Calm down your digital clutter.

I'm currently sitting in my absolute mess of an office. 

The good news is we finally painted over the red walls left by the previous homeowner. The bad news is we still have a corner full of boxes of things to unpack and arrange, plus lots of other rooms to paint.

I wish it wasn't the case, but my physical space does affect my mental space.

Right now, there's only so much I can control with my disorganized home/office. BUT! My digital space is lookin' fine and fresh, and that's a win. I can control my digital workspace. And let me tell you, digital clutter can affect my mental health as much as physical clutter.

That's why I try to stick to a simple system for storing digital files, assets, and emails.

I'll talk more about emails another time, but today I'd like to share my digital filing system with you.

My Google Drive folders are the foundation. See below for how mine looks.

You'll notice I have folder labels starting with a number. This is just an easy way to keep things in the same order because they'll sort numerically.

There are folders for the different "categories" of files I might have; Admin, Website, Products & Services, Client Files, etc. Your categories may look different from mine, but this is what's working for me right now.

I use the same method with subfolders within each of these as well. Here's a peek inside my Admin folder:

Inside 1_Admin, I have subfolders labeled 1a, 1b, 1c, etc. into narrower administrative categories like Operations and Finance. Do what works for you as far as the categories. The tricky part is sticking with this system, but try to get in the habit of filing something in its place first thing when creating or downloading a new document. It gets easier over time. 

The other thing I do is have a recurring monthly task to declutter my digital spaces because inevitably I won't always put something in the right place initially. 

If your digital clutter is making you dizzy, give this method a try and let me know what you think!