September Part 2 - Hard-Drive Folders & Phone Apps

Week Two

Photo by Rami Al-zayat on Unsplash

Welcome to Part 2 of September’s focus inside The Simplified Year! This week, we’re diving deep into the digital clutter hiding right under your fingertips: your hard-drive folders and those phone apps piling up like invisible baggage.

We often think of clutter as physical stuff, but our digital worlds can become just as overwhelming. From messy folders on our computers to apps we never open, these digital distractions drain our mental energy and, usually, our devices’ performance. This week, we simplify and reclaim that space.

Have you ever felt stuck trying to find a file buried deep in a labyrinth of folders? Or scroll endlessly through apps you don’t remember downloading? If yes, you’re not alone, and this week’s for you.

Where are you starting with this?

This Week’s Focus: Hard-Drive Folders & Phone Apps

Your digital life is a reflection of your mental life. If your folders are a mess, it’s harder to focus, harder to find what you need, and harder to show up fully (or on time!). Same with your phone apps - each one demanding attention, storage, and sometimes subscriptions or updates you don’t even want or care about anymore.

This week, we’ll prune the chaos in your digital folders and those apps cluttering your phone’s home screen or hiding in the back pages. By simplifying these, you reduce overwhelm, boost productivity, and create digital spaces that are streamlined to serve you rather than control you.

Why This Matters (Mindset Reset)

Clutter anywhere is a thief of focus. Digital clutter is often invisible but very real, and it steals time when you hunt for files, creates anxiety when your device slows down, and even drains your battery faster.

Cleaning up digital folders and apps is a ritual of reclaiming your energy and your time. When your digital environment supports you, your creativity and leadership - in life or business - can flow more freely.

We often hold on to files and apps because of “just in case” thinking (or from lack of any thought about it at all). But that mindset is a trap, because what you don’t need now won’t suddenly become essential tomorrow. That almost never happens, and it’s not worth going through life bogged down both digitally and physically with all the “maybe” clutter. Letting go of digital clutter is an act of trust in your present and your future self, to be competent enough to deal if something unlikely suddenly becomes needed.

Think of your digital spaces like your personal altar. What do you want surrounding your attention? What supports your focus? What’s there that made sense that one day, but has nothing to do with anything now. Simplification here means prioritizing what nurtures your vision and releasing what distracts.

Remember, each deleted app or reorganized folder is a small act of sovereignty, saying, “I choose where my attention goes” instead of letting the digital giants and corporations dictate your energy.