Digital Spring Cleaning - How To Clear The Clutter Like A CEO

Last updated February 9, 2025

Why Digital Clutter is Killing Your Productivity

Clutter… mental clutter, visual clutter, physical clutter, emotional clutter. There are so many kinds of clutter, and they all drag us down. Regardless of what form it takes, clutter saps our energy and determination—both of which are key traits for being a successful entrepreneur.

But the sneakiest, most disruptive form of clutter? Digital clutter.

What does that mean?

• An overflowing email inbox filled with promotions, subscriptions, and unread messages

• A newsfeed packed with distractions that steal your time and focus

• A bookmarks bar cluttered with links you thought you needed

• A desktop covered in random files, screenshots, and old downloads

All of these things demand our attention, whether we realize it or not. Instead of keeping us in focused priority mode, they keep us in multitasking distraction mode.

I know you know that frustrating, scattered feeling. It’s the one where you start your day with good intentions but end up:
☑️ Sifting through emails
☑️ Clicking through social media
☑️ Jumping on a webinar
☑️ Making phone calls
☑️ Designing graphics
☑️ Watching YouTube tutorials

And before you know it, the day is gone—you’ve been super “busy” but have actually accomplished very little.

How would it feel to sit down at your computer each morning feeling focused and ready to take on your priorities? Pretty damn good, right?

Let’s make that happen.

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Step 1: Declutter Your Email Like a CEO

1. Unsubscribe Ruthlessly

Thanks to privacy and consumer protection laws, unsubscribing from marketing emails is easier than ever—so use that unsubscribe button!

• If a newsletter sits unopened in your inbox, it’s time to unsubscribe.

• If it’s not adding value to your business or life, let it go.

• Tools like Unroll.me can help batch-unsubscribe from multiple lists.

👉Example: I love Gary Vaynerchuk’s content, but his constant emails were a distraction. Instead of consuming his updates daily, I unsubscribed and now check his content only when I need it.

2. Stop Checking Email First Thing in the Morning

Checking your inbox first thing puts you in reaction mode instead of CEO mode.

Instead:

• Set a dedicated email time later in the day.

• Turn off notifications to avoid constant distractions.

• Batch process emails so they don’t take over your workflow.

3. Label, Archive & Delete

• Use labels (Clients, Finance, Marketing) to organize important emails.

• Archive emails instead of keeping thousands in your inbox.

• Empty spam and trash once a week to keep your inbox streamlined.

Imagine this: You open your inbox, and the only emails you see are high-value messages—client inquiries, sales notifications, and collaborations. That’s the power of digital decluttering.

“If you declutter your email inbox, you won’t need to figure out how the heck to manage all of it”

— Cara Chace

I make it a daily habit (which takes practice at first) to unsubscribe from any emails that don’t provide value or aren’t right for where I’m at in my business.

⚡Don’t miss this: 3 Best Organizing Tips to Manage Your Email Inbox

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Step 2: Declutter Your Bookmarks Bar

Your internet browser bookmarks bar is another wasteland of maybe-someday-kinda-sorta useful crap.

Be honest—have you ever tried to find a bookmark, only to be smacked in the face with so many that you feel overwhelmed and end up Googling it instead? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?

I had so many old and pointless bookmarks in my browser, I can’t even tell you. It was downright ridiculous. Think:

• Links that didn’t work

• Old content I never went back to

• Subscriptions to apps or software I didn’t even use

• Client files from past projects

• Research that was no longer relevant

Sound familiar?

How I Tackled My Overstuffed Bookmarks Bar

To be honest, this was an overwhelming task for me. I was afraid that if I started, I’d get sucked into a content rabbit hole and spend hours reading instead of actually decluttering.

So, I ate that elephant one bite at a time.

✅ Every day, I tackled just one folder in my bookmarks bar.
✅ I made three decisions for each bookmark: Keep, Delete, or Save for Later.
✅ After a couple of weeks, I had gone through every single bookmark.

Final result? I ended up keeping less than 20% (!!) of my original bookmarks. I mean, wow. (Pareto Principle, anyone?)

Taking Bookmark Decluttering to the Next Level

I didn’t stop there. I took it one step further.

I decided that none of my bookmarks would stay in my browser. Instead, I created a Notion table where I saved only the truly important links.

Why? Because by forcing myself to manually enter a bookmark into a spreadsheet, my threshold for what’s valuable became much higher.

Now, the only bookmarks in my browser are:

• My business social media profiles

• My website dashboard

• Essential software and apps I’m currently using

Everything else? It’s in my Notion table, organized and accessible—without cluttering my browser.

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Step 3: Declutter Your Desktop

Like bookmarking URLs, it’s far too easy to download and save everything to your desktop. Before you know it, you can’t even see your carefully selected wallpaper, and you have no idea where anything is—or even what you have.

Confession Time…

I have downloaded the same file multiple times because I had no idea I already had it. Zoinks.

If your desktop looks like a cluttered mess, it’s time to take control.

How to Declutter Your Desktop (Without Overwhelm)

Instead of tackling everything at once, take one folder per day and:
✅ Decide if each file stays, goes, or gets saved for later (but with intention).
✅ Delete anything that’s outdated, unnecessary, or duplicated.
✅ Move important files into Google Drive or an external hard drive.

What “Relevant for Later” Actually Means

Saving something just in case is not the same as saving what you actually need.

For example:

• I know that in the fall, I love running planning challenges to help people map out their digital marketing strategies.

• So, I save articles and PDFs related to challenges and planning.

• However, I do not save PDFs about starting a membership site or a podcast—because those aren’t on my radar this year.

See the difference? Be intentional about what you save.

My Desktop Setup (Minimalist & CEO-Friendly)

I currently have ONE folder on my desktop:

🗂 Software/Apps

That’s it. No other icons. No random JPGs.

Everything else lives in:

• Google Drive for easy access

• An external hard drive for long-term storage

Maintain a Clutter-Free Desktop

Once a week, I:
✔ Check my desktop for stray downloads.
✔ Delete or organize files that are still sitting out.

✨Pro Tip: It’s incredibly empowering to open your computer and see a clean workspace instead of a bajillion icons. It sets the tone for focus and productivity—like walking into a freshly cleaned office.

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Step 4: Declutter Your Social Media Feed

Now for one of the biggest sources of emotional and visual clutter—your Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media feed.

This applies to all social media platforms, but let’s be real—Facebook and Instagram tend to be the biggest culprits.

Social media has become a minefield in recent years, and to be frank, I’m tired of being inundated with nonsense and overly opinionated bullsh*t.

Fortunately, it’s easy to take back control:

Unfollow Without Guilt

You don’t need to unfriend or unlike people and businesses to stop seeing their posts. Just unfollow them. They’ll never know, and you’ll stop the endless doomscrolling of irrelevant or negative content.

Be Merciless in Your Unfollow Routine

I do not hesitate when content, a business, or a person no longer adds value to my life. If it:

• Breeds comparison-itis

• Brings up old hurts

• Feeds negativity or distraction

…it needs to go.

This isn’t about being cold—it’s about protecting your mental clarity and focus.

Clean Up Your Followers List

I also regularly remove followers on Instagram that are:

• Bots

• Spam accounts

• Completely misaligned with my content

This keeps my audience engaged and relevant, rather than filled with fake or inactive accounts.

❤️Pro Tip: Unfollowing, muting, and curating your social media feed isn't just digital decluttering—it’s a form of self-care.

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💫 Make It a Productive Habit

All habits require a bit (or a lot) of inertia in the beginning—but once you push past that initial resistance, they become subconscious decisions instead of against-the-grain conscious efforts.

Here are a few tips to get that inertia going and make “unsubscribe” and “delete” your most powerful weapons.

And by weapons, I don’t mean hacking away like a loon with a machete. I mean calm and strong, like business jujitsu.

How to Build a Digital Decluttering Habit:

✅ Create a bookmarks spreadsheet in a cloud-based app like Google Drive or Notion so you can access it anywhere.
✅ Set up email labels to organize your inbox as you start archiving.
✅ Dedicate 15 minutes per day to tackle small decluttering tasks—one inbox, one folder, one category at a time.
✅ Schedule a weekly digital cleanup (set a calendar reminder!) to put things back where they belong.

By consistently following these steps for a couple of months, you’ll completely rewire how and when you save anything digitally.

Before you know it, digital decluttering will feel automatic—and you’ll never drown in digital chaos again.

→ Productivity Tip:

Instead of time-blocking, try theme-ing your days:

Monday: Marketing
Tuesday: Client Work
Wednesday: Content Creation
Thursday: Admin Tasks
Friday: CEO Strategy

This ensures minimal context-switching and more focus without the rigidity of time-blocking.

CARA’S READING PICK:

This book was an incredible, inspiring read about cutting out the digital noise in our lives. Full of practical ideas - even for someone whose business is online!

READ NOW »

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Conclusion: Take Action on Digital Decluttering Now

Digital clutter is stealing your time, energy, and productivity—but you can take back control.

✔ Unsubscribe from emails that don’t serve you.
✔ Clean up your bookmarks and desktop.
✔ Unfollow distractions on social media.
✔ Build long-term habits to keep your digital life organized.

Now, I want to hear from you!

💬 Comment below and tell me: What’s your biggest struggle with digital clutter? Let’s tackle it together!

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Easy Summer Tip: How To Simplify Your Email Inbox

15 Best Books for Decluttering, Minimalism, and Digital Detoxing