Digital Hoarding

Writing in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, Melinda Beck quotes Kit Anderson, past president of the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (check out their website!  www.nsgcd.org):  "Digital clutter doesn't beget mice or interfere with walking around the house.  But it's more insidious because no one else is going to insist that you get help."

It is an article which struck a chord with me as we encourage staff here at the National Archives to take a look at the digital files they are maintaining.  But it is a message for non-work digital clutter also.

"Hoarding is officially considered a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but some hoarders also suffer from attention-deficit-hyperactive disorder.  Some digital hoarders are driven perfectionists who don't know when to stop researching or collecting."  Ouch!

Some tips offered in the article:

 Practice 'zero email.'  Clear your inbox every day.
Declare 'email bankruptcy.'  Delete every unread message and alert your 10 best friends and colleagues to resend crucial messages.  NARA staff—not advised!
Unsubscribe to every newsletter and mailing list not needed.
Make use of your spam filter

Beck also reports that people typically use only about 20% of what they save.  So…how are you doing?  Where on the digital hoarding scale do you fall?