Why digital clutter makes you feel more exhausted than you realize

I mean… she could just be taking a picture of the back of her head to make sure her part is straight.

You open your laptop to do one quick thing, but your desktop is a mess. There are 14 tabs open from yesterday. Your inbox is full of newsletters you never signed up for, and five notifications pop up before you even finish your first sentence.

You haven’t even started working, and you already feel behind.

F.A.Q. - Is digital clutter really that bad?

Q: Why does digital clutter feel so mentally draining?
A: Your brain treats every unread email, open tab, or messy folder like an unfinished task. Even if you’re not consciously thinking about it, your mental load goes up, and your focus and energy go down.

Q: What are some signs that digital clutter is affecting me?
A: If you feel scattered, slow to start tasks, overwhelmed by notifications, or annoyed every time you open your inbox or laptop, you’re probably dealing with digital clutter fatigue.

Q: Do I have to fix everything all at once?
A: Nope. Start small. Clearing one folder, unsubscribing from a few emails, or closing your open tabs can give your brain a noticeable sense of relief. Small wins add up fast.

The invisible weight of digital clutter

Unlike a messy house, digital clutter doesn’t trip you on the way to the kitchen. But it does create low-level stress that builds up over time.

Here’s how:

This would make me nuts. Anyone else?

1. Your brain is constantly scanning for threats, decisions, and next steps

Every app badge, email subject line, and half-finished document is an unresolved decision. Even if you’re not actively dealing with them, your brain still registers each one like a sticky note in the corner of your eye saying, “Hey. Don’t forget me. Handle this soon. Or else.”

Your brain sees every open loop as a task.

Even if you’re not actively thinking about them, your brain is. Psychologists call this the Zeigarnik Effect; your mind keeps tugging at unfinished tasks in the background.

2. You’re making way more micro-decisions than you realize

“Do I delete this? Respond later? Keep it just in case? Move it to a folder? Create a folder?” Digital clutter makes your brain run mental obstacle courses just to check your email.

No wonder you're exhausted.

It’s a thousand tiny decisions

Each open tab, each unread email, each file you save with “_final_final_thisone2” attached; your brain registers these as micro-decisions. That decision fatigue adds up, just like it does at the end of a long day of parenting or people-pleasing.

3. You can’t fully relax in a cluttered digital environment

Even when you’re trying to watch a show or scroll for fun, you might still get pinged by a work notification, see a “clean your storage” pop-up, or spot a ghost app you forgot to cancel. Instead of winding down, your nervous system stays in low-grade alert mode. Not enough to panic, just enough to keep you from ever fully resting.

It steals your rest

Even your downtime feels less relaxing when your tech is cluttered. You go to scroll something fun, and instead, you’re flooded with reminders of things you haven’t done. Even the visual noise of cluttered screens keeps your nervous system in low-level alert mode.

I once realized I had six versions of a workshop PDF, all with slightly different names, scattered across my desktop, email, and Google Drive. It took me 45 minutes to figure out which one was the real final, and I still wasn’t totally sure. That day, I didn’t feel productive. I felt defeated.

But it’s “just digital.” Why does it matter this much?

Because your brain doesn’t separate “real-world clutter” from digital clutter. It just sees clutter. Incomplete tasks. Open loops. Constant choices. Think about what your brain thinks when it sees all those little icons. It quietly whispers, “You’re behind.”

Digital clutter doesn’t stay neatly in your devices. It spills over into your focus, your sleep, and your confidence. It makes you feel scattered and slow, even when you're working hard. And over time, it makes even small tasks feel like uphill battles. It doesn’t look like a disaster, but it feels like one over time.

Want to fix it?

You don’t have to Marie Kondo your whole digital world overnight. But one tiny win: one cleared folder or closed tab can lift more weight than you expect.

Want support as you clean up the clutter? Start with my Declutter your digital life guide for tips and resources to help you.

Want more support in this area?

Explore our Home HUB to reflect, take action, and grab tools designed to help you take charge of your home life so that it becomes your favorite place to be.

Where is your digital clutter screaming the loudest? Drop it in the comments.

New around here? Welcome.

I’m Michelle, a life coach, course creator, and recovering overachiever who finally got tired of chasing the wrong version of success. I don’t believe in perfect lives. I believe in intentional ones.

I started Intendify Your Life to help people stop living for everyone else and start building a life that feels like home.

Warning: I’m a little blunt, a little nerdy, and wildly in favor of tough love and bold decisions.

Want to know the whole story? Start here.

At Intendify, we break life down into 12 key areas and offer guided paths to help you reflect, plan, and take action—so you can start living more intentionally, one step at a time.

It’s like having a life coach in your pocket, minus the awkward eye contact.