Organizing Your Digital Life – TPW449

Let's talk about getting our digital life organized. Organizing our digital life can help increase our productivity and prioritize our time Last week we talked about managing distractions in a digital age. Among those distractions would be digital clutter--voluminous emails and text messages, messy computer desktops, open browsers, digital files and photos, and unused apps. One survey concluded that “the average American has about 83 bookmarked websites, 7 tabs or browsers open, 582 saved cellphone photos, and 13 unused apps.” Some of us have a lot more than that.  Digital clutter has its hazards just like physical clutter. One article I read summarized them well: “Digital clutter doesn’t take up physical space (except maybe at a data center in Las Vegas), but it takes up significant space in our heads. A cluttered environment gives the feeling that various things are competing for our attention, which can be mentally taxing and stressful. This makes it harder to focus and reflect, think creatively, and make important decisions.”  We might all have different issues when it comes to digital clutter. Maybe you’re on top of email but can’t find documents you need on your computer. Or your digital photos are carefully curated and organized but your computer desktop is a mess. I thought I’d talk about a few of the most common sources of digital clutter and share some thoughts on how to get them organized. Email Organization: Why it’s important:   According to one source, the average professional receives over 120 emails each day, and another notes a study that found that reading and responding to emails takes up to 28% of the average workweek. Another article cites a study that “found that the average American spends just over four hours a day on their email alone, which equates to more than 20 hours a week and more than 1,000 hours every year.”  Consequences of poor email management? Wasted time looking for important messages that are buried in the mass of emails. Even worse, missed messages. Tips for better email management (recommended by various sources I looked at!): * Set up folders or labels for different types of emails (e.g., personal, work, bills). In my work email (Outlook), I have a folder for each client, with subfolders for each deal for that client. I also have folders for nonbillable work, and a folder for things to read (e.g., newsletters) when I have time. I use an Outlook plugin called SimplyFile to help me manage emails and file those I receive but also those I send as I send them. I have a similar setup in my personal email, with folders and tags organized around the different areas of my life * Use features like flagging or starring important emails. In Outlook you can set it to add flagged emails as a task with a reminder that will pop up periodically. In Gmail and Apple Mail you can view all flagged emails in a separate view. Remember to delete or at least unflag and folder these emails after you’ve tended to them.  * Set up rules/filters to automatically sort incoming emails.