8 ways to get your digital life together
The new year is a perfect
time to clean-up and reorganise your digital clutter
Over time, we all have a
tendency to accumulate a lot of dig ital clutter -all those docu ments, photos
and programs -on phones and PCs. While excess clutter can slow both you and
your devices down, the new year is a great time to take stock and clean-up the
mess for a fresh start. To begin the digital clean-up process, start with the
following:
Set up a backup service
Having a backup service is
like having insurance for your digital data. Find a reliable backup service
that will work well for your situation. While setting it up, take the time to
customise all the settings and options to your needs. let it run. Your first backup may take a few
hours. When it's finished, don't forget to test it.
Run a tune-up utility
If it's been a while since
you last gave your computer a tune-up (or if you've never done one), start your
new year with it. Take a few minutes to read through the instructions, or watch
a video tutorial so that you understand exactly what will be cleaned up and
tuned up before you run the tool. Then execute the tune-up.
Clean up your passwords
Get a password manager.
It's even more important than backing up your files. A password manager is your
key to greater online safety and security. There are half a dozen excellent
password managers and a few of them have a free level of service, so you can
try out some and decide which one you like best.
Sweep your inbox
Your email inbox is a mess.
You know it. So what are you going to do about it? Here's a simple trick. Sweep
your inbox. Instead of deleting or archiving any of your emails, just sweep it
out of sight. You can tend to the old messages whenever you want, or even pull
a few essential ones when needed. The point is you have created a blank slate
of your inbox and it will make you feel so much better about email.
Get a handle on your finances
Is one of your new year's
resolutions to get on top of your finances? Start by signing up for Mint.
Depending on how many financial accounts you have, getting started could take
half an hour or more, but it's well worth doing. The beauty of Mint is that it
also looks at the history of how you've spent your money and what income you've
earned.
Clean up your phone
Cleaning up your phone doesn't take that long to do. Start by changing your
password, passphrase or secret draw ing. Also, add an emergency contact to your
lock screen. Those two steps are the most important ones. Next, of fload photos
and videos. Move them to a cloud or backup drive. Finally, dump your mobile
browser's cache and delete old text messages. Update your LinkedIn account and
resume
At least once a year, every
career-minded person should update his or her resume and LinkedIn profile. On
LinkedIn, update your profile picture with an image of yourself that's
appropriate for your industry, bearing in mind that some sectors appreciate
seeing personality, style and charisma, and others really do not. Add
achievements, skills you've learned and new bullet points that illustrate
successes and new responsibilities you've earned in the past 12 months.
Renew your playlists
No matter what music
service or podcast catching app you use, a fresh way to start the year is by
taking stock of what you have and rearrange it how you want. You might decide
to clean up iTunes, tidy up your playlists or unsubscribe from some
infotainment channels. Usually, this chore might seem like a poor use of your
time, but it can actually give you a great head start for the year ahead.
|
in.pcmag.com
|
ETP4jan16
No comments:
Post a Comment