Naturally, when we think of spring cleaning, thoughts of decluttering forgotten cabinet spaces, organizing storage, and letting go of things that we’ve outgrown immediately come to mind. Releasing things that no longer serve a purpose or take up space can help us cleanse our corners of stale energy when we’re looking to let in what’s new. But when it comes to taking part in the seasonal routine of spring cleaning, it’s not just our living quarters that could use the extra attention.
Much like our places of dwelling, we can’t forget our digital spaces as we refresh, reorganize, and declutter for the season ahead.
For many of us, our phones, laptops, and social media apps are an extension of our daily lives and habits. We use them to connect, unplug, store memories, and document the most important moment of our lives as they unfold. The average person spends up to 147 minutes per day on social media worldwide, which means that there’s a high chance that what we store in the digital world can outweigh that of our material and personal spaces. In other words, it might be time to do a sweep of your digital spaces and tidy some things up.
From emails and unread group chat texts, to forgotten subscriptions and unfollowing social media accounts that no longer serve you, spring is the perfect time to take your deep cleaning digital. By taking the time to spring to clean your digital space, you can create a more organized and efficient home for yourself online; to get you started, we’ve put together some tips to get your cleaning spree off on the right foot.
1.Get Your Inbox Down to Zero
Depending on the day, our inbox can go from zero to 100+ real quick. And while it may be the goal for some to keep our inboxes down to the single digits, random promotions, newsletter updates, and accidental reply-all messages may keep us from maintaining that goal. Catch up on all those missed emails, delete your spam folder, and if you're receiving newsletters or emails that you no longer want, take the time to unsubscribe from them.
2.Subscriptions and Streaming Services, Canceled.
Speaking of canceling, have you checked on those free trials you signed up for lately? If you haven’t already, there’s no better time than now to avoid unwanted charges to your account by canceling your trial periods and letting go of streaming services you’re not utilizing. We’re saving our coins this year, so no need to have them take your money if you’re not even using their services.
3.It’s Okay To Hit the ‘Unfollow’ Button
In recent times, social media has evolved beyond being a mere platform for sharing aesthetically pleasing images. With apps like TikTok and Instagram, we now have access to a constant stream of content that can impact our mental well-being and shape our self-perception. While certain accounts may have been enjoyable in the past, it is perfectly acceptable to move on from topics and conversations that no longer align with our personal growth. Deciding to unfollow accounts does not always indicate a personal grudge, but rather a positive decision to maintain a social circle that is free from negativity.
4.Update Your Link in Bio
If you have a business, portfolio, or creative platform that’s worth sharing, it’s important to have the link in your bio on lock. In most cases, this is the first touch point that potential clients or brands have to find you and connect for future opportunities, so make it easy for them to find everything they need to reach out. Sites like Norby and Squarespace make it super easy (and free) to set up a landing page that’s engaging and has all your important details in one, easy-to-locate spot.
5.Free Up Some Space on Your Phone
There’s always an app or two that we downloaded with the best of intentions to use but just never got around to — and it’s okay to let those go. Dedicate an hour to deleting old apps, storage-eating videos, and screenshots that you can let go of. While you’re at it, take a moment to give your computer that update you’ve been putting off. Go ahead, we’re not judging.
6.Give Your Desktop a Scrub
We spend a lot of time on our laptops, so much so that we might not even recognize just how much we’ve let pile up on our desktops and let loose downloads go untamed. If our digital space is any reflection of our mental space, then our home screens should be well-maintained with important documents in their proper home. Consider creating folders for different types of files, such as documents, photos, and music, and move all relevant files into their appropriate folders. Clear out your old bookmark tabs. Delete old downloads that are taking up valuable space, and for a little extra razzle-dazzle, choose a new wallpaper that fits your spring vibe.
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak