You’ve reorganised your wardrobes, rearranged your home office, reordered the living room and cleaned out your bathroom cabinets. So what’s next?
It’s time to move your organising efforts to the digital sphere. The clutter on your devices may not take up physical space, but it is clutter all the same. If you’ve got too many things vying for your attention every time you turn on your computer, or are regularly frustrated because you can’t find what you need on your phone, it’s time for a purge. Here are 12 things to do to help you move towards digital minimalism.
Delete, delete, delete
Get rid of any apps that you don’t use on a regular basis. As a general rule, if you haven’t used an app in the last three months, it doesn’t deserve a place on your phone. If you miss it, you can always download it again at a later date.
Orderly apps
Organise your remaining apps in a way that makes sense. Perhaps you’ll want to divide things into work-based and social-based groupings. Or put them in order of use: if you routinely check the news and weather in the morning, keep those things up top, for example.
Purge those photos
How many blurry selfies do you have sitting on your phone or laptop, taking up space, never to be looked at again? It’s likely that with every photo you take, you try 20 different versions before getting the perfect shot. Go back and get rid of all but the best of them. Sort your favourite pictures into albums, so you know where to find them. And when you come across great photos with friends and loved ones from years ago, send them on to remind people that you are thinking of them, and looking forward to making new memories.
Be merciless with your inbox
If it’s as overcrowded as mine, your inbox is probably the source of considerable daily stress. Delete all those mails that you know you are never going to respond to and save all others in folders. Unsubscribe from any newsletters that you routinely delete anyway.
Email bankruptcy?
If you are feeling particularly brave – or overwhelmed – you could declare email bankruptcy, which involves deleting everything in your inbox, breathing a sigh of relief and then starting all over again. This is a method only to be used when you are truly desperate, though, as you’ll inevitably end up wishing you could remember what was said in that specific message, or frantically searching for someone’s contact details.
Say no to notifications
Your phone is probably pinging all through the day with notifications that you really could do without. Turn off all but the most essential.
Rethink your passwords
Many of us are guilty of reusing the same passwords for multiple things, which in this age of rampant cyber crime, is just asking for trouble. Go back and create new passwords. If you don’t already have one, consider signing up to a password manager, which will allow you to generate and store secure passwords and manage your login credentials across all your devices.
Clear out your downloads
Who knows what’s lurking in that downloads folder, taking up valuable space. Get rid of everything you don’t genuinely need.
Embrace the folder
Set up folders on your desktop and save all your documents and images in them. Your desktop should be an orderly space. Maybe even think about introducing a new, inspiring wallpaper, since you’re likely looking at that image throughout your day.
Cull your social media accounts
Think about what you use each platform for. Twitter for news, Facebook for friends, Instagram for inspiration, perhaps? Start unfollowing people that clutter up your feeds and don’t add any value to your life. While you’re at it, why not start muting alerts from all those groups that annoy you on WhatsApp?
Swipe your hard drive
Look for a programme that will clean your hard drive for you. Clean My Mac or Clean My PC are good options.
Trash talk
Finally, empty out all those trash folders. That satisfying whoosh as all that unnecessary stuff disappears will be immensely satisfying, we promise.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
