Clutter Is Cowardice
I used to and still have hundreds (not actually) of tabs open, old notes marked, YouTube videos in watch later, and to-do lists that I never caught up with. It felt good collecting those things where in the moment I thought to myself “Wow this is interesting, I’ll check that out later.”
But later never came, because the longer the list got, the more impossible it felt to catch up. Digital and physical clutter drags you down quietly. In the process of clearing out my notes, I wanted to share some of my own notes on this topic.
Be honest with yourself
Keep in mind that these questions are not meant to be answered with yes, no or by value judgements. It is mainly about reflecting on your own habits.
”What exactly am I saving?"
"Is this an interest I haven’t explored in a while or ever?"
"Why am I not exploring or doing this right now?"
"If I decide to revisit this, what value will I get out of it?"
"Is there a good chance the algorithm will show this to me again?"
"Am I keeping this out of habit?”
The obvious solution to digital clutter is to delete whatever you deem unnecessary after answering those questions. The hard part is to actually do it.
Don’t see it as lost potential or missed opportunities
The freedom that comes with clearing out all of this stuff has actual worth.
Now when it comes to platforms like YouTube, Instagram or TikTok (basically any social media platform) it is hard to mass delete bookmarked things. I can recommend using the browser versions of those platforms and installing extensions to make the process easier, but depending on your skill level manual deletion might be the only way to go.
Do not mistake clutter for memory or productivity
Face it and clear it out.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
— Mark Twain