As we head into 2023, best to start with a deep clean of your devices. It will help them run faster and save time when you use them.
While many people use the start of the new year to make goals to lose weight, why not lighten up your digital life too? Take this opportunity to streamline your tech and check off all the digital decluttering you’ve been putting off.
Let’s start with the basic ABCs, but we’ll also throw in a D and an E.
Apps
About one-third of Americans are overwhelmed by the number of apps on their phone, according to a survey by gaming company Solitaire. You likely have many apps on your phone that you haven’t used in ages. Time to delete them. Find out which ones take up the most space on your iPhone by going to Settings>General>iPhone Storage. You’ll see recommendations of how to free up space. Then simply scroll down the apps and delete the ones you don’t really need or use.
For instance, maybe the only time you use ride-sharing apps is on vacation. Delete them for now and download them again when you’re headed out of town. Android reminds you on its support page that if you bought an app and then delete it, you won’t have to pay again when you reinstall it. Open the Google Play Store app and tap Profile icon>Manage apps & devices>Manage to uninstall apps on an Android phone. Both Android and iPhone devices have some preinstalled apps that you are not allowed to delete.
Once you’ve deleted unused apps, organize them on your phone into folders such as games, shopping and social. Simply touch and hold an app to drag it on top of another to make a folder and then name it. No more incessant swiping to find an app.
Backup
So much of the data and content on your devices is priceless. Make sure you’re backing it up to a cloud account so it will always be available in case your device is lost or damaged. On Android devices, automatically backup to your Google Account by going to Settings>Google>Backup>Back up now. That will take care of app data, call history, contacts, settings, messages, pictures and videos.
For iPhone, an iCloud backup also includes almost all data and settings. Go to Settings>(your name)>iCloud>iCloud Backup to turn on Back Up This iPhone.
Contacts
We all have duplicate contacts in our contact lists. One of them might only have the person’s email address while the other has their cell number. Merge them easily on Android or iPhone devices. For Android, open Contacts and select a Google Account. At the bottom, tap Fix & manage>Merge & fix>Merge all.
For iPhone users, open the Contacts app and if there are duplicates in your list, they will show up right under My Card. Simply tap Merge All.
Disconnect
All of us could use some time each day when we aren’t distracted by pinging or vibrating phones. Whether you use the time to meditate, take a nap or concentrate on a task that doesn’t involve your gadget, steal moments away from your phone using Focus mode. Android phones allow you to turn off specific apps during Focus mode and even set it to automatically turn on at a certain time each day.
Even better is the option on all Pixel 3 and above devices to mute all notifications by just placing the device face down. For iPhones, select which people and apps (if any) can still reach you during Focus modes. Open Control Center and select which Focus you’d like to enable. When people try to send a message, they’ll see that you’ve silenced notifications.
How many unread emails are in your inbox right now? As overwhelming as email may be, it’s how a lot of important information is transmitted. Don’t give up; get organized. Gmail allows users to create labels such as “To Do” or “School” to categorize email. As emails come in, quickly place them under one of those labels to get them out of your inbox.
The All Mail label is helpful for those afraid of deleting an email because of the slight chance it may have information they might need at a later time. Right click on any email and click Archive to move it from your inbox into the All Mail label. In the Mail app for iOS, you can similarly organize emails into mailboxes.
Consider creating mailboxes such as “Follow Up”, “Remind Me” or “Today” to keep your inbox clean while never missing an important exchange. Remember to make it a habit to unsubscribe when you no longer want emails from a business or organization.
Use the new year to free up space on your devices and in your mind. Streamline everything from apps to email and see if it’s just the kind of weight loss you need.