I am that mom who will have multiple tabs open on my laptop and multiple screens open on my phone because there is always something that I find interesting, and I would want to keep it open rather than lose the document or article or am lazy and don’t want to relogging again.

Are you one of those? Then this article is for you. And if you are not, then please let me know which of the following techniques do you use and which ones can be added.

Let’s get to the basics – Decluttering by definition is removing unnecessary items from an untidy or overcrowded place. Every so often we tend to buy things in the need of the hour and then by some grace of luck we often misplace them or cannot find them until its much later. In this process then we end up buying more of the same to replace what we couldn’t find in the first place thereby gathering more and more. With raising my two kids in the initial years I used to lose my temper a lot. Slowly I learned to focus on living in the present, enjoying their childhood and letting them create clutter as long as they were exploring because understanding textures, hand eye play and all these nighties gritty were important. They still are and I rarely bother them but now they are old enough to know that once the play is don’t they need to put the toys back.

But how do we deal with digital cluttering? Over the years we find something we like online, and we subscribe to it. If we want to buy a product more often than not, we are pulled into promotions that make us register to the app, or the website. Then this starts the cluttering process wherein we get bombarded with a lot of unnecessary information. In addition, we the advent of social media and the growth we have Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, and so many more forms of social media that influence us on a daily basis. You can start scrolling on Instagram in the morning and before you realize it an eternity will have elapsed and then you will complain you don’t have enough time.

I mention this because this has happening with me a lot. As I raise my two kids I understand how much digitally dependent, we are. My kids are unable to eat food without TV or and iPad running. I understand I may be at fault but a tired mom and a tired dad we have tried our best to keep them less digitally influenced but because we were raising kids just by ourselves without a village, we did whatever we could to the best of our ability. In addition we have a lot of files on our computer in terms of downloads for an online business or resume updates or a file that we think is important, some old pictures and old files.

Do you get the gist?

What is the impact of this digital cluttering? Cluttering of any sort limits our visibility to what we truly need to focus on. When there is just too much information that is not relevant at the moment you have a feeling of overwhelm and anxiety that we are missing out on information that could be useful to us. We lose our focus in the clutter of emails that we get, the amount of time we spent looking for that one email or one specific form of information that is buried in the clutter.

How do we tackle this and how do we practice digital decluttering?

1)Unsubscribe:

I had close to 60000 emails in my inbox this year. And this is not a made-up number. I was going through so much in my life that the last thing I could focus on was clearing my Inbox. But one fateful day I decided to finally sit down and go through my inbox. And I unsubscribed to everything that was irrelevant to me. I made the time to go through each one of them but if you are short on time, you can try this app. https://leavemealone.com

2)Digital Planner

While Physical planners are good and easy and cheap, with the fast onset of Digitalized revolution it only seems fair to start working with a Digital Planner that can keep you connected and informed not just for yourself but also across your entire family. Try this Skylight Calendar.

3) Replace Social Scrolling

We are so surrounded by information from social media that the avoidance is inevitable until it is systematic. Instead of mindless scrolling pick 1 most influential profile to subscribe to that truly resonates with your goals for that week. If you are looking for daily mindset growth and motivation, click here or here.

4) One Device Free hour a Day

Start with one dedicated hour daily to Journal and pen down your thoughts about how you want to declutter, what emotions are attached to the things that stops you from taking them away. Penning down our deepest thoughts help us in decluttering in many ways. You can try this one Intelligent way to journal. Another activity to do is read a book. Reading other people’s experiences always enlighten us. Here is a book I am reading currently – Declutter your Digital Life.

I hope you find this article helpful. Decluttering in various forms of life is very important. And while the physical decluttering helps us find lost items, digital decluttering can help us refresh our mindset and make our goals clearer and helps you elevate your life. It is my intention to provide an opportunity to elevate mindset in any form. Start with Digital decluttering.

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