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Organise Your Tech
How to boost productivity and get more done
In this article, we’ll discover new ways to organise your devices, you'll find new ways to increase your productivity and achieve more.
Why is device organisation important to me?
Disorganised and messy devices slow us down and make it difficult to find what we need when we need it. An organised device makes for a quicker, much more productive and less frustrating experience. It also reduces stress and saves you time.
How does clutter affect my working output?
Clutter on devices negatively influences your productivity. It forces you to waste precious time looking for and searching through files. It can make your devices run slower, too, increasing frustration and reducing the amount of work you complete each day.
How will I benefit from a better organised device?
There are plenty of benefits to using organised devices, which makes the time you put into organising them worthwhile. They help us find things faster, work efficiently, feel much less stressed, and have more free time as a result.
1 - How to de-clutter your home screen?
Remove the apps not needed
Have a look at your home screen. Delete the applications you never use. This makes it easier to find the ones you need.
Group similar apps
Organise similar apps into folders with each other. This keeps your home screen neat and tidy. Applications are easier to find this way.
Use a minimalist wallpaper
Use a plain wallpaper. This helps you focus on the tasks in hand, rather than the background. Otherwise, you’re just digitally staring out the window.
Use shortcuts
Don't store the actual files and folders on the desktop, this slows the system down when it loads your user profile each day. Store your data in your OneDrive or SharePoint storage and create shortcuts to this on your desktop.
2 - What about my files and folders?
Be more logical when you setup your folder structure
For example, you could set up folders for different customers, suppliers or projects. Label them appropriately and descriptively. This makes access far swifter.
Name your files descriptively
Make sure to clearly label the name of the file. Attach dates and or names of projects to make finding them easier at a later stage.
Make sporadic tidying up a frequent event
Remove the old and irrelevant files you don’t need. Free up some space to reduce clutter.
3 - How can you organise email?
Create a folder structure
Group your emails into folders for different kinds. Label them and categorise them accordingly. This helps to keep your inbox more manageable.
Unsubscribe from mailing lists you don’t need to be on
Remember to unsubscribe from bulk emails you don’t need to read. This goes some way to clean up your inbox by reducing the amount in it in the first place!
Use the Two-Minute Rule
If an email can be dealt with in two minutes, then deal with it straight away. This helps you to get things done and not let small tasks stack up.
4 - How to make your browser better and work for you?
Organise your bookmarks
Sort your bookmarks into folders. Delete ones you don't use. This makes finding websites easier, before you know it, you can have a very long list of bookmarks defeating the object of creating them in the first place.
Use browser extensions sparingly
Only use and enable the ones you really need. Too many can cripple your browser and degrade performance
Clear your cache regularly
Flushing this helps things to run smoothly. It also releases some free space on your machine.
5 - How can I manage my passwords?
Always use a password manager with a strong master password and MFA enabled
This tool securely stores and inserts all your passwords into web pages. You only need to retain one master password.
Always create strong, unique passwords
You should always use a different password for every account. Make them lengthy and complex. This will help to keep your accounts more secure.
Deploy two-factor authentication (MFA)
This provides an additional layer of protection to your accounts and consequently makes them more difficult to compromise.
6 - What about notifications?
If you don’t need to see them, turn them off
Only keep notifications from the most critical of your apps. This reduces distractions and lowers the demand on system resources.
Set specific times to check notifications
Don't view notifications instantly throughout the day. It’s not a game. Decide when to investigate notifications to allow you to focus on your work the rest of the time.
Use 'Do Not Disturb' mode
Use this for when you really need to focus on the tasks at hand. This blocks all your notifications for the duration that it is set.
7 - What’s the best way to back things up?
Use cloud storage
Save and store important files to the cloud. This keeps them in a safe location and makes them easier to access from anywhere.
Configure regular automatic backups
Your device should be configured to back up files on a regular basis. This helps to ensure you don't lose valuable data.
Configure cloud to cloud backup
If you store your data with a cloud provider, investigate services to back this data up to another cloud location for better redundancy.
8 - How to keep your device healthy?
Update software regularly
Keep your applications and operating system updated. This is critical to keep your system performing well whilst keeping your device secure.
Run virus scans regularly
Set your Anti-Virus software to run a regular full scan. This will reduce the level of threat to your device.
Clean your device physically
Your machine can ingest dust and dirt which will slow it down and cause it to behave erratically. Cleaning it regularly will help it last longer and perform better.
Final thoughts...
It takes time and energy to organise your devices
However, it's really worth the investment and the time you put into it will be rewarded. You'll be more productive and less stressed. Try at least one thing from this article and then, once you get to grips with that, give something else a try. We all have different requirements, so do what works for you. If you need help organising your devices, feel free to get in touch.
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networks@soundnetworks.net08:30 AM - 17:00 PM
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