It’s the second part of our January Reset … time we have set aside to clear out some of our ministry and business clutter and make way for the amazing opportunities God has in store for us this year. In Episode 94 of Just One Simple Thing, let’s talk about some simple principles for organizing digital files.
In Episode 93, we started our January Reset with our email inbox. Did you make any progress?
In this episode, we’ll tackle our digital files.
Keep files that are:
- Related to your purpose, niche or content
- Helpful to your friends
- Useful for your blog or podcast
- Contributing to your goals
Delete files that are:
- Outdated
- Available online
- Duplicate
Now that we have some guidelines on what to keep and what to get rid of, here are three things you can do to tame your digital files.
1. Develop an Electronic Storage Plan
Map out a plan of what you will store where. If you are going to store everything in the same place, I recommend that you use some kind of backup system.
Free cloud storage is available on several platforms, but it has limits.
If you are not ready to invest in file storage and want to maximize the use of free space available, save different types of documents in different places. For example, save all your photos to Dropbox, your book manuscript on Google Drive, etc.
2. Clear Out your Downloads folder
Don’t let your Downloads folder become like the pile of miscellaneous papers on the corner of your desk. Now that you have an intentional storage plan, spend some time this week deleting what you don’t need from your Downloads folder and filing the rest.
3. Organize Your Most Unorganized Files
Or the ones that are causing you the most pain when you have to look for something. It’s probably overwhelming to think about going through all of your folders and organizing everything. But organizing the one thing that is causing you the most pain is do-able. Keeping it that way is easier than getting it that way in the first place, and it will motivate you to organize other areas as well.
ACTION STEP
Head over to my free Facebook group Plan & Pray with Do A New Thing and grab your January Reset tracker. You’ll be able to check off the actions you take all month and look back at what a difference it made. Snap a picture and share it on social media so we can celebrate the progress you are making!
I hope you are starting to feel a little bit of relief from all the clutter and seeing a firm foundation for build on this year. If this series is helpful, I’d love for you to leave an honest review on your favorite podcast platform.
RESOURCES
The Mind Your Time Podcast – How to Organize Your Documents
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