Now that fall is in full swing, it is the perfect time to organize your digital life. So, I have put together a list of 5 easy to implement tips to help you clean out your computer and reorganize your files, a must on the To Do list of any student, working adult, parent or retiree this season!
{Note: Before you begin the process outlined within this post please make sure to back up your computer files using Time Machine or whichever method you prefer. The tips here are only suggestions and this blog is not responsible for any files you may mistakenly loose or delete in the process of implementing them!}
Let’s begin, shall we…
1. DELETE, DELETE, DELETE
If you want to clean out and reorganize your Mac, the first and best thing to do is delete all unnecessary files, folders, programs, ect, from your hard drive. This could take time depending on how much you have stored on your hard drive and how much you want to erase.
For applications, I recommend using a program like AppCleaner to get rid of the program and all associated systems files in one action. It is a free download, so you might want to hang on to it for future use.
It might also be a good idea for you to clear your Safari cache as well. To do this, open Safari and from the menu select, Safari > Empty Cache > Empty. If you use another web browser you should still be able to do this, but consult their help menu for proper instructions.
2. File Away
After you have deleted the files you no longer need, you must reorganize the ones you still want to keep. Although OS X does a great job of providing a built in organization system for different types of files like movies, photos or documents, it is still up to you to keep these files straight within their selected locations.
For instance, if you took a trip to France and you have a bunch of photo’s just sitting in your Pictures file, organize them by creating a new file called ‘Trip to France’ within Pictures to keep them together for easy location later. It is easier to store photos in a named file then to put names on each individual photo, as you can always add those later after you have them organized into a group.
3. Put it in Storage
There may be some files you want to keep as a backup, but don’t want taking up space on your hard drive, so to solve this problem I use an external hard drive. I do this for all my iMovie projects once I have uploaded them to the web, because I want to keep copies of them as a backup, but I don’t need hundreds of movie files crowding up my hard drive. By storing them on a separate hard drive, I know I can retrieve the files whenever or if ever I need them.
4. Become an Avid Reader
If you’re like me and like to read a wide variety of websites and blogs, you probably also have a mass of links bookmarked in Safari that you just sift through as you’re surfing. Well, to make this process easier and much quicker, you may want to download an RSS/Atom reader like NewsFire.
With this simple application, you can add a long list of RSS feeds and just click through each article you want to read. This saves you the time of having to load up each page and gives you the benefit of having the title of each article laid out so that you can pick and choose which you would want to read without having to scroll through multiple pages of a blog or site. Using a RSS reader like this also gives you the ability to read your favorite sites while you are offline as well, so long as you refresh your feed before you go offline!
5. Get Things Done
Many of us use our computers to organize not only our work but also our family and personal lives simultaneously. This may result, however, in a chaotic mess of information, to do’s, links, recipes and whatever else you need scattered throughout multiple places on your computer.
So, to get all your tasks done and all your information in one place, use a program like iGTD. With iGTD you can organize your tasks by context or projects, separating work tasks, home tasks, family tasks, etc, with a built in organization system of calendars, places for notes, web links, and whatever other information you will need to complete your tasks.
{Congratulations! If you have followed these 5 tips successfully, you now have an organized Mac fit and trim to see you through all the hard work of fall!}