While taking part in the 30 day minimalism game I became sensitive to how much digital baggage I carried around with me.
In the morning, I’d switch on my phone and be faced with pages of apps that instantly made me feel exhausted. Later, while using my laptop I’d become aware of a barrage of documents that hadn’t been opened for years. It felt overwhelming.
For some reason, it didn’t feel right to incorporate a digital declutter into January’s minimalism game. Afterall, I had plenty of physical ‘stuff’ to get rid of and decluttering my digital life would have made me feel like I was side-stepping the issue.
So I decided that the next step in my Year of Letting Go journey would be to do a digital declutter.
How to successfully digitally declutter your life
You should know by now that I like to have a plan. It helps me to focus and stay on track. So for February’s digital declutter I’ve come up with my own personal ‘how to’ guide. Feel free to follow it if you feel it will help you purge your digital debris.
- Create a structure – I don’t want my digital declutter to go on forever, so I’m following a simple structure. I’ll follow the 30 day minimalism game format – 1 item on the first day of the month, 2 on the second day etc. By the end of the month, my digital space should be much more spacious. Yes, I’ll have to monitor what digital ‘stuff’ comes into my life, but after the initial purge, it’ll be a case of ongoing maintenance.
- Be accountable – Sharing your challenge with others is a great way to ensure that you stick to it. I’m a huge fan of accountability partners and sharing my progress. I think it’s fair to say that if I hadn’t shared my minimalism game progress online, I’d have given up half-way through! Accountability, whether through a buddy or via social media is powerful. I’ll be sharing my daily progress on my Twitter and Instagram accounts to ensure that I succeed.
- Identify your targets – When doing any challenge or project, it’s important to identify what you want to achieve. What is your target? Get specific. My target is to reduce the digital clutter on my phone and laptop so that I don’t get that little pang of overwhelm when I use them. I mean, surely that can’t be healthy, right? So those will be my key focus areas.
- Identify your why – Now you know what you want to do, it’s time to get clear on why you’re doing it. This will help you stay focused and carry on when you feel like giving up. As I’ve already mentioned, my ‘why’ is to remove that feeling of exhaustion and pang of overwhelm I get when I use my phone or my laptop. I also have a sneaking suspicion that dealing with all this excess ‘stuff’ is leading to decision fatigue. If I can remove the excess then not only will I have more clarity but I’ll also be creating space. Combined, these will provide fertile ground for new ideas and inspiration.
Ditching the digital baggage
I’m already well on my way with my digital declutter. So far, I’ve removed at least 60 photographs from my phone, cleared out a load of ancient files on my laptop and removed some apps. And there’s still a long way.
Turning a large task into a challenge makes it feel so much more achievable. Mentally, it also feels less draining. The thought of spending a day deleting my laptop crap just feels exhausting. Whereas this challenge feels fun.
To help me make some serious inroads into my digital debris, I tend to count multiples as one item. For example, 10 photos are classed as 1 item, as are a file of unused documents. This way, my tiny steps become much more powerful and I know (or at least I hope!) that by the end of the challenge I’ll be virtually clutter free.
Are you ready?
So lovely reader, it’s time to take a look at your digital world and ponder these questions…
- How much digital clutter do you have?
- Do you really need all of it?
- How does it make you feel? (Be honest)
- Do you think it’s time to let go of it all and create space for something new and exciting?
If you’re ready to take on the digital declutter challenge then I’d love to have you on board. Your future self will thank you for it too!
Let me know how you get on or tag me in your journey on social media & I’ll look forward to cheering you on!
Create space and be well.
Image courtesy of Marvin Meyer on Unplash.