Digital Declutter 101: Fresh Tips for Creators This Spring

Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home, your digital space deserves a refresh too! Just like your physical environment can be cluttered with papers, dirty dishes, and piles of clothes, your online world can become filled with unused apps, overflowing email inboxes, and a ton of notifications. For creators, digital clutter can lead to stress, decreased productivity, and a scattered workflow. That’s why embracing a digital declutter is so essential, it helps clear mental fog, have better focus, and enhance your creative output. In this post, i’ll walk you through practical tips to refresh your digital space, streamline your tools and start the season with a clean slate designed for smoother productivity.

Why Digital Decluttering Matters for Creators

As creators in the online age, our digital tools are the backbone of our work. But over time, these tools and spaces can become chaotic. You should have seen the files piling up on my desktop, my inbox exploding with messages, and the endless notifications reminding me I was running out of storage, all of which plagued me before I finally deep-cleaned my digital space. These are seemingly small issues but they can quickly escalate into big productivity killers.

Taking the time to clean up your digital environment can bring major benefits:

• Improved focus and creativity: A streamlined workspace minimizes distractions, it allows your mind to stay sharp and your creativity to flow into your craft easily.
• Faster access to tools and resources: I can’t stress this one enough. When your files and tools are organized, you can spend less time searching and more time creating!
• Better device performance: Clearing out unused apps, old files, and unnecessary data can speed up your device and prevent frustrating crashes.

Prep for Your Digital Declutter

Before diving straight into a deep cleaning, a little preparation can go a long way in making the process smooth and a lot more efficient. I have a simple 3-step approach to follow:

1. Set goals: Start by defining what areas of your digital life need attention, make an exhaustive list of everything you can think of, and then prioritize them based on urgency or the impact they have on your workflow.
2. Gather tools: Here are some of my essentials!
   1. File management apps: Tools like Google Drive or Dropbox can help you store files more efficiently.
   2. Backup: Have an external hard drive or cloud backup system ready to safeguard important files during the process.
   3. Task management tools: apps like Todoist, Notion, Obsidian or Trello can help you track your decluttering tasks.
3. Schedule your declutter: To avoid being overwhelmed, set aside dedicated time slots for your digital declutter. Break the process into manageable chunks and assign 1 or 2 tasks per day. Treat these time slots as appointments with yourself, and add them to your calendar.

Let’s Get Started with Digital Decluttering

I compiled my favorite actionable tips to organize and streamline different aspects of your digital life.

Organize Your Files

Start with your files! These are the foundations of your creative workflow.

• Create a folder structure: Divide your projects into clear categories.
• Name your files other than dkjhfg.png: I’m guilty of this one. Use consistent naming conventions such as “ProjectName_Version” to make finding files easier.
• Delete duplicates and unused files: Free up space by getting rid of these!
• Review your downloads folder: Categorize what is important, delete the rest
• Keep your desktop neat: minimize the number of files and programs on your desktop to reduce visual clutter and make it easier to find what you need

Declutter Your Email

Your inbox doesn’t have to be a source of stress! I hate when I open up my Gmail only to find 999+ notifications and all my emails on fire.

• Unsubscribe from irrelevant newsletters: Spend an evening clearing out all unnecessary subscriptions. (however, if you like my blog posts, you might like my newsletter!! Bite-sized info, designed to help you be healthier without selling you anything or being annoying, promise)
• Use filters and labels: after being an email user for about 15 years, this was news to me. Sort incoming emails into labels and folders like “work”, “personal” or “invoices”. Don’t lose an important email ever again!
• Delete old emails: delete, delete, delete! Keep your inbox manageable by moving outdated emails out of sight. You can use the search bar to type in brands or names of people you get a lot of emails from and delete them. This way it’s easier to get rid of brand promotions and sort things you might want to keep.

Refresh Your Cloud Storage

It can be as convenient as it is messy.

• Audit your files: Delete outdated and duplicated files
• Organize files: stay consistent! Use the same folder structure you use on your computer files in your cloud ones, makes it easier to find things
• Check storage limits: Free up space and consider upgrading if needed

Streamline Your Creative Tools

Your tools should work for you, not the other way around!

• Review your software and app subscriptions: Cancel any tools or services you no longer use.
• Update essential apps: Make sure everything is running smoothly by installing the latest updates
• Consolidate functionality: If one tool can do the work of several, switch to it so you can reduce clutter and simplify your workflow. I recently got rid of 3-4 apps I was using in favor of keeping all my organization in Notion!

Tidy Up Your Social Media

Your social media presence deserves some decluttering too

• Clean up your profile: Update your bios, links, and outdated information on all your platforms
• Curate your following list: Unfollow accounts that no longer align with your interests
• Organize saved posts: Delete posts that no longer inspire you, and categorize the rest

Other Decluttering Tasks

These tasks are a bit easier to tackle, which can be motivating to get started!

• Delete phone apps & manage notifications: Time to be honest and delete all the apps you have not looked at in months. For the apps that remain, you can turn off the notifications completely or change how many you receive in a day. This way you won’t get bombarded by notifications all-day
• Dive into your notes app: Go through the notes that have no titles, merge notes that contain similar information, and delete everything else!
• Check your browser bookmarks: Have a look at what you’ve saved and delete anything you don’t want to watch or read anymore.
• Revisit browser extensions: I often forget they exist, they collect dust and sometimes cause frustration. Disable or remove the ones you do not need.
• Clean your phone gallery: Sift through your photos, screenshots, and videos. Sort them into categories, delete the ones you do not need, and back up to the cloud.

Maintaining Your Digital Space

Doesn’t it feel amazing after you’re done deep cleaning? So productive, so clean and fresh. 2 weeks later, we’re back to square one. Decluttering is just the first step, keeping it organized is where the real magic happens, it’s by far the hardest part. By incorporating simple habits and strategies into your day-to-day life, you can prevent digital chaos from creeping back in.

Make Digital Decluttering Part of Your End-Of-Work Routine

Consider adding a quick digital tidy to your end-of-work routine. Spend just 5 to 10 minutes tidying up the following:

• Delete or file away any downloads or temporary files
• Clean your email for the day (archive, move, delete)
• Empty your trash bin
• Close unnecessary tabs or programs
• Make sure your desktop is clean and organized

Schedule Regular Decluttering Check-Ins

Set aside time on a monthly or quarterly basis to give your digital space a deeper clean. You can use these sessions to review all the categories mentioned in the previous section.

Leverage Automation Tools

Use can utilize email filters to automatically sort emails into labels, schedule cloud backups to keep your files secure without any effort, or utilize the automation tools on task management software like Notion or Trello to stay organized and up to date.

Conclusion

Digital decluttering is more than just tidying up your devices, its about creating a space that supports your creativity, productivity, and peace of mind. By taking the time to organize, streamline, and set up habits for maintaining your digital environment, you’re setting yourself up for success in your creative pursuits.

I’d love to hear how your digital declutter journey is going! Share your progress or your favorite tips in the comments below. Your experiences might just inspire someone else to start their own decluttering adventure.

If this article made things easier for you, I’d love it if you shared it with your friends and anyone who might need it!

Dont forget to follow me on social media for fun sneak peeks, behind the scenes and art! links on the sidebar.

Feeling Inspired? Here’s Some Extra Fun Stuff!

• How to Find Joy in Your Creative Process Again
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• Make Self-Improvement Fun by Gamifying Your Habits ft. Léan & Maren

Don’t Forget to Pin This for Later!

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