This week’s post brings together:

• • the subject of a recent Professional Organizers Blog Carnival: Marie Kondo
  • a frequent guest blogger here on Your Organizing Business: Lisa Michaels
  • one of my favorite topics – technology

There are lots of great tips here, and I hope you’ll find them useful!

A cultural phenomenon, Marie Kondo, has taken America by storm, with her philosophy having deep roots and experience in Japan.

A recent Netflix series featuring the professional organizer and writer of The Life-Changing Art of Tidying Up inspired people to reconsider the clutter in their lives both physically and digitally with the founder’s philosophy called KonMari.

How to Use KonMari for Your Digital Life

Have you ever been away for the day and come back to find tons of emails in your inbox and notifications on your social media accounts? If you have, you know just how daunting it can be to go through them all.

How else are you going to know what happened in your absence without reading each subject line or discovered who gave you a like or commented on a picture or post?

Remember the ten thousand vacation photos that didn’t find their way to Instagram?

Time to choose the ‘joyful’ ones and delete the rest. It’s not just about all the pictures on your computer – it’s about all the data that you receive on a daily basis too!

Choose how you receive data and you will be able to cut down on unnecessary digital clutter and free up your schedule for focused activities of your choice.

You’ll be more focused and do more in less time without notifications taking away your attention from your tasks.

KonMari Works Surprisingly Well on Digital

Marie Kondo states that success is “99% mindset”. A successful career rests on good organization skills and preparation.

If you can’t find your path and feel stuck at work because there are too many things weighing you down, it’s time to clean up.

An efficient digital life starts with you being diligent about keeping your computer healthy. It’s the foundation for your online presence.

Without efficiency, you will be dragged down by delays that will impede your personal and professional development. An efficient workstation is where you should start.

How is your computer behaving lately?

Is starting up your workstation an ordeal that takes five minutes or even more? Opening up a browser or website is painstakingly difficult because it takes forever? Then it’s definitely time to get to the root of the problem and solve them one by one.

Start with learning about the importance of computer updates and regular (deep) scans. Being neglectful of these things can cause the system to become overloaded with unnecessary programs and malware.

An infected computer is a liability, and you don’t want to be the reason behind a data breach that happened on your business site, do you?

Once your computer is up to date and you have removed all the unnecessary programs, you will realize how much better and faster you’re working, and how much joy that brings.

There’s no better feeling than being efficient with your tasks and becoming a true virtuoso at what you do.

What Digital Aspect of my Life Needs the KonMari Method First?

Applying Marie Kondo’s KonMari philosophy to the electronic devices, software, and digital platforms that you use helps you cull down on all the distractions you are dealing with.

As Jenny Ning, Marie Kondo’s first employee has said: “In terms of the actual job, the KonMari Method can help with productivity. It encourages you to identify what’s essential and to take action to create an environment that supports your goals.”

The KonMari method gives you control over your digital devices, social media accounts and software you use at work. To get to that level of efficiency that sparks joy, here’s what you should do first:

1. Start with Your Computer Files

You have already taken care of all the updates and scans, but if your files are disorganized, you will be too.

There is a reason why file folders exist and cloud storage solutions are part of the operating system now.

They are useful, they keep your files safely stored in the cloud and you can access them from anywhere. This doesn’t mean that all your files belong there, just the essential ones.

First, lay out a good folder structure for your cloud storage – for example, start with personal and business folders, and then add subfolders to each.

Give a meaningful name and keep documents and photographs organized.

2. Your Browser is Next

KonMari your browser by removing all the junk that interrupts the flow of your day. One surefire way to jam things up online is to never clear your browser history of random searches you might have made.

You don’t have to clear all, as it helps to have it when you search for some items again, but make it a point to review your browsing sessions every few days and remove those parts you are sure you won’t need.

Now take a hard look at your bookmarks tab:

• Is it organized?
• How old are some of these bookmarks?
• Did you ever use them?
• Do they spark joy?

Take a day and clean and organize your bookmarks in one swoop.

3. Take Control of Your Social Media Accounts

You don’t need to receive a push notification every single time someone you know has a new post or picture.

Mute social media notifications to have peace of mind and eliminate one of the biggest distractions people are dealing with today.

Make it a point to focus on the task at hand and devote a pre-determined amount of time updating and reviewing social media.

Unless you’re involved with a workplace account, it shouldn’t be something that interests you at work, anyway.

Staying One Step Ahead of Your Digital Life with KonMari

Don’t let your digital life take a life of its own. It’s yours and you have to own it.

KonMari helps you organize not just your home, but your files, photos, social media and your workstation too.

Once you clear out all the clutter, you’ll feel at ease and realize just how much all of it was weighing on you.

Images by Sara Torda and panca okta from Pixabay