A Modern Woman's Guide to Organizing the Digital Life
Raise your hand if your computer desktop and document folders are scattered, your downloads are a disaster, or you can't find files you saved yesterday. A cluttered and disorganized digital life—whether at work or at home—hampers productivity, can cause digital errors, and makes for an unhappy experience between you and your devices.
People think software solves everything. It doesn't. There are a few clever apps, however, that you can use on a daily basis to help organize your digital life. And guess what? They're free!
Install DropBox and instantly drop in files you'd like to back up and access from anywhere, even across Macs and PCs. And instead of emailing mom photos from your latest trip one by one, just share a new DropBox folder with her and she can enjoy them all in one click.
Evernote's motto is "Remember everything." With an app that allows you to jot down meeting notes, scan receipts, write blog posts, and plan trips as it syncs through all your devices (e.g. laptop, desktop, smartphone), you'll be like the elephant that never forgets.
Use Google Docs to create spreadsheets, presentations, and word documents that you can quickly share and easily collaborate on. Plan surprise parties with roommates or upload an essay your friend can edit from home (you get 5 free GB worth of space!).
When using these tools, you'll never have to worry about your computer crashing or running out of space. All data is stored in the cloud or on the app. I've only scratched the surface of all the great functionalities they can bring; you're bound to learn many more when you try them yourself! Good luck and may the organizational force be with you.
(Image via flickr user Kasaa)
