These days, with so much of your time spent online, it is easy for your digital spaces to get cluttered. This digital junk fills up your storage, creates a mess on your screens, and slows down your devices. Digital clutter also fragments your attention span and drains your productivity.

That said, similar to tidying up your physical workspaces, decluttering your digital spaces will significantly impact your well-being and productivity. Here, we cover some digital spaces that could use a tidy-up.

1. Tidy Up Your Computer Desktop

A computer screen, smartphone, laptop, and keyboard.

Let’s start with the digital space you likely spend the most time in—your computer desktop. This is the first space you see when starting up your computer, and it also houses your important work files, screenshots, games, work apps, and everything in between.

A cluttered desktop makes it hard to find what you’re looking for, so take time to manage and organize your computer files. You can start by following these tips:

  • Avoid making your desktop the destination for your downloads, as this will fill it up and create a mess. Instead, create designated folders for each file type in your Downloads folder.
  • Delete or uninstall all unused or multiple versions of the same programs, files, images, and documents on your desktop. Copy any important files you don’t frequently use into an external drive or cloud storage to free up space.
  • Organize the remaining files on your desktop into folders and give each folder a meaningful name, like ‘Work Projects’ or ‘Images.’
  • Add frequently used programs to the taskbar at the bottom of your screen.
  • Add a minimalist desktop wallpaper for a clean and clutter-free look.

Your computer’s desktop sets the tone for your workday, so ensure it is a tidy, organized space.

2. Organize Your Web Browser

Your web browser is another digital space that can quickly become cluttered when you open multiple tabs. This takes a considerable chunk of your RAM and can cause your computer to slow down or crash, not to mention that it’s very distracting.

While you’d like to develop the habit of focusing on one tab at a time, it’s not always easy. However, there are other ways to organize your browser tabs and boost your productivity, including:

  • Bookmarking websites and pages to access them in the future. You may also want to review your bookmarks from time to time and delete any that you no longer need.
  • Using an extension like OneTab that collects all your open tabs into a single tab saves memory and prevents distractions.
  • Leveraging Google Chrome’s Tab Groups to create categories for various tabs and quickly switch between them.
  • Deleting unused browser extensions that slow down your browser.

By keeping your browser organized and free of distractions, you can work more efficiently while preventing it from crashing or slowing down.

3. Declutter Your Email Inbox

Gmail inbox

Why are you still receiving emails from services you stopped using a decade ago? If your email inbox looks like an endless list of unopened emails, it’s time to take action. Your email inbox is not a storage unit for shopping deals or pesky newsletters, so it is important to declutter and organize your emails to boost productivity.

This will help you stay on top of important emails and reduce stress. Here are a few tips for decluttering your email inbox:

  • Unsubscribe from newsletters or other emails you no longer need. Get into the habit of unsubscribing to newsletters and emails you don’t plan to read as they come in.
  • Create another email account for non-essential emails. You can use this email account to sign up for online services, promotional emails, and newsletters.
  • If you are a Gmail user, you can sort your Gmail inbox by sender, subject, and label to find emails quickly.
  • Customize your email notifications and block time for email-related activities to avoid distractions.

Spending too much time in your email inbox often feels like a productive endeavor, but that’s not necessarily the case. By decluttering your inbox, you can focus on more important tasks and stay organized.

4. Clean Up Your Smartphone

Your smartphone is your everyday companion, so it’s easy for it to become cluttered with apps, files, images, and notifications. Plus, if you are a remote worker, chances are, you’re relying more on your smartphone for work. That said, it is vital to clean up and organize your smartphone to stay productive. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

  • Delete unused apps from your home screen. In addition, if you often get distracted by social media apps on your smartphone, consider deleting them and using their web-based versions instead. This adds an extra step, which makes it harder to access them.
  • Organize similar apps into folders and give each folder a meaningful name. You may have productivity, entertainment, and communication apps in separate folders.
  • Use cloud storage solutions to back up important files and documents. This will free up some storage space on your device and make it easier to access files from anywhere.
  • Customize your notifications to reflect your work hours and avoid distractions. For instance, you wouldn’t want to receive TikTok or Instagram notifications during work hours, as it will distract you and clutter your notification center.

5. Organize Your Contact List

iPhone's contact app

If you go through your contact list, chances are, you won’t recognize most contacts. This list might be filled with contacts you may have added years ago but don’t necessarily need to keep in touch with now, or recent contacts you didn’t properly save. Keeping your contacts organized will help you find the right people quickly and avoid awkward situations. Here are a few tips to help you organize your contact list:

  • Back up your contacts in your iCloud or Google account. This will ensure that your contacts are always safe and can be accessed from any device.
  • Name your contacts based on the context of your relationship. For instance, if you connected with someone at a networking event, add their name followed by “Networking Event.”
  • Add other details, like email addresses, to your contacts.
  • Merge duplicate contacts and delete contacts you no longer need.
  • Add frequently used contacts to your Favorites list. This will help you quickly find them when needed.

6. Curate Your Social Media Feeds

Social media can become a time-sucker and productivity killer, as you scroll through unending feeds of irrelevant content. This is not an attempt to wage war against social media, but rather an effort to declutter your feed, so you can connect with the people and brands you genuinely care about.

Decluttering this digital space will help eliminate the noise, keep you focused on what matters, and maintain positive mental health. Here are some tips to help you declutter your social media feeds:

  • Unfollow people and brands that no longer interest you.
  • Follow close friends, family members, and people who share relevant content.
  • Like, comment, and share posts that align with your interests. This will help the algorithms show more relevant content.
  • Mute accounts that post too often or are irrelevant to you.
  • Remove triggers that disrupt your productivity. For instance, if you tend to get distracted by notification badges on your app icons, disable them.

7. Set Up and Organize Your Task Management System

A woman using Trello on her computer

This is another vital digital space that needs special attention. The best way to achieve your goals and stay productive is to have a plan and organize your tasks for maximum efficiency. A cluttered task list can be overwhelming and make it difficult to focus. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

  • Use task management apps to list and organize your tasks. You can use apps like Trello or Asana to keep your tasks organized.
  • Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. You can achieve this by preparing your to-do lists using the Eisenhower matrix.
  • Break down larger tasks into smaller chunks.
  • Review your task list regularly and clear out completed tasks.
  • Set deadlines and make sure you stick to them.

Declutter and Organize Your Digital Spaces to Stay Productive

Decluttering your digital spaces will make it easier for you to stay productive. By taking some time to clean up and organize your digital spaces, you will be able to stay focused on what matters and eliminate distractions. Doing this regularly will help you manage your time more efficiently and make more progress toward your goals.