computer clutter: part 2 of 4

For the next 3 days I want to talk about an area of the office that may just be one of my favorite things to organize - your computer! We don’t have too look at computer clutter like we do physical clutter, so we often don't realize how much it affects us…but it does, believe me!

When you open your Inbox, you feel drained at the sight of all those emails, your computer runs slow because there's so many photos on there and when you enter the “My Documents” section, you can’t BELIEVE how much is there…and don’t know what most of it is!

Sound familiar? Here is the second of the 4 places where you can de-clutter electronically. Check back tomorrow for more!

2. Email:

My clients need help with email more than any other thing in their office (paper's a close second.) That's because email is so fast and we don't use it correctly.

Did you know that for every email you send out, you get at least two emails back? Get familiar with the delete key (my favorite key on the keyboard) and start deleting. Delete immediately once you've replied to an email and don't file unless you absolutely have to.

Disable all the notifications from social networking sites like Facebook. I only get friend requests, messages and notes on my wall in my inbox. The rest I'll see when I log on. Here again, decide on your comfort level for emails and make sure you process until you can breathe again.

I set a daily goal of keep my inbox to less than 10 e-mails…usually I keep it to less than 5! And believe me, I get a TON of e-mails so I can do it…so can you! Once I'm done with my inbox, I go through my Sent Items and Deleted Items and delete those too.

Did you know that 90% of people waste an extra hour a day on email that they don't have to? That hour translates to SIX WEEKS a year. You read that right - six weeks! So, start getting your inbox organized!

Just think of how much time you could save if you got your e-mail under control! Start today and make a goal to delete 50 e-mails from your inbox!

Also, check back tomorrow for the 3rd tip to de-clutter your inbox!