0:02 Your computer is a mess. Your downloads
0:06 folder chaos. Your desktop a digital
0:08 landfill. And don't even get me started
0:11 on your email inbox. I've seen this
0:14 happen over and over. Busy professionals
0:16 drowning in digital clutter. Wasting
0:19 hours searching for files, sorting
0:21 emails, and trying to organize notes
0:24 across five different apps. But here's
0:26 the thing. You don't need weeks to fix
0:29 this. I've been helping people clean up
0:31 and streamline their digital lives for
0:33 years, and I've developed a rapid
0:36 decluttering system that can wipe out
0:39 years of mess in just one hour without
0:41 getting stuck overinking it. Before I
0:44 show you the stepbystep system to wipe
0:46 out years of digital clutter, there's
0:49 something you need to hear. This mess is
0:52 costing you more than you think. Every
0:55 time you waste 5, 10, 15 minutes
0:57 searching for a lost file, an old email,
1:00 or a scattered note, you're slowly
1:02 bleeding hours. And the worst part, it
1:05 never stops. The longer you ignore it,
1:08 the more overwhelming it becomes. But
1:10 here's the good news. In just 60
1:13 minutes, you can reset your entire
1:15 digital life, clear out the mess, and
1:17 put an end to this chaos once and for
1:20 all. As you probably know, but maybe
1:22 don't want to admit, right now, your
1:24 digital mess is slowing you down. But
1:27 we're about to wipe it out fast with a
1:29 simple three-step system. And the best
1:32 thing, implementing this and getting you
1:34 back in control will not even take an
1:37 hour. But before we dive in, don't
1:39 forget to subscribe to my newsletter via
1:40 the link in the description below.
1:43 Because if your digital life is chaos,
1:45 so your inbox, notes, and task
1:48 management might be as well. But you're
1:50 not alone, and my newsletter is here to
1:52 help. Every week, I share quick,
1:55 practical productivity and Microsoft 365
1:58 tips to cut the busy work and help you
2:01 take back control of your day. So, sign
2:03 up now via the link below. So, before we
2:05 try to organize anything, we need to
2:08 clear the mess first. Trying to sort
2:10 things while they are still in front of
2:13 you is slow and overwhelming. Instead,
2:16 the fastest way to get through it is to
2:18 move everything out of sight first. This
2:20 forces speed and stops you from
2:23 overthinking every file, email, or note.
2:25 Start with your files. Create a folder
2:28 called clean slate or whatever, and move
2:30 everything from your desktop, downloads,
2:32 and cluttered documents into this
2:35 folder. Don't waste time deciding where
2:38 each file belongs right now. Just get
2:41 them off your screen so you have a clean
2:44 workspace. Next, tackle your inbox.
2:46 Select everything other than six months
2:49 and move it to an archive folder. If
2:51 your inbox is a complete mess, you can
2:54 go even further. Archive everything that
2:56 isn't urgent or part of your current
2:59 to-dos or projects. You can always
3:01 search for what you need later. For
3:04 notes, create a sort later section in
3:07 one node or loop and move every
3:10 scattered uncatategorized note into it.
3:12 This immediately cleans up your
3:15 workspace so only active relevant notes
3:17 remain visible. If you have older notes
3:20 that might be useful later but aren't
3:22 relevant now, keep them in this
3:23 temporary section until you're ready to
3:26 sort them properly in one of the next
3:30 steps. And now tackle your tasks. Move
3:33 all lingering to-dos into a review later
3:36 list in Microsoft To-Do. For planner
3:39 users, archive completed projects and
3:41 remove yourself from any shared plans
3:43 that are no longer relevant. The goal
3:45 here isn't to organize, just to get
3:48 outdated tasks out of your way so you
3:51 can focus on what actually matters. So,
3:53 in just a few minutes, you've wiped out
3:55 the clutter and given yourself a clean
3:58 slate to work from. Now, let's get rid
4:00 of the chunk. Once everything is out of
4:03 your sight, it's time to be ruthless.
4:06 The goal here in step two isn't to
4:08 organize yet. It's to eliminate anything
4:11 you don't need so you don't waste time
4:14 sorting chunk. Think of this as cutting
4:16 dead weights so you're only left with
4:19 what's actually useful. Open your clean
4:22 slate folder and sort everything by file
4:24 size first. Start with the biggest files
4:27 like old videos, large PDFs, outdated
4:30 project documentation. These take up the
4:32 most space and are usually the biggest
4:35 offenders. Delete anything you haven't
4:36 used in over a year unless it's
4:39 absolutely necessary for reference. Then
4:42 sort by last modified date and do a
4:44 second round of cuts. If you don't
4:46 recognize the file and haven't touched
4:48 it in a weeks or months, you don't need
4:50 it. For duplicate files, use a third
4:53 party tool or Windows Storage Sense,
4:55 which automatically detects and removes
4:58 redundant files to free up space. Just
5:01 open storage sense in Windows settings,
5:03 enable automatic cleanup, and let it
5:05 scan for duplicate or unnecessary
5:08 temporary files. If you've saved the
5:11 same file in multiple spaces, keep the
5:14 most recent version and delete the rest.
5:16 If you systematically sort your dumped
5:18 documents by different criteria like
5:21 file size, last modified date or type
5:24 and clear out unnecessary files, you'll
5:26 quickly see their number in your clean
5:29 slate folder shrink, making the progress
5:31 far more efficient. Now, let's tackle
5:34 your Outlook inbox. If you followed step
5:36 one and moved older emails into an
5:38 archive folder, you can leave them as
5:41 they are. The focus now is on keeping
5:43 your inbox organized moving forward. The
5:46 next step will help with structuring in
5:48 just a bit, but in the meantime, you can
5:50 do the following. Reduce future clutter
5:53 by unsubscribing from emails you don't
5:55 need, and setting up rules to filter
5:58 emails into designated folders. In
6:00 Outlook, you can do this by selecting an
6:03 email, right clicking on rules, and
6:06 choosing always move from this sender to
6:09 a specific folder. for example. This
6:12 helps prevent distractions and keep only
6:15 essential emails in view. Reduce future
6:18 clutter by unsubscribing from emails you
6:20 don't need. To do so, you can use
6:23 Outlook's manage subscription function
6:25 in the new Outlook version. If you're
6:27 still using Outlook Classic, you will
6:29 need to manually unsubscribe from all
6:31 those newsletters. And finally, make
6:33 sure your inbox stays manageable by
6:35 thinking about creating specific
6:38 categories for you to manage your
6:40 incoming messages. Think about creating
6:43 just a few simple categories such as red
6:45 for external clients or meetings, blue
6:47 for internal ones, green for learning
6:49 and development, and yellow for personal
6:53 topics. By using such categories going
6:56 forward, your calendar and inbox will
6:58 make important emails or meeting stand
7:00 out from others. Now, when it comes to
7:02 purging your notes, first go back to
7:05 your sort later section in one node or
7:08 loop. Open each note and ask yourself if
7:11 it's outdated or irrelevant, delete it.
7:13 If it's important, move it to the
7:15 correct section. And if you're not sure
7:18 what the correct section is or where to
7:20 move a file, wait until we've covered
7:22 step three of the process in just a bit.
7:25 Finally, open Microsoft To-Do or Planner
7:27 and scroll through your tasks. Delete
7:29 anything that's been sitting unfinished
7:32 for a month. If it was important, you
7:35 would have done it by now. If a to-do
7:37 was just there as a reminder, reschedule
7:39 it or make it clear it's not an actual
7:42 to-do. For example, by using a specific
7:45 hashtag or moving it into a dedicated
7:48 folder. For tasks you still need but
7:50 don't need to see every day, snooze them
7:53 or move them to a backlog list so they
7:56 stop cluttering your priorities. In
7:59 addition, in planner, archive completed
8:02 projects and remove any old tasks that
8:04 no longer need action. Now that you've
8:06 cleared the clutter and removed
8:09 everything unnecessary, it's time to set
8:11 up a structure that keeps your files,
8:14 emails, notes, and tasks organized
8:17 moving forward. The goal is simple.
8:19 Create a system that's easy to maintain
8:22 so you never have to deal with digital
8:25 chaos again. Now go back to your clean
8:27 slate folder. After having deleted all
8:30 the clutter and redundant files, start
8:32 moving the remaining relevant ones into
8:35 a simple, intuitive folder structure.
8:38 The key is to keep it straightforward.
8:40 Three to five main folders should be
8:42 enough. A solid starting point to
8:44 organize your files and folders at work
8:46 could be main folders for projects for
8:49 active assignments, clients for client
8:51 specific information or reports,
8:53 resources for reference material and
8:55 admin which includes subfolders for
8:57 internal documents, policies and
9:00 procedures or financials. Keeping this
9:03 structure simple ensures you can quickly
9:06 access what you need without excessive
9:08 sorting. Within each main folder or
9:10 subfolder, create additional folders
9:13 only if necessary. The key is to keep it
9:15 simple so you can always find what you
9:18 need in seconds without overorganizing.
9:21 And just as your folders, your inbox
9:23 also should no longer be a dumping
9:25 ground for everything. To prevent emails
9:28 from piling up again, create three core
9:30 folders. Action needed, which includes
9:32 emails requiring a response or
9:34 follow-up. The second folder is waiting
9:37 on which includes emails where you're
9:39 waiting for someone else's reply or
9:41 other information you need to answer the
9:44 email. And the third folder is for
9:46 reference including emails you may need
9:50 later but don't require action now. You
9:52 might also choose to add a fourth folder
9:55 such as one for completed tasks or
9:57 tailor the folder setup to better suit
10:00 your workflow. Another approach I often
10:02 recommend is aligning your email folder
10:04 structure with your overall folder and
10:06 notes folder structure. So by mirroring
10:09 your main folders for projects, clients,
10:12 resources, and admin in your inbox, you
10:14 create a seamless organization system
10:16 where emails are sorted just like your
10:19 documents, making retrieval easier and
10:21 reducing decision fatigue. Whatever
10:24 method you are choosing, moving forward,
10:26 commit to processing your inbox
10:28 regularly. Each time you check emails,
10:31 decide whether to reply, archive, or
10:32 move messages into one of these three
10:34 folders. If something takes less than
10:37 two minutes, respond immediately. Now,
10:40 let's get your notes fully organized.
10:42 Taking everything from your sort later
10:44 section in one note or loop and move it
10:46 into a structured notebook system. A
10:48 practical approach is to align your
10:50 notes with the structure you already use
10:53 for files and emails. Create notebooks
10:55 for projects, clients, resources, and
10:58 admin with a neat project notebook. For
11:00 example, set up subfolders for each
11:02 active project to keep relevant
11:04 information in one place. This way, you
11:07 can quickly find what you need and avoid
11:09 digging through scattered notes. When
11:12 your inbox and notes follow the same
11:14 structure as your files, everything
11:16 connects naturally. You'll spend less
11:18 time searching for documents. linking
11:21 related content becomes second nature
11:23 and maintaining organization feels
11:25 effortless instead of a constant battle.
11:28 Now let's refine your task management.
11:30 There are endless approaches to managing
11:33 tasks. But if you want something simple
11:35 and effective, here's what to do. Open
11:37 your task management tool like Microsoft
11:40 To-Do or Planner and create three core
11:43 categories. The first is today where you
11:45 list your top priorities that you must
11:48 get done. The second is this week, which
11:51 includes tasks that need attention soon,
11:54 but aren't immediate. The third is a
11:56 backlog, where you place tasks that
11:58 don't need your focus yet, but shouldn't
12:00 be forgotten. This setup keeps your
12:03 to-do list from getting overwhelming and
12:04 ensures you stay focused on what
12:07 actually matters without getting bogged
12:10 down by a lower priority tasks. Now that
12:12 you've got a solid structure in place,
12:14 the next step is making sure it stays
12:17 that way without extra effort. Let's be
12:19 honest, email is probably one of the
12:21 biggest time drains. If your inbox still
12:24 feels like a constant battle, you're
12:26 probably spending way too much time
12:28 sorting, replying, and searching for
12:30 messages. The good news, you don't have
12:33 to. There are simple automations that
12:36 can handle a lot of the work for you.
12:38 So, watch this video next and I'll show
12:41 you exactly what to automate so your
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