how to do a full digital reset for 2026

You can have the coziest morning routine. Be making the most nourishing meals. Have your home looking aesthetic and organized down to the last basket label.

But if your phone and digital life is chaos, it will seep into everything.

Today we’re talking all things digital reset —because your phone, laptop, inbox & online spaces matter just as much as your physical ones. In a time where we spend a whole lot of our hours existing in the online world, we have to make sure we are taking steps to take care of our life on there too!

a little backstory…

When I was ten, I won a laptop from a Safeway sweepstakes. It was the kind where you collected letters on little tickets and spelled out prize words–remember those? Most prizes were grocery bundles, but I ended up with a Dell laptop. And my parents let me keep it. (To this day, I’m pretty sure you had to be 19 to enter, but they were kind enough to let me keep it as my own!)

That laptop launched my love for all things digital. I was a certified photo editing girl (picnic anyone?), ran way too many Tumblr blogs & even taught myself simple coding. I’ve always found the internet to be this magical, creative world.

Fast forward to now—my online life is my work. From wedding photography to content creation, the digital space lets me provide for my family, work from home & live this creative-mom lifestyle.

But I know all too well that without intention and boundaries, digital life can also feel overstimulating, disorganized & very mentally draining.

So every now and then we need a digital reset.

This is your gentle, no-pressure, take-what-you-need guide to doing a 2026 digital reset. Think of this as your cozy coffee date check-in for your inbox, apps, camera roll & everything in between.

FEELING ADDICTED TO YOUR PHONE? READ THIS.

let’s start with quick wins for your digital reset

We’re starting with the small things—the ones you can do in 10-15 minutes, in between naps, carpool lines, or waiting rooms. These will give you momentum which is VERY important for us ADHD girlies who feel like the process of doing a reset will simply take too much time.

1. home screen detox

Look at your phone home screen. Is it cluttered? Distracting? Full of apps you never use?

• Delete apps you don’t actually use (you can always re-download them later: especially your shopping apps that are feeding your late night purchases)
• Remove anything that leads to impulse spending or doomscrolling
• Rearrange apps so that the ones you want to reach for are easiest to access (Notion, Spotify, photos, etc)

2. clear out your contacts

Go through your contact list and remove anyone you truly don’t need in there. I had 300+ names, many of which I didn’t recognize (or hadn’t spoken to since high school). BYEEE!

3. start tackling the camera roll

The camera roll always feels super daunting. The best way to make this a quick win is using a timer. Set a 10-minute timer and

• Choose one month or album
• Delete blurry photos, duplicates & random screenshots
• Focus on older months which will have less emotional attachment!

Bonus: Sort by file type, go to “imports” or “screenshots” and mass delete screenshots or airdropped files you no longer need.

4. unsubscribe from emails

If your inbox is insanely packed with unread emails, and majority of them are from businesses wanting your money, it is time for a reset! You don’t need an Old Navy email every single day!

• Use Unroll.Me to batch unsubscribe
• Or manually go through your latest emails and scroll to the bottom to opt out

5. do a social media audit

This one can make a MAJOR difference for your mental health! Often we don’t realize how much the content we are consuming is really affecting us until we un-follow or intentionally take some steps to change our algorithm

• Unfollow accounts that no longer inspire or align with you
• Mute people if unfollowing feels like too much
• Re-engage with creators you do love but haven’t seen in your feed

deeper reset tasks (when you have more time)

These are your nap time projects or evening with a cozy drink commitment. A little bit more effort, but honestly feels SO good after

6. update your passwords (and whatever that “passkey thing” is lol)

this is one of my most hated things, but it truly does save so much headache when I take the time to do it all at once! there is nothing worse than not being able to get into an account when you need to!

• Use a password manager if needed
• Make sure your recovery emails and phone numbers are up to date

7. refresh your digital calendar

• Remove outdated recurring events
• Add birthdays, resets, content planning days for 2026
• Colour-code if it helps you feel motivated (always does for me!)

8. organize your camera roll

Okay if you are feeling ambitious, doing an even deeper dive into your camera roll always feels so good!

• Back up your photos to a hard drive or cloud (I love these hard drives to store all our family photos)
• Clear off everything you don’t need
• Create a “favourites” album of your top memories from last year, which makes it easy if you ever want to print your photos out

9. audit Pinterest, Notion, or other go-to apps

• Archive or delete old Pinterest boards
• Refresh your Notion dashboards and templates
• Update covers or themes to match your 2026 vibe

10. clean your desktop + file system

• Empty your Downloads folder
• Organize docs into clear folders (“taxes,” “photos,” “work”)
• Delete anything you no longer need

reset your digital habits (creating systems for 2026)

Decluttering your digital life is an amazing step, but the best thing to add on to this is creating systems to continue it along! Here are some gentle habits to keep up the momentum

• Weekly mini reset: On Fridays, I do a 10-minute cleanup of my desktop and camera roll, and reply to any lingering emails or messages
• Monthly inbox zero: (Working on this one!) A once-a-month clear out to reset your email overwhelm
• Quarterly content audit: Review your saved folders, Pinterest boards & social media follows

Bonus habit: Turn off notifications for everything except calls and texts. Use focus modes for even more boundaries (I love to have a “work” mode, “evenings” mode, etc)

ALSO: if you’re a content creator or small biz owner…

Don’t forget to do a business digital reset too:

• Update your Instagram bio and link in bio
• Refresh your media kit or pricing guide
• Check that contact forms and email links are working
• Refresh up your brand assets + move them to your phone and desktop for easy access (fonts, logos, templates)

🤎 Reminder: An Organized Digital Space Matters 🤎

🎧 More resources + podcast episodes:

• Tips to break your phone addiction in 2026
• My Honest Review of the Brick (phone addiction tool)
• Analog Hobbies Roundup from Amazon Canada
• Best Hobby Products for the ADHD girly (ShopMy)
• Brick Discount Code
  
  

Loved this blog post?
✨ Tune into the full digital life reset episode below: