1 week Ago
Spring marks the return of longer days, sunnier skies and, of course, spring-cleaning. But while you're scrubbing windows and sorting winter clothes, another, more discreet kind of clutter continues to accumulate almost unnoticed: digital clutter. From overflowing inboxes to unused apps and browser tabs left open.
.. it's time to sort out those smartphones and computers.
Picture the scene. It's Monday morning, you switch on your computer to see 47 notifications pop up, 1,248 unread emails cluttering your inbox, 15 browser tabs still open from the previous week, and your phone is already buzzing with an avalanche of reminders and messages. Nothing alarming, on the surface.
But this incessant flow of information is as much a blight on our day-to-day lives as it is on our devices. Just like a messy desk, a chaotic digital environment is detrimental to concentration and productivity. A survey by All About Cookies reveals that a third of US adults feel less productive because of digital clutter.
Half of them say they are frustrated when they can't find an application or file when they need it. Even more surprisingly, more than half have had to forego an update due to lack of storage, and almost a third have preferred to buy a new device rather than sort through their clutter to free up space. Indeed, this digital clutter is far from innocuous.
This invisible chaos saps our attention. From unread notifications to ignored messages to duplicate photos, all these micro-stimuli constantly engage our brains, to the point of hampering our ability to prioritize. A study by Princeton University, published in 2011 in the Journal of Neuroscience , shows that visual clutter – including digital clutter – causes cognitive overload and reduces our ability to concentrate.
This digital background noise adds to our mental load, generates stress, and impairs the quality of our decisions. According to the same All About Cookies survey, 77% of those polled consider that this digital clutter negatively affects their lives. This perception is supported by a study conducted in 2008 by the University of California, Irvine, which shows that frequent interruptions due to notifications undermine our concentration and increase stress.
So how do you get back on track? Like a good spring-clean, it's best to take things one step at a time. Delete useless applications, sort your photos, close forgotten tabs, unsubscribe from those endless newsletters. And why not make a weekly plan to spend 30 minutes decluttering your cloud and lightening your mental load.
After all, our digital space is often a reflection of our mental space. And as the Scottish writer Samuel Smiles once said: "A place for everything and everything in its place.” Even on our devices.
– AFP Relaxnews.
