A huge amount of information lives on our phones. Phones contain our lists, contacts and applications that help us get through our workday and personal lives. And things can get out of control pretty quickly.
Make it your mission to give your phone a spring cleanup. Here are five tips on how to make it less of a distraction, and more of a useful tool:
Tip #1: Delete and organize your apps
I use apps for almost everything. It’s easy to accumulate them quickly. That app that helped you go from couch potato to 5K that you no longer need. That productivity app that is only cluttering up your screen. The game that your daughter downloaded and went to your phone. Gone! They’re just cluttering up your phone, so be bold and ditch them all. You can always download the app again if you need it.
There are many ways to organize your apps, depending on how you use your phone and what you’re trying to get out of it. The most common way is to put everyday apps on your homepage and four of your favorites in the front page dock. Then group apps together in folders by category or type, so all the photo editing apps are together, all the music apps are together, and so on. Another simple way is to organize alphabetically or aesthetically by color.
Tip #2: Turn off notifications and badges
Those little circles at the top of icons can be real visual clutter. Do you really need to know when someone likes one of your Instagram posts? Go into settings, and turn off all notifications - well, maybe you need a few like FaceTime, Find My Iphone or Calendar. But trust us, you don’t need them all.
Tip #3: Transfer and edit your photos
We addressed this in our blog here, but you don’t need to have the last decade of photos stored on your phone if you have a system of transferring them to the cloud. You can still access them but they’re off your phone and not cluttering up storage space. While you are at it, take some time to delete those crappy photos and empty the recently deleted albums. You will feel so much lighter.
Tip #4: Reevaluate your social media followers
Take a hard look at those you follow on your social media accounts like Facebook or Instagram. Is there anyone who clogs up your feed or doesn’t inspire you? Konmari them!
Tip #5: Pick one To Do list app
If you have notes and lists across a million different apps, things are going to get lost and you’re going to miss things. I used to use the Notes app on my iPhone but have switched over to Evernote. It is not for everyone, but Evernote makes me a productivity ninja. It is my digital file cabinet, note-taking tool, and task/project management system.
We spend a lot of attention organizing the spaces in our home. Given how often we use our phones, shouldn’t we take the time to create a neat and organized digital space?