These tricks to simplify your digital life will boost your productivity, reduce stress and improve your well-being.
Do you feel like you’re drowning in a sea of digital chaos? It’s time to take back control and simplify your digital life.
In this article you’ll discover 8 game-changing tricks to transform your digital world from an overwhelming mess to a stress-free oasis.
Let’s dive in and discover how these easy-to-implement strategies will improve your digital experience, boost your productivity and enhance your well-being.
1. Declutter your digital space
With so much digital content and files, it’s essential to keep your digital space organized.
A cluttered digital space can affect your productivity, stress levels, and it can make it difficult to find what you need quickly.
Here are a few steps to declutter your digital space:
- Clean up your apps. Delete any apps that you no longer use or need. Organize the remaining apps into folders based on their purpose or category. This will make it easier to find the app you need without sifting through a sea of icons.
- Clean up your desktop background by removing any unnecessary files or shortcuts.
- Clean up your browser plug-ins by removing any that you don’t use or need. This will help to speed up your browser and make it easier to navigate.
You can find more in-depth steps for a digital clean up here.
2. Simplify your passwords with a password manager
Don’t you get tired of remembering passwords for all of your online accounts? And if you’re trying to work around that by using the same password for each and every account…well, you may need a quick lesson about cybersecurity.
But you can simplify your digital life by using a password manager.
A password manager is a secure tool that stores all of your passwords in one place, so you can access them easily without remembering each one individually. You only need 1 (very strong!) master password to access your database.
Not only will this simplify your digital life, but it makes your accounts more secure as you can generate strong and unique passwords for each account.
To get started, choose a reputable password manager like LastPass or 1Password and install it on your computer/phone/other device.
After creating your account, you can start adding your login credentials for your accounts. Whenever you enter a website or app, it will fill in your login details automatically or ask you to add them. I find it very convenient.
It’s important to choose a strong master password as it is the key to accessing all of your saved passwords.
My tip is to create an easy-to-remember sentence and use the first letters of each word as your password, combined with numbers and special characters. For example:
- My regular McDonalds order is a Big Mac (which costs $4) ➝ mrMoiaBM$4
3. Streamline your social media
A powerful but underrated trick to simplify your digital life is to tidy up your social media.
Personally, I noticed I was spending so much time watching Insta stories… of accounts that didn’t even really interest me! Many were from people I barely knew, like someone I once met at a party or a celebrity always posting ads.
It felt like I was racing to flip through all the stories, until I saw them all. I was not even really watching most of them.
Sounds familiar?
Then it’s time to unfollow or mute those accounts that don’t add value. If unfollowing an account seems to harsh for some reason, you can mute posts and/or stories on Instagram. Go to the account, click on ‘Following’ and then choose ‘Mute’.
On Facebook you can go to someone’s profile, then click ‘Friends’, then choose ‘Take a Break’.
Now, I see fewer Insta stories and only the ones that truly interest me. I spend less time on social media and I enjoy my time online more – and I believe you can achieve the same too.
4. Keep an eye on your screen time
Being more mindful of how much time you spend on your devices can help you simplify your digital life.
To monitor your screen time, you can use built-in screen time trackers such as Screen Time on iOS or Digital Wellbeing on Android. On your computer you can use RescueTime.
These tools show you how much time you spend in total and on which apps. It provides insights on how to reduce your usage.
To get you started on reducing your screen time, here are 7 tips to reduce screen time for adults.
5. Turn off notifications
Turning off notifications is a simple yet effective way to simplify your digital life and reduce distractions.
With so many apps and services screaming for our attention, notifications can quickly become overwhelming, making it hard to stay focused and be present in the moment.
To turn off notifications, start by going into your device settings and disabling notifications for apps that aren’t essential or that you don’t need to be alerted to right away.
Since I’ve turned off all notifications, except for text messages and weather alerts, I pick up my phone much less and it’s way less distracting.
By turning off notifications, you’ll be able to take control of your digital life, reduce stress, and free up mental space for the things that matter most to you.
6. Clean up your email inbox
Cleaning up your email inbox is an effective way to simplify your digital life.
Start by unsubscribing from unnecessary email subscriptions that clutter your inbox with unwanted messages.
This will help reduce the number of emails you receive and makes it easier to manage your inbox.
If you’re a Gmail user, I’ve got a detailed article about How to organize Gmail like a pro, though it may work similar with other email providers.
Another step to clean up your inbox is to archive unread emails that you no longer need to keep in your inbox. It will reduce your number of unread emails and makes it easier to find more important messages.
From my experience, I can tell you it is very relaxing to deal with just one or two unread emails in your inbox, instead of 20+ daily, useless emails, piling onto each other.
7. Practice digital detoxing
We’re surrounded by content and stimuli from our digital devices.
Being constantly “on” can be tiring and stressful, which is why you should consider doing a digital detox.
Disconnect from your digital devices and take time to relax and rejuvenate. For example, by spending time in nature, engaging in a creative hobby or spending quality time with other.
Taking a break from technology will improve your overall well-being. But it will also reduce your reliance on digital devices, helping you to simplify your digital life.
8. Limit your browser tabs and close them at the end of each day
Do you have a habit of opening multiple browser tabs at once and leaving them open indefinitely?
While it might seem convenient to have all your tabs open, it can quickly become overwhelming and cluttered.
To simplify your digital life, try to limit the number of browser tabs you have open at any given time. This will help you stay focused and reduce the chances of getting distracted by unnecessary information.
At the end of each day, take a few minutes to close any unused tabs and organize the ones you plan to keep open.
It will help you start each day with a fresh slate and reduce the likelihood of feeling overwhelmed by too many tabs (and frankly, to keep clicking on the wrong tab!).
Let's get started and simplify your digital life
Simplifying your digital life is not only achievable, but also essential for your mental well-being and productivity.
With these 8 tricks you can enjoy a more focused, stress-free lifestyle. But why stop there?
Let’s kick things up a notch and tackle your social media use. Download the free Social Media Detox Guide to spend your time in a more valuable way than scrolling through feeds.
Maybe you’ve tried a social media detox before but failed. Usually that’s because of a lack of planning.
This Guide takes you by your hand and provides you all the information and steps to make it a successful social media detox.
Let’s do it!
