HOW TO GET RID OF DIGITAL CLUTTER

Over the holidays, I spent a few evenings watching reruns of Friends, drinking hot cocoa (with marshmallows), and going through my emails. More than five thousand had piled up. I didn’t want to head into 2019 with all that chaos, so I painfully whittled down my inbox.

If your phone is overwhelming, here are five tips to clear digital clutter. 

1. Take control of your inbox

In addition to deleting emails, check out unroll.me. This free tool allows you to unsubscribe or “roll up” emails into a daily newsletter.  For the emails you want to keep reading, but not everyday, there’s an option to organize them into a separate folder. By just doing this alone, it will dramatically reduce the stress of reading emails. 

2. Use airplane mode

Using airplane mode everyday from 10pm-7am gives my brain a much needed break. I like to completely unplug on Sundays, too. 

3. Redesign your wallpaper

First, update your lock and home screens to an inspiring photo. I want to write more, so my lock screen is a picture of a scene I captured of my journal, a pen, and a cup of tea. My home screen is my word for 2019: “soften”.  Second, move all of your apps away from the main screen to the second screen. This gives you additional space before interacting with your apps and notifications.

Here’s a before and after:

4. Turn off notifications

Speaking of notifications—get rid of them! Or at least get rid of the ones you never read. If using an iPhone, go to settings, notifications, then turn them off for each app. You’ll notice a difference right away.

5. Delete apps

No explanation necessary—give it a try!

Do you have any tips to share? I’d love to read them in the comments below.