Digital workspace clean-up
Five things to do NOW!
We all hold on to old work files, folders, recordings, JPEGs, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations – the list goes on! – that we no longer use.
As we journey through the current changes within our organisation, now is as good a time as any to get into some healthy housekeeping habits.
We can each play our part in a company-wide digital cleanup, which will make our desktops more efficient, save on costly server space and license fees, and help strengthen our IT security.
Here are five quick actions to take:
1. Bin unwanted folders
Consider all the different folders you keep your day-to-day documents in, from Word docs to PDFs. Are some so out of date they’ve practically got cobwebs on them? It’s likely that you only need to keep the final version, so clear the old ones out and feel good about it. Goodbye cobwebs, hello trash can! And a streamlined digital workspace.
TIP!
Why not set a reminder in Outlook to have a 20-minute monthly mini-clear out?
2. Review your sharing
If you’ve set up a Teams or SharePoint site to share files with colleagues, review what’s still needed and what’s not. Remove anyone who no longer needs access by following these instructions for MS Teams and these for SharePoint.
TIP!
You can also remove all the conversations that are no longer needed.
3. Streamline your groups
(email lists and Teams’ membership)
As people move roles or leave the organisation, it’s easy to forget to do the associated administrative tasks, such as ensuring that your groups only contain up-to-date team members and/or guests. Take some time to streamline your groups and maintain good control of who gets what.
And, if you’re part of a Teams team where there’s no Teams owner, please agree with your team who should be the appropriate Teams owner, then ask the IT service desk to make the update.
TIP!
This will make your communications more efficient while ensuring only those who need to know are kept in the loop.
4. Declutter your storage
If you use storage systems such as Box, Teams, or OneDrive, remember that every single file is taking up space that must be paid for somewhere down the line. From the 25MB photos you don’t need, to the 40-page PowerPoint presentations from 2021 – that’s a lot of clutter.
So, delete anything old, unused or duplicated, keeping only the assets you need. Be sure to remove personal files such as family photos to your own storage space. And stop sharing content stored in Box unless it’s still relevant.
TIP!
Sorting what you need from what you don’t will save you precious time when you’re looking for something quickly!
5. Rationalise your apps
Check if you still use all the apps installed on your device; it’s possible that you no longer need access to some because your role or tasks have changed. To cancel or have your permissions removed from any, please speak to your SDS or log a ticket at the IT service desk.
Here are some apps to consider – do you still use these?
| Adobe Acrobat Professional | Microsoft Vizio | Microsoft Projects |
| SmartSheet | AutoCAD (Autodesk) | Miro |
| Think-Cell | Box | PowerBI |
TIP!
Not sure what to clean up? Ask your local SDS, IM site service specialist or tech bar for guidance.