Just like a regular, paper-based office, a digital workspace can become cluttered over time. Active maintenance and having the right workflows in place will both contribute to better order and accurate indexing.
If you haven’t engaged in digital workspace decluttering before, the following guide will teach you the essentials.
Make Use of Modern Technologies
According to a Deloitte report, the digital workplace is evolving all the time.
There’s a simple reason why change is inevitable and good – technologies in this realm are improving rapidly. These changes make the digital workspace easier to adopt and easier to personalize. In addition, they contribute to more cost-efficient solutions that even small businesses can afford.
Cloud-based, online document storage and the selection of the right, scalable document management system are two essentials to consider if you have not introduced them already.
The right technologies make it much easier to maintain a digital workspace in a pristine condition.
Duplicate files are removed, indexing is simplified and you can also come up with a document retention schedule that will allow for automatic, periodic archive cleanups.
So, before doing anything else, you have to make sure that you’ve embraced the right kind of digital technology. If you’re reliant on outdated or too simplistic solutions, chances are that digital clutter will become inevitable in the near future.
Practice Digital Workspace Hygiene
A successful digital workspace is a lot more than just having access to the right technology.
Even if you possess the most innovative solutions, the absence of effective policies will keep you from making the most of those.
Most document management systems can be customized. You’re free to create your own workflows and little automation. These will allow for better workspace hygiene by doing a simple cleanup on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, or as often as you need).
Some of the essentials for ensuring good digital workplace hygiene include:
• Preventing your desktop from getting cluttered
• Sorting through your emails and applying the right kinds of filters to those
• Unsubscribing from lists and services you no longer use
• Handling push notifications occasionally to make sure you’re getting only the ones that truly matter
• Having a unified policy for indexing and adding tags to the document in your document management system
• Setting up regular backups (most systems do that automatically but you can change the frequency or the types of items being added to a backup)
Obviously, these are just a few examples of regular practices that will allow you to maintain optimal digital workspace hygiene. Depending on your line of occupation and the specific aspects of your business, you can come up with additional policies and procedures.
Practice Minimalism When It Comes to Apps and Solutions
Check your computer and the phone you use to do work right now. How many apps and software types do you feature on these devices? How many of those do you actually use?
Decluttering a digital workspace isn’t just about documents and email. You will also have to tackle the apps that are simply standing there and taking up much-needed resources.
Do an inventory of all the apps and software products on your work-related devices. Chances are that you have at least a couple of different apps that do one and the same thing. The time is right to retire the old apps or seek a new solution that gives you the capabilities of several of the old ones.
Such cleanups should be carried out individually but also on an organizational level. If people are using different tools or different versions of the same tool, chances are that you’ll eventually have to deal with compatibility issues and other technical difficulties stemming from the discrepancies.
Centralize in One Cloud-Based Portal
If people have access to everything required to do their job within the same platform, they’ll be less likely to succumb to digital clutter.
Putting together such centralized platforms is not difficult or expensive. You will simply need a good understanding of how people do their job and what kinds of tools they require.
For this purpose, you may want to sit down together as a team and discuss digital procedures/tools. When running a larger company, you’ll probably lack awareness about the needs of individual departments. Getting some input from the people who work with specialized tools and systems will make it much easier to bring all essentials together.
Don’t Go Overboard with Digital Declutter Apps
There are various apps and solutions out there advertised as the perfect tools for carrying out comprehensive decluttering.
It’s very easy to go overboard with such solutions.
Most document management systems have all of the capabilities required to conduct a comprehensive declutter.
If you really want to, do test out such additional tools. Understand the fact, however, that you don’t need a dozen of those in order to maintain documentation and software products in order.
Retire Stuff You No Longer Need to an Archive
There will always be documents and types of information you don’t actively need to do your job. At the same time, these have to be maintained to ensure compliance or for reference purposes.
Come up with a timeframe for retiring older information to a passive digital archive.
Such changes to your document management database should be carried out regularly. You need to have active projects, general references, and archive folders properly labeled and organized.
Depending on the attributes assigned to documents, you can automate some of the processes. Still, the occasional human involvement can lead to better organization. You may even come up with a brand new sorting methodology that makes a lot more sense within your line of work.