How to Practice Digital Minimalism for Better Productivity
For Executive Assistants, organization is crucial to success. EAs are responsible for managing inboxes, schedules, events, and other projects—sometimes for more than one executive! Now that most of this organization is done digitally, EAs need to be particularly adept at organizing those digital files. However, one big obstacle to Executive Assistant productivity (and executive productivity) we often see is digital clutter.
Digital clutter is the disorganization of data and files on your digital devices. This type of clutter comes in the form of an overflowing inbox or a desktop screen piled high with icons. It also affects your workflow by eating up storage space, slowing down your device speed, and hampering your productivity.
If you or your executive are getting bogged down by digital clutter, it may be a good idea to put digital minimalism into practice.
Benefits of Digital Minimalism
First, digital minimalism will help you increase your productivity. A recent study found that workers spend an average of 45 minutes a day searching for information they need to do their jobs. If you're finding it hard to quickly locate important details, you’ll end up wasting valuable time in your day. Bringing order to your digital workspace will cut down the time it takes to locate information and help you work more efficiently.
Removing digital clutter will also improve the speed of your devices. When you use more storage on your device, your hard drive has to work harder to deliver what you need. Especially if you work remotely, you can’t afford to have a slow, lagging device. Deleting unnecessary applications and duplicate files will help your device run faster and function more smoothly, and that improved performance will save you time and frustration in the long run!
In addition, visual exposure to constant clutter can be overwhelming and mentally draining. Whether it’s unopened emails, a dozen open browser tabs, or an overcrowded desktop screen, clearing the clutter can reduce stress for you and your executive. Less visual mess will also make your workload feel more manageable.
Finally, digital disorganization leaves you and your executive vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. The more unprotected files you store on your devices, the easier it is for hackers to access your data. It’s critical to guard against cybersecurity breaches, especially because executives have access to confidential information. Take protective measures by placing important documents in locked folders, creating unique passwords for all accounts, and eliminating unnecessary files from your devices.
How to Practice Digital Minimalism
If you think you or your executive may be a digital hoarder, try following these simple tips to reduce digital clutter and work more efficiently.
1. Clean Out Your Desktop
Dealing with a desktop cluttered with random files? Reduce the number of floating icons by creating folders and placing each file into a designated folder. As you organize, go through and delete old documents you no longer need, as well as unnecessary duplicate files to free up storage. Even better, transition to storing your files in a cloud-based solution like Dropbox or Google Drive.
2. Organize Your Inbox
Since inbox management is a standard skill for EAs, it’s essential that you know how to organize both your own inbox and your executive’s. To begin, minimize inbox clutter by unsubscribing from promotions and messages you aren’t interested in. Alternatively, you could create a separate email account for these unimportant emails to keep them out of your primary inbox.
A cluttered desktop doesn’t just look bad—it also leads to a loss in productivity!
Next, sort important emails into folders by action item or level of urgency. This can help you stay on top of your tasks as well as save valuable time and effort for your executive. If you use Gmail, you can create a filter to have specified emails be automatically routed into a custom folder without sending you a notification. In Microsoft Outlook, you can mark emails that require a follow-up, and send irrelevant email conversations straight to your deleted items folder with the “Ignore” feature.
3. Don’t Forget About Your Phone
Digital clutter doesn’t just apply to your computer. You can apply many of these tips to your phone to improve battery life and free up storage space. To clear out additional clutter, go through your phone and delete apps you don’t use. Then, review your notification settings and remove unnecessary push notifications to eliminate some distractions from your day. Also, remember to close your browser tabs and close out of apps when you’re done using them to improve your device performance.
4. Clean Up The Rest
The longer you’ve been working on one computer or phone, the more cluttered it becomes. To take digital minimalism to the next level, try these other tips:
Review your bookmarks bar in your internet browser, and remove the sites that you no longer use frequently.
Implement weekly or monthly rituals to clean up your tasklist and project management systems. Are there recurring tasks you always find yourself deferring? Edit or delete them.
Quarterly, review your calendar in the same way as your task list. Are there recurring calendar holds that no longer reflect your priorities? Edit or delete them.
Apps We Love for Organization
To maintain the practice of digital minimalism going forward, there are a number of apps you can download to help you stay organized. Try a few of these to help with organization, but remember to delete a few before downloading more!
Base: The only platform created for Executive Assistants by Executive Assistants. The Dossier function is a fantastic tool that will allow you to organize executive preferences, habits, key contacts, software, and more in a single, secure location.
Evernote: Stores to-do lists, receipts, documents, and business cards in one place.
Active Inbox: Turns emails requiring action or follow-up into tasks.
Spotless for Mac: Automatically categorizes files based on subject or type.
Pocket: Saves articles, videos, and stories from any app.
Time Timer: Adds timers to your assignments to reduce digital distractions.
LastPass: Safely stores all your passwords in one spot.
Start Practicing Digital Minimalism Today!
If digital clutter is hampering your productivity, digital minimalism could be the key to keeping your devices organized and performing your job with excellence. Put these tips into practice to reduce stress and improve your productivity today.
Another great way to improve your productivity is with the help of an Executive Assistant! 33Vincent EAs are highly experienced administrative professionals who specialize in supporting business leaders and executives just like you. With an Executive Assistant, your valuable time can be spent on your most important work—instead of lower value daily tasks!
33Vincent has many other resources to help you maximize your time and communication with your executive assistant.