I suggest doing the basics of setting up a system that works for you, but then leaving the majority to be done in increments (maybe work on it for 15 minutes daily) instead of all at once, which would likely be incredibly overwhelming and feel like a never ending task.

What are the benefits of an organized digital life?

• Productivity increases

• Stress decreases

• Improves focus and concentration

• Less emotional energy used

• Less competing for our attention

Beginning - organize a system for you.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is decide what kind of system you want that will work best for you. This means essentially deciding OFFICIALLY where you want to put things and when.

One of the goals while doing this should be to limit the amount of apps and devices you’re using to store content and information. Make the organization system as easy as possible for yourself to use so you’ll keep up with it without much effort.

Some questions to ask yourself when you’re deciding on a system:

• Where do you want to store photos?

• Where do you want to store important documents?

• How do you want to store your important emails?

• What web browser do you want to use across all your devices? (Sticking to one allows you to easily delete history, cookies, cached imagines, and files quickly every so often.)

These are the apps or systems I use for managing my digital information:

Gmail - using labels I store important emails

Google Calendar - calendar for dates and time blocking

Google Drive - where I store most of my files, documents, etc.

Apple iCloud - where I store my photos and videos

Notion - where I store almost all my information, templates, ideas, planning tools, etc.

Chrome - the browser I use across all my devices, helpful for bookmarking web pages and having them sync with each of your devices

Start with what makes sense to you.

Before addressing any real issues, determine which areas you need to improve in or work on the most.

Is finding emails you need always a problem? Is sifting through your photos and videos always a headache? Can you never find that file you need or just downloaded on your computer?

Find which areas are causing you the most headache and begin in this area first.

Organizing our digital space is likely to take us some time to do, so by starting with your pain points, you’re doing what can help you most in your current situation.

Declutter your digital space.

Just like when your home is overwhelming because of all the items you have to manage, your digital space can be overwhelming due to all the items you have to manage as well.

Decluttering is one of the most useful techniques and habits for making your digital space easier to maneuver around in.

Computer, phone, tablets

• Uninstall apps you no longer use

• Mute unnecessary notifications

• Delete photos or videos that you no longer need or want

• Organize files into folders that make sense, deleting what you don’t need

• Clear out any old notes

• Delete any old contacts you don’t need anymore

• Clear out old voicemails

• Clear your browsers cookies and cache

• Clear your downloads folder

• Create folders for mobile apps, especially the ones you don’t use often

• Decide which apps you want to use and clear them out of unnecessary info or junk so you’re beginning fresh with your apps

Email Accounts

• Delete emails you no longer need, use “Labels” to save old ones that you still need to save

• Unsubscribe to emails you no longer need to receive anymore and be picky about which subscriptions you do want to still receive

• Use priority markers to keep track of emails you need to respond to or take action on

Google Drive (or equivalent of it)

• Delete all your files that you no longer need

• Reorganize files into folders that make sense for you

• Store any files on your desktop here so there’s a backup

Miscellaneous

• Delete old accounts that you no longer use anymore

• Change passwords (don’t use the same password for everything); using a program like Lastpass can help you organize your passwords and change each one to a password that is much safer and harder to break through

• Activate two-factor authentication on your devices and accounts

Keeping up with your digital space

Keeping up with my digital space at first felt borderline impossible. There was always so much coming in and going out that I didn’t think really keeping a handle on it all was possible. But after a few weeks of keeping up with my systems, I finally was able to settle into a routine that has worked well for me.

Here are some additional thoughts to keep you going!

Inbox Zero

Keeping my email at inbox zero felt like one of the most challenging things to do. When I started this project, I had over 20,000 unread emails spread across 5 email accounts. So believe me when I tell you it’s possible to get here.

Even if you haven’t been able to get at inbox zero yet, take time every night to delete the extra emails from the day and if you have a little extra time, go through some of the older ones.

I strongly suggest going through older emails on a computer so you’re able to easily mass delete emails as you go.

Personally, I went through the old emails I had from the last few months and then mass deleted the rest. You’re taking a risk of losing something important by not going through all the emails individually, but for me the benefit of having an empty email inbox sooner was worth it.

Have a back up.

Having a back-up of your important files is essential.

You can take advantage of cloud space by backing up your files to a cloud-based application or make it simpler by using a personal hard drive you already own.

Whichever option you decide, dedicate this space to being a backup for important documents and nothing else.

Keep this space limited and organized from the beginning to help make finding the documents you need easier.

Browser bookmarks.

Use browser bookmarks strategically.

Take the effort to map out a basic idea of folders for you to use to save information when browsing websites.

If the website is just one that you want to take the time to read, but don’t necessarily want to save it long-term, have an additional folder for those quick need to reads as well.

Browser bookmarks have helped me save a lot of time when looking for important websites that I don’t know off-hand.

Routine

Make checking in with your different digital spaces a routine.

First off, for the first few weeks, set aside time each week to review your digital space, delete downloads and files you don’t need any longer, and to clean up anything that didn’t get put where it should be over the week.

Second, make a routine out of checking in with your notifications instead of being constantly available to your phone all day. This means I turn off the notifications for things like email and social media apps. Instead, make it a routine to check in with each one at a time that feels right to you or fits into your day. I check in with my email a few times a day, but only check in with my social media apps every few days. This helps ensure that my focus isn’t constantly being drawn away from what I’m doing by my phone or notifications.

It’s almost a given that you will be overwhelmed when you begin to tackle your digital space. Keep calm! Go through each piece one by one and give each piece the time it needs to get clear, uncluttered, and easier for you to use moving forward again.

Accept that this will take some time and dedication on your part to get to where you want to be but with a little bit of effort each day, you will begin to see a difference in how you’re approaching and handling your digital space.

Building strong habits around our digital space has so many benefits. It’s important to remember this as we go through the process.

If you have any other tips, tricks, or knowledge about organizing your digital space, please leave a comment below!