Minimalism and electronic files
In my previous entry, I reflected on my relationship with physical documents and letters I receive. In addition to that, I wanted to reflect on my relationship with electronic files.
In this autoethnography, I've mentioned that I don't like (though at times I still use them!) the words clutter and decluttering when applied to material objects. After all, these objects embody nature, human and non-human labour, and time. Yet, when it comes to electronic files, I used to experience them as clutter. While I've always preferred very simple organisation of my files and an almost empty desktop, at some moments of my life there were certainly more files than at other times. For example, when I was working on my PhD (2016-2020), I saved many articles to read later. Over the years, I've developed and maintained a much more minimalist, and what feels to be healthier, relationship with electronic files.
I organise my files into four folders: (1) my autoethnography, (2) my works, (3) books and papers, and (4) everything. I try to work on a very small number of projects each time and dive deep into them. For example, these days there is another file on my desktop, which is an article I'm co-authoring with fellow humans. Since my autoethnography is ongoing, I always keep it on my desktop. The "my works" folder includes pdfs of all the articles and books that I've authored or co-authored, funding applications, as well as submitted articles, a list of ideas for future projects, and some projects that might not materialise (which is ok). I keep the pdfs of my own works because oftentimes my fellow humans email me and ask if I can share a copy. It's easier to keep them in one place. The "books and papers" folder contains others' books and academic articles. I used to have many of them in that folder, but I usually can access all of them via the library, so I don't keep many these days. Moreover, my interests as a researcher evolve, and I might no longer be interested in some books and articles that I was curious about previously. The "everything" folder certainly sounds like a space where I would keep electronic clutter. In reality, it's a very small folder with some electronic documents, lecture slides and my notes.
I don't have folders for, e.g., pictures, because I usually don't keep photos (apart from those that are part of my autoethnography).
Every now and then, I go through the folders I mentioned above to see if I still need any of the electronic files that I have. Because there are not many of them, "decluttering" doesn't take very long.
I feel that relating with my electronic files in this manner makes me feel free, light, and more creative.