Your Complete Guide for Spring Cleaning Your Laptop

The spring is here, and the weather’s getting warmer day by day. And because of that, many people spring clean their houses to greet the warmer weather with a clean house. And at the same time, small business owners should clean up their tech, hence this blog on spring cleaning your laptop.

But why should you do it, and how to do it most efficiently? Continue reading to find out.

Why Even Clean Your Desktop?

You might be wondering: “Why should I clean my desktop? Isn’t it just for aesthetical reasons?” While that might be the end result, cleaning up your laptop is more beneficial than that.

For example, your old laptop should start performing better than it used to. That will help you to work more efficiently, increasing your productivity. While the differences might be minor and only save you a few minutes a day, it adds up in the long term, saving you hours of time!

And now that you understand the benefits of cleaning your desktop, let’s start cleaning it, shall we?

Step #1 – Cleaning up your files and folders

First, let’s start by cleaning up our files. After a year of using your laptop, you’ve stored many files. These could be your invoices, social media graphics, documents, etc. And the more files you have, the worse your laptop will perform.

Here are a few things you should do:

•  First, delete any unnecessary files. For example, you probably don’t need your old social media graphics/images that you’ve already posted. So move anything you don’t need to the bin and empty it once you’ve searched all your folders.
• Then organize the remaining files. For starters, create two main folders to separate work files from personal. Then sort your files even more by creating folders for customer data, marketing media, invoices, etc.
• And lastly, use a cleaning software like CCleaner to clean your system from any unnecessary files. For example, they’ll clean your browsers from any unnecessary cookies on your browser.

Once done, you should have saved up a lot of space and sorted the remaining files for easy locating.

Step #2 – Back Up Any Files

 While that has already made a big difference, we’re not done with it yet! 

One of the biggest problems with computers is that something might happen to them after extended use. And that can mean we could lose critical files at any time. So instead of ruining your business, you should back them up.

One of the simplest and most secure ways to do that is by using a cloud service. You can load all the files into a server, which you can access later on any device. Some of the best you can use include Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.

However, these services could also go down, so you could also use an external drive to add as an added measure of security.

Step #3 – Run Updates And Scans

Now that the files are safe and secure let’s make sure your computer is all up-to-date. Check if you’re running the latest operating system. If not, then make sure to update it.

When you keep your laptop updated, your computer should run smoother and have added security. That, in return, will more likely prevent any cyberattacks and get your data from being leaked.

Additionally, be sure to check that all your software is updated as well. While most update themselves automatically, some require your permission for it. So check your business software and, if needed, update them as well.

Step #4 – Cleaning Up Your Email

Another place where we should clean up is in our mailbox. With time, you’ve probably subscribed to many newsletters. And unfortunately, they do two harmful things:

• They take up a lot of storage
• They make checking our mailbox take more time.

 Further Reading – 7 Amazing Tips For Email Management

Fortunately, there are also tools to help you counteract email overload. One example that you may want to check out  is  Twobird. Not only will it filter your emails in terms of importance, but it will also suggest to you which subscriptions to unsubscribe from.

Then you can just select all the subscriptions you don’t check and hit the red unsubscribe button on the top right corner, and you’ll have unsubscribed from all of them.

Step #5 – Update Your Website and Social Media Pages

Your small business is constantly evolving. You’ll introduce new products/services, change your locations, and much more in time. So sometimes, it’s easy to forget to update your texts about your company.

So start by going through all your social media profiles and website to see if all information is up-to-date. If not, change them.

 Then, I’d suggest you go deeper into your social media pages:

•  First, analyze your overall performance. Look at your metrics, like your engagement rates, and find ways to where you can improve upon them.
• Then, look if you’re spending too much time on posting. If that’s true, then using a scheduling app like Buffer or Hootsuite can help make social media marketing more bearable.
• And lastly, do competitor research. Look at what they are doing with their social media sites, and try to replicate all the successful ones for your profiles.

 After checking social media, I suggest you take a look at your website as well:

•  Start by updating all your apps and themes. That way, your visitors will have a smoother experience, and you’ll be able to use new features.
• Then, analyse your blog. With it, you want to see if there are any blog posts you should update (due to outdated information) and what topics haven’t yet been covered.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you just finished spring cleaning your laptop! You should see your computer performing better than ever, increasing your productivity.

But if you’re looking for more ways of increasing your productivity or growing your business to the next level, why not schedule a call with me? Together, we can analyze your business and find ways to improve it.

If that sounds interesting, then you can schedule a call here! I’d love to help you out!