New Year tech resolutions we should all make
… (and not break)

  2018-01-01

New Year, the time for change, promise, hope and of course resolutions! We all make them, we all break them and usually they’re the same every year!

This year, why don’t you look to make different ones - ones that you might actually stick to and ones that really will have a positive impact on your life. We’re talking about making changes to your tech life. The following changes really will make a difference:

1. Unsubscribe

From anything you don’t want to see in your inbox. Why waste your time going through deleting countless emails that you don’t need to receive in the first place! It might be shops offering you discounts, newsletters you’re no longer interested in, promotions, updates; whatever it is, if you’re not interested, take a moment to unsubscribe. It never takes very long to do but will save you countless hours over the year.

2. Photo organization

If you’re anything like us, it’s been on your to do list ever since you took your first digital photo. Well now it’s time! Your photo library is no doubt completely out of control and in countless different folders or even devices. The trick is to remember that it is not going to happen overnight. You need to firstly start by planning were you want to store everything and then begin funneling your photos into one place. Take them off your devices, free up that storage space and keep them all together in one place. The moment you start, you will feel much better. Plus you’ll no doubt have a wonderful time going down memory lane while you sort.

The most popular options are all cloud services as these are more reliable than temperamental external hard drives and easily accessed wherever you are. They include: Google Photos, Dropbox and Amazon (Prime customers only).

3. Set up automated backups

It doesn’t matter where, but you need to make sure your important docs and photos are all backed up. As we move into a tech-driven world, our computers and devices store our entire existence, yet they are known to crash on us occasionally and the last thing you want to do is lose everything that’s stored on them! As we mentioned before, external hard drives can be temperamental, but they are still a good option for backups as you can replace them when needed as your information will all be available elsewhere. Also important to note is that the price of these and of the smaller more compact flash drives is continually reducing while the storage space is expanding. The best option however is a cloud service. The most popular include Dropbox, Google Drive, Apple iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive. These are available remotely (with offline options too), can be synced with multiple devices and are on the whole very reliable.

4. Recycle old tech

If you have drawers cluttered with old tech items, it is time for a clear out. Old phones, cameras, printers, laptops, screens often just sit there collecting dust. The best way to recycle anything like that is to give it away to a thrift store, charity shop or in fact anyone who wants it. Keep a list of what you donated and get tax credit for it. Just remember to erase all data from phones or PCs you might be handing in.

5. Spend less time on social media

We are so obsessed with social media sites that we often miss what’s actually going on around us. Try cutting down you use of such sites - no need to quit them for good, but by cutting down the amount of time you scroll down on Facebook, Twitter etc, you will find that you don’t miss it or in fact miss any important information, you will have a lot more time and you may find that you’re even less stressed. Sometimes constantly reading others’ opinions and daily stories can be draining.

6. Set up a password manager

How careful are you when you choose and store your passwords? Do you write them down and store them somewhere? If so are they cryptic enough that no one would understand them other than you? If not, then you need to look at a different way of managing your passwords. One of the best ways is to use an online password manager such as LastPass. It offers a range of options for free and is the perfect way to store all of your passwords safely and efficiently.