Spring is here and many people are busy getting their homes ready for warmer weather. There’s just something about the transition between the long, cold months of winter and the warmer, sunnier days of Spring and Summer that gets you into the mood to clean. People everywhere are spiffing up their houses, redecorating, clearing out the accumulation of a season spent mostly indoors and opening up their windows to let the warmer breezes of a new season freshen up their homes. But, don’t stop there! Your business could probably use some tidying up, as well.
Some of the tasks that keep our digital life uncluttered and running smoothly tend to get put off indefinitely while running an online business. The daily tasks that keep our income flowing can lead to a lot of digital clutter, though, making our computers, tablets and mobile devices function in a less-than-optimal way, taking up room, and decreasing our productivity. What better time is there than Spring to get our online businesses as spruced up as our physical surroundings?
Here are some areas to focus on when doing a thorough spring cleaning of your online business:
Email – Chances are your inbox is overflowing with unread email that you intended to either delete or get back to at a later time. Now is the time to get that clutter out of the way. Having an obscene amount of emails stacked up in your inbox can lead you to miss the correspondence that is really important. Don’t let a business proposition, a question from a customer, or other vital pieces of information get lost in the ‘junk’.
Start by going through your inbox and making certain that you’ve responded to anything that needs answering. Then, create a folder and move anything that should be kept out-of-the-way of your other emails. A cluttered inbox is just a way to clutter your mind. Trust me! Once you start to get your inbox organized, your mind will feel much more free and less chaotic. Don’t forget to empty out your spam folder, as well as your trash folder while you are spring cleaning. Delete anything that you can!
Desktop – Take a look at the desktop on your computer or laptop. How many documents and icons do you have saved to your main screen? You don’t have to keep them there! Not only are they an eyesore, but it’s a bit of a liability too if they are documents that shouldn’t be seen by other people. Continue your digital spring cleaning by clearing out those documents and icons from your desktop. Place them in password protected folders or delete if they are junk.
Digital Files – Remove anything that is taking up space, but you are not required to keep, on your computer. Pictures, old downloads..you name it. It’s all taking up storage space and causing your computer to lag. Why keep those items on there when you more than likely never use them? As long as an item that you are getting rid of isn’t confidential, there’s no need to keep it cluttering up your computer. If there are things you want to keep but don’t use regularly, simply move them to a flash drive or the cloud.
Software & Apps – Do a thorough review of the software and apps that are installed on your computer, making sure they are all updated and working properly. Uninstall anything that is no longer relevant or useful to your business.
Digital Products – Go through all of the digital products that you sell online and make sure that there are no issues with their websites, links, sales funnels, delivery pages, support pages, or payment buttons. Don’t miss out on any conversions in the upcoming months because of a lack of site maintenance!
Affiliate Links – Check to make sure all of your affiliate links are still in working order for any products you may be selling as an affiliate. Cease promoting any products that do not have a working sales page or buy button, that sell outdated information, or that have been archived and are no longer for sale. This may mean removing banners and buttons from your website, adjusting your pre-scheduled autoresponder messages, or stopping any paid advertising you have to those sites.
Mobile – Don’t forget your cell phone when performing a spring cleaning for your online business. Update your apps, remove anything that you no longer use or is not working correctly, and update your contact list. Not only will you free up your phone’s storage space, you’ll be extending its battery life.
When all your digital devices are squeaky clean and running at their optimal performance levels, your life as an online business owner will improve dramatically. Your performance as an online entrepreneur will be at its best when you aren’t being slowed down by digital clutter, slow-running computers and mobile devices, and outdated information. Embrace spring cleaning for your online business and improve your productivity today.
