The idea of spring cleaning is believed to have many origins, but their underlying theme is cleansing your home and space prior to the new year or springtime. Every year, Hybridge reminds you to do some spring cleaning around your office. Taking the time to organize and throw out unnecessary items will make work and your personal space more inviting and welcoming. Here are some ideas of how to spring clean your computer and desk space:
Computer spring cleaning:
- First things first, make sure your computer and all your files are backed up. If you are a Hybridge client, don’t worry, we ensure this is taking place. For more information about how and why to back up your data, check out "Backup Solutions – Is your data safe?"
- Organize your files and folders and consolidate to one location. If most of your documents are in Google Drive, keep that as your main document repository. The same goes with Box, Dropbox, or Sharesync. Where you run into problems when working on documents with team members is if they are saved in multiple locations. If you would like to migrate to a document repository or need assistance with organizing your folder structure, Hybridge can help.
- Clean out your internet browsers. Although cached data is useful when visiting sites, it can also take up a lot of storage space on your device. Go through the internet browser(s) you use and clear the cookies and cache.
- Organize your email. If you use Gmail, create labels and rules to organize emails into separate folders. You should also archive any old emails from your inbox. Archiving moves the email to the All Mail folder in case you still need to reference it, but gets it out of your cluttered inbox. If you use Outlook, create rules to send emails to a specific folder (such as the Junk E-Mail folder) instead of your Inbox.
Office spring cleaning:
- The easiest way to organize the hundreds of papers and print outs in your office is to create three piles – things to toss, things to recycle or destroy properly (i.e. papers containing confidential information), and things to put away in files.
- Throw away what you don’t need. Sure, that magazine seemed interesting, but is it useful and necessary? Same goes for those old flyers from that event two years ago. For any old paperwork, make sure you have a digital copy and then shred it.
- Get folders and organizers for your drawers and then make sure everything is labeled. Instead of just throwing papers into whatever folder is empty, separate your folders by category so you can put papers and files in the correct place where they will be easy to find.
If you are a Hybridge client and need help organizing or backing up your computer, contact us today at support @hybridge.com or 888-353-1763.
