April 19 2022
Spring is a time of renewal. With warmer weather and sunny days arriving for many of us, spring is not just a time for cleaning the house, but also a time to tidy up your technology.
As real estate becomes synonymous with remote work, a disorganized and messy online space can negatively impact your productivity. Worse, digital clutter also slows down your technology.
Best practices tell us to keep our technology in good working order and our software programs and favorite web browser up to date. But when you're busy, it is sometimes tough to find the time to keep things current or our tech tools clean.
Springtime can be a great time to make sure your tech is in tip-top shape.
Here are five tips and tricks for a tech spring cleaning:
Can you see your desktop's background image? Or are there too many items you saved to your desktop blocking your view?
Many people save items to their computer's desktop to remember where to find them. But when you do this too many times, you create a digital mess. It also can be even more challenging to locate the files you need.
A quick digital decluttering can get you organized—for example, removing files that you no longer need can free up space. In the end, you'll feel better by organizing your desktop.
How many apps do you have on your smartphone? A better question: How many of them have you opened in the last 30 days? Having too many apps slows you down. It can take you more time to find the app you need. It also can slow down your phone. If the apps you aren't using still are set to run in the background, that can take up Radom Access Memory (RAM). Using too much RAM can make your phone response slower. It even can cause issues such as connecting to Wi-Fi, even if it used to connect perfectly.
Have you ever run a date sort on your computer's files? You should, as you might be surprised to find many files from several years ago that you don't need. Also, go through and look for original software files you downloaded to store a program. Not sure which ones those are? Reach out to a Tech Helpline analyst to help you sort for and find files you no longer need. After all, that treasure trove of funny gifs that made you laugh once probably isn't worth saving.
One of the most common mistakes people make is keeping every picture on their phones. That practice can slow your phone down because images, especially videos, take up a lot of space. You have a couple of options. You can transfer them to your computer or, better yet, move them online to still have access to them at (almost) anytime.
The good news is that it has never been easier to have your photos transferred online automatically. Google Photos, Amazon Photos, or iCloud from Apple not only help you store your photos, but their smart software can also automatically help you organize them by like images or location.
Your smart devices get grimy over time. You may not even realize it unless you take a good look. Start with your computer's keyboard. If you take a white lint-free cloth and some rubbing alcohol (damp, not wet), you may be surprised how dirty it is and why most keyboards are black. Now clean the sides of your mouse, and if you have a trackpad, clean that too.
But don't use that cloth on your computer screens – it's best to clean them with a chemical-free cleaning cloth as you can ruin some screens (i.e., Mac laptops) by using any solution but water. Experts suggest microfiber cloths and distilled water as the safest way to clean. The same goes for your smartphone. And if you are spraying anything to clean a device, make sure you spray on the cleaning cloth and not the device.
Members, if you need help with these tech cleaning tips, reach out to us at [email protected]. Tech Helpline is your included member benefit.
To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline blog.