for most people, the downloads folder on our computer is the ultimate digital dumpster. The downloads folder is essentially the digital equivalent of the kitchen junk drawer, it's littered with all kinds of random documents, photos and mysterious PDFs, that's because most of the time the default settings on our computers and web browsers send all files that we download to a hidden downloads folder. So in this case we already have one home set up for all of our downloaded files but it's the wrong home. Most of these files need to either be deleted because you only needed the file for an immediate task or migrated to the cloud with the rest of your documents. So if you haven't taken the time to intentionally tweak this setting and change your downloads location, you're going to end up digitally hoarding an assortment of random and useless files. Our recommendation here is two fold. Let's clean up the downloads folder and change the downloads location setting. Going forward first we recom...

mend you change the default location setting for all downloaded files, moving the location from the downloads folder to your desktop. In the lecture on sinking and organizing documents we mentioned uploading all of the files from your desktop to the cloud. This gives you a clean workspace free of digital clutter by sending downloaded files to your desktop. You're going to then be able to quickly see downloaded files and immediately action them. This is akin to putting your clothes away post laundry though. If you do prefer the discretion of the downloads folder with most cloud synchronization services like google drive, you can also set it up to synchronize the downloads folder in addition to everything else. If you do want to change the setting to make it your desktop, you can do this by opening up your default web browser in the web browser, open settings, advanced then downloads location here. You can change your default download settings. We recommend you change the location to your desktop like this. Users maya desktop for example for even more digital mindfulness, you can also enable the option that appears here to ask where to save each file before downloading. This will be less relevant for most of you now that our documents are on the cloud but it's worth a mention for those of you who like playing around with automation. There are also some cool automation tricks you could set up for auto cleaning or auto sorting downloaded files but we cover those elsewhere in the course. So now you're set going forward. But what about our digital hoarder past? We recommend you do take the time out now or later this week to clean out your downloads folder. At least files from the past few weeks or months, Philip a fresh cup of coffee and spend a few hours sorting through files. The leading ones you don't need or uploading them to your document home in the cloud to speed up the process. Air on the side of delete and be ruthless if you haven't touched a file in a year, chances are it can be deleted while you're at it, Open up your computer's trash folder and hit empty, officially clearing out your computer from junk files. One more thing here now that your desktop and downloads folder are clear. Take a minute and look at your desktop visual. You'll want to make sure you have a background that sews or inspires you. You can choose a calm neutral color or download a beautiful image from a splash. That's it. You've digitally de cluttered yet another area of your digital life. Your downloads now have a proper home and you've optimized your ability to find files when you need them. This was a critical step to eliminating computer clutter and cleaning up your digital life.

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Course Syllabus

Worksheet - Exploring Your Intuitive Organizational Type

Worksheet - Surveying Your Digital Landscape

Worksheet - Email Account Triage

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Jonathan Levi & Maya Yizhaky

A serial entrepreneur who owns a 7-figure media empire & mindful living coach and expert, with experience in international

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topics covered in this class

Self-Improvement Time Management Lifestyle

Ratings and Reviews

joe culver

This class is well organized and flows well. There is one thing I do NOT like is the reference to another class in the Syllabus: "Kill The Chaos of Information Overload with Evernote Webinar" The webinar has only one good tip, use Tabs in Evernote. The webinar hypes more tips if you buy the course by Charles Bird. I bought the course for $197 which was listed as a discount from a much higher price. The course is poorly assembled, out of date, and hardly worth more than a few dollars. It assembled with a bunch of short videos, each video starts after he is talking and ends before he is finished. Evernote Scanner is no longer made and Evernote no longer supports the software.

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Downloads Folder

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Lessons

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Course Structure How To Succeed

What is Digital Overwhelm

Why Does It Actually Matter

The Alternative - Digital Peace of Mind

Quiz - Chapter 1

The Importance of Robust Systems

The Power of “The Cloud”

Leveraging Automation To Reduce Friction

Reestablishing A Healthy Relationship With Your Technology

Digital Minimalism - The #1 Strategy To Achieve Order

What Intuitive Organizational Type Are You

What To Do When “Life Happens”

Quiz - Chapter 2

Wrangling All Of Your Email Accounts

Inbox vs. Archive - Achieving Inbox Freedom

The Machete - Cutting Down Your Overloaded Inbox

The Scalpel - Strategically Cutting Down The Rest Of Your Inbox

Get A Grip On Your Subscriptions

Starting Fresh - Creating Your Own Structure

What Happens Next - Beginner’s Inbox Organization

Let’s Get Ninja - Advanced Inbox Organization

Quiz - Chapter 3

Enabling Back-Ups

Calendar

Choosing & Using A “To-Do” List

Neat Notes Snippets

Syncing and Organizing Documents