Month 2: Digital Clutter
Not enough storage.
I’ve been getting this stupid message on my iPhone every day for months and I haven’t done a damn thing about it.
Probably because I’m afraid to dig into my digital archives to see what a mess I have created.
Yes, I have a bit of a problem with digital clutter. I’m not very good at using the delete button. I have no system for managing and backing up my photos, files, apps, music and passwords. And I’d be in serious serious trouble if my computer decided to die tomorrow.
This month is going to be about managing our digital lives (not to be confused with digital detox – there will be no parting with devices here). This is about dealing with all of the invisible stuff that we create and consume every day.
My goal is to create the right systems and find the right tools for all aspects of my digital life. I am simplifying my assets (and purging where necessary), organizing, automating and securing them, as it applies to:
- Email management
- Photos & videos
- Document management
- Apps
- Passwords & identity protection
- Digital kids: a special project for parents looking for a better way to capture and store all of your kids’ special moments
I think the key lies in finding the right systems and creating effective rules for managing our stuff. I’m hypothesizing that if we can trust in the process, then we have fewer decisions to make and less things to think about. We can use that extra energy and time for other things. Better things. Happier things. They’re the small wins that make a big difference in how we manage our time and our tasks.
So may the purging, archiving, organizing, sorting and cleaning up begin.
I’m curious – what are your biggest digital challenges?
I find myself always lost between multiple cloud services… Did I store that important note in Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs? I also tend to maybe back up my photos too much because I’m worried about losing them, they’re stored on my local computer, an external storage device which itself keeps copies on separate disks, and then also on SmugMug. What would be simpler yet still enough?
Sounds like you might have to create a system for where you store notes vs. documents vs. important files. You could also try ifttt.com. It’s an app where you can create recipes that allow you to sync things from one cloud service to the next. Ex: automatically add files from Google Drive to Dropbox. I’m still working through the photo and video storage options, but sign up for the email list and you’ll be the first to know!