Sometimes, you just have to DELETE a lot of stuff.
The weight lifted off your shoulders feels inexplicably amazing, and I swear, makes me more nimble. This weekend:
1. I removed about 200 “friends” from Facebook. I realized I actually didn’t know these people.
2. I deleted about 33% of the leads in my CRM. They were useless. I can navigate around my real prospects so much easier now.
3. Although I maintain INBOX ZERO, I also deleted about 2,000 archived emails.
4. I removed 50% of the blogs I was following from my RSS reader. I found myself not reading them. This was a big step for me. I am slowly moving away from my reader, sending more stuff to my inbox, plus wanting to really focus on the content that moves and incites me. The stuff in my RSS reader now is the kind of stuff that I stop everything to read when it comes in.
5. I deleted a handful of things I “liked” on Facebook. They were things I scrolled through to get to the stuff I actually wanted to see. No offense to anyone, I just have limited time in my day.
6. Using gmail as I do, I am a big user of the “labels” they offer. But this weekend I deleted about 20% of them, and consolidated where it made sense. My INBOX is even more impactful for me now.
7. I deleted a ton of files in my Dropbox. I wasn’t going to need them anyway.
8. I deleted a ton of files from Evernote. I wasn’t going to need them anyway.
9. I removed dozens and dozens of names from my contacts database, people I haven’t talked to since I met, and can’t imagine ever needing to talk to them again. If it is meant to be, they’ll come back into my life.
Removing the physical clutter from your life is a key to happiness, in my humble opinion. But don’t EVER forget the digital clutter can stack up and weigh you down too.
As one of my clients is always telling me, to be able to quickly find your data, contacts, and other information enables you to move more quickly, and make faster, more impactful business and life decisions.
Plus, it is so much more fun to utilize your digital properties when they aren’t weighed down with excess.
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Drawing by Hugh.
[my friend sarah evans sent me the above badge...thought i'd share!]
