courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
My 13 money resolutions for 2013 were quite a popular series, and after simplifying, organizing and managing actively my finances, I have decided to tackle my online life in February. To put things lightly, everything is a mess.
My computer, my inbox, my social accounts…. Everything is growing wild and like a garden that is filled with bad weed, I want to manicure it down to a perfect lawn.
I love that February has four perfect weeks and that it starts on a weekend, giving me time to get started each week, and report on Fridays. Come join the challenge to declutter your digital life! We can give each other support and check on our progress weekly.
I plan on tackling one project each week.
Week 1. Organize my computer.
I barely use my Ipod touch here (no wifi and potential target for mugging) so everything is in my laptop. I plan on:
1. Making a backup. Pretty straightforward, with a portable hard drive, look into all the different areas of the computer and copy them onto the hard drive. My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, and so on.
2. Then organize everything in nice looking files instead of having a crowded desktop with all current affairs. I will make a folder for archives, and a folder for favorite files, like my net worth file that I update monthly. Then a third folder with items of the moment, guest posts I am writing, downloads…. All the rest will go into the hard drive.
3. Removing all the programs installed that I don’t use anymore.
3. Finally, my laptop could use a thorough virus search and cleanup to make it run smoothly. It is three years old and you can feel it but I’d like to keep it until my next trip to the US or Europe, to get a better deal.
Week 2 Social accounts
I only use FB as a personal social account. I will go through the list of friends, organize them in groups and remove the ones I haven’t interacted with in years, or ever. I will keep one small group for regular updates and one larger group for when I have time to spend on FB.
My blog’s FB page will get a bit more life, maybe a few pictures, and I will add all the interesting blogs I should have added long ago. I rarely use this page and feel like it could bring an added value to the blog.
Twitter I will follow people in the PF niche that I don’t follow already and manage my list of PF bloggers that I follow more closely to add all the newer or new to me bloggers that I don’t have yet in favorites.
Hootsuite I will set up Hootsuite with my personal accounts as well in order to manage it all from one place. Hootsuite is a great tool to manage your social accounts, you should have a look at it if you don’t use it already.
Project inbox zero
I started this one a bit in January but life got in the way. I will bring down my email box to zero email. Yes. All the old emails will be archived into folders for family friends, blog, jobs, and administrative (one for UK, France and Guatemala).
I want to be left with emails that need to be dealt with this week and no more.
I will also click UNSUBSCRIBE to all those emails I delete almost daily and never read. Real estate alerts, whatever company’s newsletter that I went too fast to untick when I ordered from them two years ago, you name it. Out of my inbox, you all!
Eric at Narrow Bridge has put together a weekly program called Zero Inbox Week that I plan on using to make things easier. Check it out!
Another cool tool is Swizzle. It allows you to unsubscribe from all the emails you don’t want delete the current ones in your inbox (my favorite feature!)
move the ones you want to keep to a digest so you only get one email.
I kept my subscription to 14, with most of them being PF blogs who don’t have an RSS feed.
Blog organization
Thanks to Sicorra’s awesome blog planner, I will manage my blog better than ever. I will write 15 posts that are not time sensitive, to keep as a cushion if I don’t have time or lack inspiration. Then I will make sure that I also have two weeks worth of posts scheduled in advance at any time, except for Friday recaps.
So technically I should be able to write only one post a week, Friday recap, for five weeks in a row, and still have three posts left if I post five times a week.
I will reorganize my Google reader into groups to easily focus on the blogs I read every day, and leave the ones I read occasionally on another ”when I have a moment” folder.
I will go through ALL my posts and add
- SEO description
- tags
- a few links to more recent articles
- featured image
to the posts that don’t have one or all of that. I have gotten much better at it but sometimes publish in a bit of a hurry and don’t do it all.
There, I said it. I WILL DO IT. You hold me accountable now. I will update every Friday on the recap.
How is your digital life doing? Want to join the challenge?
Latest posts by Pauline Paquin (Posts)
- Getting some cash for the holidays - May 21, 2013
- A forced emergency fund - May 21, 2013
- Defining my dream, little guest house in Guatemala - May 20, 2013
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- Friday recap, family and a scraped site - May 17, 2013
I am remarkably able to keep my apartment uncluttered.
I fail spectacularly at keeping my computer uncluttered. My desktop is a sea of icons and it’s embarrassing. Occasionally, I make some headway on getting them cleaned up, only to be re-cluttered in a week.
And let’s not even talk about my office at work. I think it would be easier if I just periodically lit fire to the piles of papers covering my desk.
My Financial Independence Journey recently posted..Sysco (SYY) Dividend Stock Analysis
that would be so liberating! I have six icons now on my desktop, one is a notepad for random to do lists, two are shortcuts to folders “current docs” and “current pics” where I plan to save everything I usually save on the desktop before it gets organized. I hope it works!
Wow I may have to steal ALL these ideas! Honestly this would be more a year-long project for me. I do so much on my laptop that I have files somewhat sporadically placed everywhere (I often save to my desktop). I’ve gotten better at keeping stuff for the blog in one folder, rental property in one folder, etc. but I really need to do a deep dive clean sweep of my computer. And that is only week 1 of your list!
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..$999.99 Cash Giveaway – Money Problems Edition
It takes tons of time but it’s like cleaning the house, you’ll be happy you did it!
My inbox sounds like yours. I am terrible at archiving and quite often just do a big dump into a new folder and start again. This normally happens about every year when I just can’t take it anymore.
I just need more time
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..Do You Want More Money?
Doing it on the spot takes a sec once you have created the right folders. it is liberating!
My digital life is a mess right now, so I’ll be utilizing all of these tips. Thanks, Pauline!
Laurie recently posted..Why Good Personal Finance Management and Prepping Go Hand in Hand
good luck Laurie, let me know how it goes for you!
I am relatively on-top-of things in my digital life, but I will join in for the fun of it! I realised the importance of having SQL backups at the weekend when I had to wipe my hosting account and start again… Post to come with details!
Savvy Scot recently posted..Insurance Explained: Professional Indemnity
oh yes, there are the backups too
Love the post Pauline! You know this stuff is right up my alley! You just inspired me to organize my folders on the computer. Oof. Good luck!
Tony@YouOnlyDoThisOnce recently posted..We Are All Experts
good luck to you too!
Sound advice! Scheduling and writing posts in advance is a real time saver. As is organising lists, it means you get far more out of it. Best of luck.
Jamie Dickinson @ YourSavingAngels recently posted..Wedding on a Budget
Thanks Jamie!
Experts tell us an uncluttered hard disk is one reason computer performance is better.
Whew is a lot but I can see how ALL are necessary! The one I have the hardest time with is organizing a system of reading blogs. I can’t keep dedicating nearly three hours out of my day to read and comment, and that’s just about what I’m doing. I look forward to the series and will try to do as many of them as possible!
Budget & the Beach recently posted..Where You Live: The Good & the Bad
for blog reading I use google reader, i make lists of sites depending on priority so I can read five or fifty depending on the time I have, it is easy to find them.
Another great way to reduce spam emails is to roll everything up. http://unroll.me is the website. They basically take all of your subscription based emails and combine them into one single email. It works by searching through your email account, and reports which messages are subscription based, and gives you the option to “roll them up” or “unsubscribe”. Very handy!
Johnny Moneyseed recently posted..Two events for the price of one
looks similar to swizzle, those sites are awesome. Thanks for the tip Johnny!
I actually wrote a similar article today. I explained the process of setting up unroll.me in it as well if anyone wants to check it out.
Johnny Moneyseed recently posted..Reduce your digital footprint
Nice action plan Pauline. I am working on doing the zero inbox here in a few. It has just gotten out of control these days. I usually clean up my computer on a regular basis in order to keep it fast and clutter free.
Debt Roundup recently posted..What Not to do When You’re In Serious Financial Trouble
email is so easy to let pile up. good luck with zero inbox!
Wow! That blogger planner is intense. I love the editorial calendar in WordPress. It’s not too overwhelming and I don’t lose the fun in writing.
leslie recently posted..What do I do with Acorn Squash? Make Muffins!
I just installed it in WP, pretty cool tool!
The email inbox is the worst one for me! I can’t seem to have an empty inbox…but you have inspired me! I like this series of goals Pauline
I’m going to work on this too!
Mackenzie recently posted..One Car Household? Gulp!
good luck Mackenzie!
Every so often I get the urge to organize things. Its usually short-lived. I’m also not really interested in inbox zero. I use my inbox as reminders as things I need to act on, even if it isn’t the time to act on them yet.
Edward Antrobus recently posted..How to Save on Valentine’s Day + a Giveaway
I am not super tidy either, but sometimes spend way too much time fishing for an email in the history, or forget about it altogether. Let’s see if that solves it!
My digital life and my kitchen table are currently a “hot mess”. I keep telling myself I’ll take a day on the weekend to clean up and organize, but so far that hasn’t happened. About once a month I have a panic that everything is such a mess and things get organized again for a few weeks. Bad habits die hard.
kk@studentdebtsurvivor recently posted..Flood Your Car to Save Money
I hear you! but it feels good afterwards..
Great plan Pauline! I have multiple email accounts that are out of control, esp my gmail accounts. I need to go through and purge quite a bit. It is like cleaning out your filing cabinet, you always worry if I throw this out next month I will be looking for it LOL.
Thanks again for posting the blog planner. I really appreciate it
I know the weeks that I have lots of posts written in advance I am a lot more relaxed.
Have a great week!
Tackling Our Debt recently posted..Twitter Hacked: Ways to Protect Your Online Accounts
In Gmail you can archive the things instead of deleting, so it is in a folder and not in the inbox. I keep scans, password, anything that may be of use someday. And sometimes I have a look and don’t even remember the sender or what I was doing there writing to them! this I delete. Takes time but feels better after.
15 posts to keep as a cushion??? Wow that’s am ambitious goal but I have a feeling you can do it
I’m going to try to aim for 3. Baby steps 
Girl Meets Debt recently posted..#Tag: Getting to Know the “Person” Behind the Personal Finance Blog
baby steps! everyone has a number, because I have very poor internet here, and travel a lot, it works for me. Having a week’s worth is enough for most people and they can write on weekends.
I really need to join you on the inbox zero project. Both for my personal and work emails. I just let just about everything sit around after I read it & have so many unread emails from lists I should unsubscribe from.
The First Million is the Hardest recently posted..Should You File Your Own Taxes Or Hire A Pro?
welcome on board!
Although it’s only digital, my computer gets pretty cluttered to where I can’t find what I need on my desktop. Thankfully it’s easier to de-clutter than a room, but it’s something I can’t seem to stay ontop of.
Justin@TheFrugalPath recently posted..The Benefits of a Mortgage Free Retirement
With a few good cleans and regular habits it could, I admit it is easy to get lazy. I do well on the cleaning and then let it pile up some more.
Wow, either you will need lots of coffee or keep the beer stocked lol that’s lots of clean-up but well worth it. I started from the beginning with folders in my email and bring it down to almost zero a night. I wish I could comment on every blog I read but I just can’t. Like you I organize into blogs I interact with and they interact with me the most and then other blogs. Keeping organized is important and I can benefit from doing plenty on your list. Thank for all the reminders
Happy Organizing mate..
Canadianbudgetbinder recently posted..Financial Advisors: 101~Get The Inside Scoop!
Thanks Mr CBB, I need a beer!
I need to back-up my computer… For a software developer, I am incredibly apathetic towards hardware – I don’t like dealing with it at all! But I would hate to lose my photos or my music. Thanks for the reminder!
CF recently posted..Using a windfall to pay off debt
go ahead and do it now! you never know when it is going to crash… I suck at regular backups too but try to do one every time I add lots of pics or important documents
It’s amazing the amount of clutter you can accumlate on your computer. My laptop has gotten to the point where I can’t even fit anything on the desktop. The same goes with my email. I tend to neglect it for a while until I notice I have a 1000 opened emails in there that I never deleted. Anyways good luck Pauline.
Chris @ Stumble Forward recently posted..10 Credit Card Secrets They Don’t Want You to Know
thanks Chris, looks like you could use a bit of e-dusting as well!
Digital decluttering often gets ignored, but anyone who has felt the satisfaction of a zero inbox can appreciate that it’s as amazing as having a well-cleaned house.
Alex recently posted..Happy Thoughts List: Battling a Funk
it is! and so much time saved. but harder to notice than real clutter so easier to leave there while it accumulates endlessly
Thank you so much for this post Pauline. I’m very organised with my inbox/email accounts but my blogs? That’s a different matter. I pretty much regret starting two and now feel unable to let either go! Getting organised with them would be a great help.
have a look at the WP editorial calendar plugin and that blog organizer I mention, they help save a lot of time. One blog is enough for me, I don’t know how people do it with two or more!
I really need to sort my email inbox out! There’s always one hidden in the masses that you really need to keep so I know I’ll be sat there for hours deleting single emails.
Money Bulldog recently posted..Single or Joint Life Insurance Policy?
you can start by archiving the important ones, like “archive all from mum” then the list usually remains with just the crap and you can select all, but a few, and mass delete. even 5 minutes a day do a great deal
Oh my gosh I need to do this. Unfortunately February is extremely busy for me, otherwise I would! I’m going to save this post for later and do it maybe in March. Good luck!
Jordann @ My Alternate Life recently posted..A Very Expensive Valentine’s Day
Good luck with the inbox! It seems my inbox is like trying to dig a hole at the beach. For every shovelful that goes out, two or three more fall back in
Jose recently posted..Do You Have An Asset Protection Strategy In Place?
I know, it is crazy, but worth the effort. With those programs to get rid of subscriptions and a few other trick it is not so bad after a while.
My digital life is loads better than my physical life. We went paperless a couple of yrs ago (except for immigration documents), so we have most of the stuff online in Amazon cloud and a local back up hard drive. Blog wise, I created my own organizer that is sort of helping me, but I still suck with emailing. So it flows over to the blog category too (I know I have to follow up with advertisers after they disappear, but I never do that). And Zero inbox is a dream
After I took a break for 1 yr last year, I started 2013 with 10000+ emails. Somehow I am getting a lot of junk and the real emails get buried. I am going through all of them and unsubscribing as I go through but I still get at least 75 spam (not real spam, but spam like PR, random companies asking to interview their CEOs…). Someday, hopefully early this year I can get back my inbox.
Suba recently posted..Luck and logic : How to make your own luck?
wow 75 daily spams, that’s crazy. and 10K emails I can’t imagine! I search for all emails from X and then click delete all, it trims quite a bit for now, then I should be left with the one off that will take much more time to go through.