This is the Secret to Managing Digital Clutter and Boosting Productivity

In today’s digital age, clutter extends beyond crowded closets and messy desks. Digital clutter— unread emails, countless open tabs, and thousands of unorganized photos—can feel like a burden and actually hinder your productivity and focus. It’s easy to overlook because it’s often out of sight. That is, until you spot the overwhelming number of email notifications, you can’t locate the website you left open in your browser, or you open your phone’s camera roll.

Addressing digital clutter can restore a sense of control and calm, allowing you to redirect your focus on more important (or interesting) things. If you’re ready, read on to discover the common types of digital clutter and strategies to tackle them so you can feel a sense of zen again.

1. An Overflowing Inbox

Having hundreds or even thousands (hey, no judgment!) of unread emails in your inbox can be overwhelming, to say the least. It can create a sense of constantly feeling behind, even if it's just junk mail. It also makes it extraordinarily difficult to identify important messages among the spam, meaning something will eventually slip through the cracks—if it hasn’t happened to you already.

What to do about it: Start by unsubscribing to junk or promotional emails to clear up space. You can use an app like Unroll.Me to automate this decluttering process or do it manually. Set aside a few minutes each day, perhaps as your morning coffee is brewing, to unsubscribe from as many as possible. Continue this habit until you’re only receiving the emails you want.

If you get the urge to sign up for new mailing lists—say, to receive sale alerts from your new favorite online boutique—consider creating a separate email address. Use it when entering your information on websites or opting for a digital receipt in a physical store. This method will at least prevent your primary inbox from getting too cluttered and essential emails from getting lost in the shuffle.

2. Too Many Open Tabs to Count

Whether this issue occurs on mobile devices, desktops, or all of the above, it not only makes it laborious to find a site you saved to return to, but it can also cause your phone, tablet, or computer to run slower than it should.

What to do about it: Because you’re not the first person with this problem, tools are already designed and available to help solve it. Look into browser extensions such as OneTab for Google Chrome that will save your tabs into a list you can easily access without having them all open at once. When it comes to your phone, make a concerted effort to close tabs once you’re done with needing them and utilize built-in organization tools, such as the iPhone’s Tab Group feature. When you have a few free minutes, set up or update your browser’s bookmark folders to sort and save sites you frequently visit.

3. A Crowded Camera Roll

When trying to capture the perfect shot, it's common to snap a few (er, few dozen) photos of the same subject. Often, we end up keeping all of the mediocre shots on our camera roll, ignoring them until we receive a notification that our phone is low on storage. At that point, we scramble to delete unnecessary photos and videos to free up a GB or two. Beyond storage issues, sifting through thousands of pictures to find a specific one can feel overwhelming, especially if you didn't save it as a favorite or if the search function isn’t working.

What to do about it: Depending on the number of digital photos you hope to declutter, you may very well need a helping hand to get through them all in any reasonable amount of time. Once again, technology comes to the rescue. Apps like SwipeSwipe or Photo Cleaner make the task more manageable and efficient. Still, you’ll have to block off time to do this regularly, even for a few minutes daily or a half hour once per week. Try incorporating your photo decluttering project into your existing routine, like when you’re on the couch with your comfort TV show in the background.

As you’re actively working to delete unwanted photos, it’s wise to implement new habits to prevent a future camera roll pile-up. Each night, clear out the ones you took throughout the day, including screenshots taken to send someone that you’ll unlikely need again tomorrow. Use either your smartphone’s album feature or an online cloud service to organize your precious memories by event or date and add new photos to them going forward. 

4. An Abundance of Apps

Keeping too many apps not only clutters the home screen but also takes up valuable storage space. Even if you rarely use some, many apps continue to run in the background, slowing down your device. Sifting through icons to locate the one you need wastes time, and nonstop notifications are a source of distraction.

Having numerous social media apps on your phone alone can cause unnecessary strain on mental health. If normalized, doom scrolling, the feeling of FOMO, and the temptation to compare deplete our energy, which can be used for more productive and joyful activities away from a screen.

What to do about it: Check your app usage in your phone settings, and delete the ones you never use or offload the ones you occasionally access. For example, you can reinstall an airline app before your next trip. Unless they’re essential, turn off app notifications to limit your lock screen clutter.

While you might not be ready to delete your social media profile, deleting the apps off your phone can make a big difference in your day. Do a trial run with the one you scroll the most, and if it has a positive effect, uninstall them all and access them from your browser. While at it, unfollow any accounts that don’t inspire you or add something positive to your life.

Next, create organized folders for the apps you need to keep and set a reminder to declutter and reorganize them about once per month. To round out your digital detox, try an app such as OneSec to limit or schedule mindless screen time.