Time for an inbox detox

At home, one headache-inducing phrase is “𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆…”

It’s usually “yelled” when someone is running late… to an activity, event or appointment. Most frequently misplaced items are keys (mine), Myki cards and shoes (Miss 9’s ballet slippers).

You can avoid these timewasting situations by “putting things away after you have used them.” It’s the same with digital files.

Too often you can be working on an urgent job to discover that you can’t find the right image, the last media release on the topic or the background brief because it wasn’t properly filed on the shared system.

Like household decluttering, digital admin is one of my least favourite tasks.

But if you do it annually, your future self will thank you!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼?

Here’s a year-end checklist to ensure your systems and data are organised and ready for the new year:

𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀

• 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀: delete unnecessary documents, photos and downloads.
• 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: create a consistent folder structure for easy access.
• 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀: move older files to an external drive or cloud storage.

𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻

• 𝗜𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼: delete or archive emails; put others in a folder.
• 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗺: have a look at what was spammed. Check if there is something you missed? (𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦).
• 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲: if you don’t read it, delete it (𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦).

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

• 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: cancel any unused (𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺!)
• 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀: download invoices, receipts and tax-related documents.

𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮

• 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀: check if yours is current. Update privacy settings.
• 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁: save copies of photos, posts or messages as needed.
• 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿: add key dates, deadlines and reminders for 2025 (𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥).

Taking these steps can improve your digital efficiency and peace of mind. You can now head into the new year with confidence!