Browser clutter and the load it creates

A study published at Aalto University reveals about the clutter and load of the internet browser. The topic seems very topical in the aftermath of the holidays, when many people are spending a lot of time at work in front of a screen again.

It shows in the study that up to one in four people consider browser clutter to be a serious problem. This suggests that some, perhaps even a significant proportion, of the remainder see clutter as a problem in general. In any case, it is a significant problem, given that, according to Aalto, five billion users already spend almost half of their waking hours online.

Why does browser clutter increase mental load?

There are several reasons: firstly, many people tend to keep several browser windows and tabs open, i.e. a large and unmanageable number of them. Websites also bombard the user with interactive elements, such as pop-ups, and these elements are not always controllable.

You can make the problem worse by multitasking between different tasks or using several different online workspaces at the same time, having conversations with many different people at the same time. Closing tabs is also a pain for us, even if it makes sense in terms of decreasing the load.

Let me add a professional organiser's perspective: many people return home after a day of non-stop meetings, which are also in chaos. Brains are forced to persevere amidst the mess both at work and at home. There may be no rest space or place at all, resulting in a brain-breaking information worker's supercatastrophe.

Only solution-focused strategies help with the burden

The researchers found that one way of trying to resolve the situation is to change one's own attitude. The solution is sought on an emotional level or through a semblance of organisation, for example by grouping tabs. But these are unsustainable ways of dealing with the clutter and load in the browser - and can even lead to a heavier load.

The problem is more likely to be solved by a precise delimitation and a conscious minimisation of what needs to be done. So if you want a more serene state of being, you have to declutter your digital environment.

I think it's great that we are now getting more and more researched information about what clutter and disorder do to us. Chaos has been shown to increase stress, and now we know that time spent online does not seem to reduce it if you have unlimited browsing habits.

When the problem is this massive, the solution is neither simple nor quick. My only magic wand, the one that works for everyone, is this: Start somewhere, today.

Effective ways to organise digital clutter

Try one of the tips below to see if it works for you. You can also contact me and together we'll work out a plan that works for you.

• Weed out one bad habit or add one good habit at a time
• Keep a record of your feelings, so you can see what particularly stresses you out
• Create an electronic repository for the links you want to return to
• Calendar when you will return to deal with it and add a link to the source
• Close the tabs as soon as you have completed a task on the page or saved a link
• Decide to focus on one task at a time and not jump between pages
• Try different ways for long enough

Set yourself limits to reduce clutter - and stick to them for 30 days

I admit that I am a user of multiple tabs myself. I have justified my use of the tabs by the fact that by leaving it open, I can return to it conveniently.

I've now noticed that the browser clutter doesn't feel nice anyway. It's a pain to open the browser when the tabs pop up in front of my eyes - and I automatically wonder what I missed last time.

Now that I heard about the study, I decided to close all the tabs. The habit will take root if I can stick to it for a month. My plan is to extract the interesting links to my electronic notebook that I already have or complete the task on the tab before exiting. If the task is interrupted, I will transfer it to the to-do list.

Then I press the close tick in the tab.

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