Greetings, all!
It's been a while since we looked at some of the core principles of data organization at a high level. At least, it feels like that to me. The ideas come to the surface every now and then in the midst of other discussions, but they're not always obvious. Before we review the these, here's my latest 2025 Consistency Challenge progress report:
- I deleted 598,311 files comprising ~266 GB
- I sorted 191,558 files comprising ~11 GB
- Overall progress: 43% (from 30% last week)
Not too shabby! I went on a deleting spree, focusing on operating system and program files that I knew to be irrelevant. This is my biggest single-week percentage increase yet. Making it to 100% by the end of June (Q2 2025) isn't looking all that realistic, but I'm not ruling it out yet. One completely open responsibility-free Saturday might do the trick. (But the odds of that are basically zero, so...)
Data Organization Fundamentals
I hear from a lot of people who encounter the same kinds of challenges with digital mess. Sometimes the same problems keep resurfacing for the same people. As demoralizing as this can be, it's a natural consequence of a continual effort to balance our often too-optimistic information intake with the time, interest, and skills we actually have to deal with that information.
Today, I want to review seven easy-to-digest concepts you can draw on to help nudge you in a positive direction. Some of you might feel you already mastered some of these, or at least that you think about them regularly already; if so, well done! For the rest of us, a reminder never hurts.
- The easiest data to organize is the data you don't have.
If you keep it, you have to do something with it. If you don't, the problem disappears immediately. Practice setting a high bar before you save, download, or bookmark something.
- Decide in advance when you'll let go of "someday" data.
We all keep more than we should sometimes. It happens. The key is to have a "release valve" in your system, so when you don't get to some things in a reasonable time frame, it doesn't stick around forever. Your limit can be arbitrary, but make it specific.
- The unsubscribe button is your best friend.
A corollary to point 1 above, unsubscribing is turning off the firehose of incoming data. Whether this means eliminating email newsletters or something like choosing not to take so many photos, this is the best first step to reclaiming control over your digital footprint.
- The delete button is your second-best friend.
If the unsubscribe button turns off the firehose, the delete button is your towel to clean up the aftermath. Practice getting comfortable with letting go of what you don't need, even (and especially!) if you felt attached to it before. The longer any bit of data is unused, the less likely you need to keep it.
- Everything you keep should have a purpose.
Anything you hold onto without knowing why means you're most likely wasting time and effort. You don't need a particularly noble reason--"it's really funny" is perfectly fine. But try to answer the question "What am I going to do with this?" before you click the save button. If you can't articulate it well, reconsider your plans.
- Little wins are still wins.
It takes a long time to build up a huge digital mess. Unless you're prepared to use the nuclear option and indiscriminately delete everything (sometimes tempting!), getting out of that mess will also take time. You can't do it all at once. Instead, practice small actions that still take you in the right direction. Five minutes is, mathematically speaking, infinitely better than doing nothing.
- Consistency is the best strategy.
No matter what you want to accomplish, the most promising approach is to define your goal and then work towards it regularly, even if that means just a few minutes per day, or per week! Consistency builds momentum. It gives you a framework to do more with only a little extra effort. Consistency over time yields amazing results.
Do you have any of your own "key concepts" or mantras that keep you moving in the right direction? Or, would you like me to elaborate on any of the above points, or discuss something more specific that applies to a different situation? I'm always happy to have conversations relevant to digital cleanup and personal data organization, and I'd love to hear from you.
Until next week, happy data-taming!