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The "Keep Everything" vs "Delete Aggressively" debate after a friend called me out
Last month my buddy saw my 12,000 unread emails and 300 open tabs on Chrome and said "dude your devices are basically a landfill." It stung but got me thinking. I lean toward keeping everything just in case, but maybe he's right that digital hoarding slows down my laptop and makes finding anything a nightmare. On the other hand, I deleted a bunch of old screenshots last year then needed one for a warranty claim two days later. So which side do you fall on - do you save everything or purge regularly, and has anyone else regretted a big cleanup?
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daniel_cooper3410d ago
Yeah, the "you don't have a system" angle. My system is called "hope and a prayer." I've got 200 open tabs that I keep telling myself I'll get to "eventually" and an inbox where I mark important emails as unread so I don't forget them, which totally works until I've got 500 of those too. Honestly though, your buddy might have a point about the landfill thing, but at least my digital landfill doesn't smell bad or attract raccoons. That warranty claim you lost? Been there, lost a receipt from three years ago, convinced myself I didn't need it, then had to buy a new toaster two weeks later.
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wood.uma10d ago
...but like, is the problem the number of things you keep or is it that you don't have a system for finding anything? I mean, 12,000 unread emails isn't really about keeping them, it's about not organizing them in a way that works. Idk, maybe the real question is whether you're just storing stuff or if you actually have a way to search and find what you need when you need it. Does your buddy have a point about the landfill thing, or are you two actually arguing about different things?
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