Did you know that the third Monday of October is National Clean your Virtual Desktop Day ? This year the day falls on October 17th. It is estimated that there are one billion computers in use in the world today. Think about what that means as far as virtual space. People waste and clutter their virtual space just as much as they waste and clutter their office space.
Think about what’s on your desktop right now. Do you have old folders and or documents that can either be archived or deleted? Have you got unused icons just taking up space? When was the last time that you cleaned up your computer?
If your computer needs to be decluttered, get started now. Start by eliminating any unused icons on your desktop and remove any software that you don’t use. It’s taking up space. While you’re at it, delete old files that you no longer need. If there are files that you need to keep, but don’t need to access on a regular basis, create an archive file on a CD and get them off of your hard drive.
Once you’re done cleaning up your hard drive, look at your email inbox. How many emails do you have that you haven’t read? Maybe it’s overloaded with newsletters or other items form lists that you’ve subscribed to, but you’re not reading them and it’s leaving your inbox cluttered. Unsubscribe from the lists that are no longer relevant and set up filters and rules for the remaining emails to go to designated folders. This way, you can set times to read what’s in those folders. Be sure to delete them once you’ve read them. Keep your inbox clutter free.
Once you’ve got things cleaned up, organize your remaining files as you would files in your filing cabinet. Create folders and drop all related files into each. This makes it much easier to find files when you need them and will save time in the process. As you create new files, be in the habit of placing them in relevant folders. Additionally, if you’re not backing up your files on a regular basis, get that in place to be sure that you don’t loose the files that you need.
Keep up the practice and set regular times to delete unwanted items and archive files that you need to keep but don’t need immediate access to on a regular basis. Doing so will keep your virtual space organized and clutter free.