In Part 1 of our digital decluttering series , we covered the basics and how you can get started with your computer or laptop files. Now, we’ll delve a little deeper into doing the same; this time, with your online assets.
ICYMI, think of digital decluttering as “general cleaning,” but for your virtual space. It means ridding your hardware and software of unnecessary junk so you can regain control over your workflow and reallocate your focus towards more important things.
This time around, we’ll be discussing strategies for email management and ridding yourself of browser clutter. Because both emailing and browsing are essential to everyday work, it’s important to keep them clutter-free.
Top tips for cleaning your emails
Dealing with an onslaught of work emails can be overwhelming, and they have the potential to take up a significant amount of our time, energy, and headspace. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a slave to email and control your inbox before it controls you.
Inbox Zero, a concept coined by productivity expert Merlin Mann, doesn’t necessarily refer to having an empty inbox. Rather, it’s the amount of time an employee’s brain is in their inbox. He further asserts that our productivity suffers when an email inbox is confused with a to-do list.
The goal of Inbox Zero is to handle emails only once and to process them accordingly, with the following five actions:
- Delete or archive a message after reading it.
- Delegate to someone else if needed.
- Respond immediately, giving it just a few lines. Then delete or archive as needed.
- Defer a response if it needs more work or your response takes more than a few lines.
- Do the required task in the email right away, if needed.
If your inbox has a ton of read (or unread!) messages that still haven’t been deleted or archived, now’s the time to get started! Here are more tips for your emails outside of work:
- Start unsubscribing from those newsletters you don’t plan to read. Alternatively, you can create another email address that you can use exclusively for online service signups, promotions, and newsletters.
- Create filters for incoming emails. That way, you won’t have to manually sort them as they come in. Here’s how you can do it on Gmail.
- Allocate time in your day for checking email, and don’t do so more than two times a day.
Managing your browser clutter
We’ve covered some browser management tips previously, but you may still be prone to bad browser habits that are keeping you from being productive!
- Close unnecessary tabs. If you’re working with 20 tabs open at the same time, it’s probably not just your laptop that’s slowing down. Keeping all of them open may trick you into thinking that you’re productive, but the reality is–your focus just might be all over the place.
- Keep browser notifications to a minimum. If your goal is deep work, eliminating every possible distraction is paramount and that may even include any notification you deem “important.”
- Clean out bookmarked pages when you no longer need them. Just like Inbox Zero, delete any bookmarks that no longer serve you. Who knows, some of those pages may not even exist anymore.
- Look into other browsers. If you’re loyal to Chrome or Brave but want extra features for tab management, Ghost is a good alternative. This Chromium-based browser lets you set your tabs into groups so you save them at a later time, and use the ones you actually need to use at the moment. How’s that for easy?
Smarter productivity with PLDT Home
We hope our digital decluttering series helped you find fast solutions to boost your productivity. If you need a fiber-fast home WiFi solution to accompany you on your journey to a better virtual workspace, PLDT Home has you covered. Subscribe to the Philippines’ undisputed fastest Internet for five years running, and stay focused and productive all day!