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Clear your Harddrive - Clear your mind!

by TravellingMissie
12 replies
I had come to a wall and although I had so much work to do, for myself and for clients I just couldn't get myself organised. I'm a to-do list person but even these weren't helping me!

So today I spent the whole afternoon sorting out my harddrive. I've only had my netbook since March but already it resembled something much older. So many folders, PDF's, plans and even my trusty to-do lists were mixed together. Don't even get me started on how bad my download folder looked.

So I decided to go through everything and categorise it. It took me some time but I now have a documents section that is clear and easy to navigate. I got rid of a lot of things that I really didn't need.

I now have a 'personal projects' folder which is split into 3 parts 'Working on NOW', 'worked on' and 'new ideas' - this has made it clearer to me what needs to be done and has put my mind at ease. I also have a products/reports folder with things I have bought and got free, these are now split into sections, such as 'list building', 'quick money', 'SEO' etc. So now when I need to reference a report I can find it easier and save me time and much cursing!

Above all my mind feels clearer and more at ease and I feel that I can now move forward again.

Just wanted to share this with you and tell you to sort it out, if you haven't already
#clear #harddrive #mind
  • Profile picture of the author WizIMS
    I totally agree with you mate..

    You should have all your "Upcoming ideas", "Now ideas" written down on papers and in front of your eyes & just make sure you don't "jump to future ideas" when you are still on the "now" ones!
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  • Profile picture of the author tk226
    It's really good. Organizing like planning should be a closely guided activity. In an organized state efficiency shines as mind is clear by the way you work. But, I think it's never ending process and you should continue to alter/change the way you organize as your work grows.
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  • Profile picture of the author Takuan
    I clean out my hard drive from time to time as well. As you said, it's great for clearing ones mind. Personally, I get the same effect from cleaning my house. It just feels good to know where everything is.
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    • Profile picture of the author IMHopeful
      I go a step further and reformat once, or twice a year. It doesn't take long for things to get cluttered -- you have to have a good way of backing up tons of data though.
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      • Profile picture of the author nickhumph
        I actually suffer from Information Overload and Multi-tasking so many things everyday, it's really really negative to my productivity. Checking Facebook every 30 minutes and my email every 5 doesn't help either. 3 steps I did to double my productivity for Internet Marketers.
        1. Check email 3 times a day. Once in the morning. Once in the afternoon. Once in the evening.
        2. Set 3 priority Tasks you need to get done for the day. That could be finishing up an article, getting a new ad campaign started, etc. Stick to those three tasks and forget doing anything else.
        3. Go on Facebook, News sites, etc just once a day and never while your doing those 3 priority tasks.

        That's all there is to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rukshan
    Yeah. Information overload is the biggest problem with IM. We need to clear both! Thanks for reminding it again
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  • Profile picture of the author Roll Cloud
    I have to agree with you on keeping your hard drive organized. Everyone should be doing that to stay more productive. I find that when my desktop is cluttered with a million different files and folders, I end up getting far less accomplished by the end of the day. It might seem like a minor thing to some people, but keeping your work space clean, which for us Internet Marketing people includes our computer, will make life so much better. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author sprice
    Great job on cleaning out your hard drive. Being organized is essential when working online.
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  • Profile picture of the author AnneE
    Well, I have a laptop that I'm very fond of which is..... gasp 6.5 years old -- used virtually every day of those 6.5 years. In laptop years that makes it about 140 years old, right? I've made due with it's 70GB hard drive despite family members occasionally leaving their clutter on it.

    There have been warning signs that it won't last forever. Long hang times for no reason. One USB drive never works, two others are tempermental and yet.... I waited... to pay off other business investments, etc.

    This morning I got the blue screen of death and while it came back to life, I took the warning and ordered a new laptop -- quite a spiffy model for a mere $650 dollars... and so I'll have a fresh start and an investment in my future. I just hope old Faithful here can keep going till Tuesday.
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    • Profile picture of the author AngieDixonLR
      Thanks for this reminder. I keep my hard drive pretty organized but I love your working files. How often do you revisit that and recategorize projects?
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  • Profile picture of the author rogerswendy
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    • Profile picture of the author Serge11
      I try to keep my stuff categorized in folders and sub folders. Folders I use frequently I keep them organized on my desktop. Have to keep my desktop cleaned it drive me insane to have all that clutter up.
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  • Profile picture of the author robin lee
    Good advice! Iʻve been tackling it a little bit at a time and itʻs not working because the clutter keeps piling up. So, probably the best solution is to bite the bullet and spend a few hours organizing and eliminating the stuff I donʻt use but keep thinking I will someday. Maybe keep it on external storage and schedule dumping what is never used.

    Itʻs just as important to keep the office and desk uncluttered and organized.
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