{"id":1781,"date":"2026-07-09T10:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/?p=1781"},"modified":"2026-07-09T10:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:55:08","slug":"%f0%9f%a7%b9-the-10-minute-year-end-digital-clean-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/2026\/07\/09\/%f0%9f%a7%b9-the-10-minute-year-end-digital-clean-up\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83e\uddf9 The 10-Minute Year-End Digital Clean Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we head into the final stretch of the school year, energy is low, and to-do lists are long. The good news is you don\u2019t need to spend all day on your computer to get yourself set up digitally for September.<\/strong><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 Follow each step below and set yourself up for a smoother school start-up.<\/strong><\/b><\/span>
\n10 minutes is all it will take<\/strong><\/b>\u00a0\ud83d\ude06\ud83d\ude06\ud83d\ude06\ud83d\ude06<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to Copilot for helping me with some of the suggestions . . .<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>\n

\u200bWhat to Clean Up on Your Computer\u200b\u00a0<\/span>Before You Log Off for Summer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u23f1\ufe0f<\/span>Step 1: Clean Up Your Desktop (2 minutes)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Take a quick look at your desktop or main working folders.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Delete duplicate or unnecessary files<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Move anything important into clearly labeled folders<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Rename a few key files so they\u00a0actually make\u00a0sense later<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \ud83d\udca1<\/span>\u00a0Use Kara’s Tech Tip from last week to create a “working” and “teaching” desktop<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    \ud83d\udcc1\u00a0Step 2: Reduce Items in Your Downloads Folder\u00a0(2 minutes)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

    Take a quick look at your\u00a0downloads\u00a0folder.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Delete duplicate or unnecessary files<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n
        \n
      • Sort by name so you can quickly see duplicate files<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Move anything important into the\u00a0appropriate folder\u00a0in your OneDrive<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Rename a few key files so they\u00a0make\u00a0sense later<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \ud83d\udca1\u00a0You\u00a0<\/em>don\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0need perfection\u2014just reduce the clutter\u00a0<\/em>in this location.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \ud83d\udce5\u00a0Step 3: Quick Inbox Reset (2 minutes)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

        No need for \u201cInbox Zero\u201d\u2014just a quick refresh:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Delete or archive obvious old threads<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Create a 2025-26 folder to save important emails to visit later<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Flag or\u00a0pin\u00a0anything important\u00a0with \u201caction\u201d items >\u00a0<\/span>hover over email and click on flag or pin<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Unsubscribe from emails you\u00a0<\/span>don\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0read<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \ud83d\udca1\u00a0Even a small cleanup can make September feel less overwhelming.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \ud83d\udd17\u00a0Step 4: Fix One Small Frustration (2 minutes)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

          Think of one thing this year that made you pause or say,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \u201cWhy is this so hard to find?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Fix a broken link<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
          • Update unclear instructions<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
          • Move a resource to a better location<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            \ud83d\udca1\u00a0Small fixes now save repeated frustration later.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            \ud83d\uddc2\ufe0f\u00a0Step 5: Create a \u201cStart of Year\u201d Folder (1\u20132 minutes)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

            Make a simple folder for September with:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            • First-day resources<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Welcome materials<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Key links or templates<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
            • School\u00a0start-up\u00a0checklist<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              \ud83d\udca1 You\u00a0<\/em>don\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0have to fill it now\u2014just create the space.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

              \ud83d\udcac Final Thought<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

              End-of-year is not the time to do everything\u2014it\u2019s\u00a0the time to do a\u00a0<\/span>few\u00a0small things\u00a0that make\u00a0a big difference\u00a0later<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

              Have an amazing year-end.\u00a0 \ud83c\udf89\u2728\ud83c\udf3a\ud83c\udf1e<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              As we head into the final stretch of the school year, energy is low, and to-do lists are long. The good news is you don\u2019t need to spend all day on your computer to get yourself set up digitally for September.\u00a0\u00a0 Follow each step below and set yourself up for a smoother school start-up. 10 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1781"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1783,"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1781\/revisions\/1783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn71.ca\/tech-tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}