Monthly Grit Framework for your Digital Spring Cleaning

This month, I’m introducing a new feature inspired by Angela Duckworth's groundbreaking work on "Grit" - that powerful combination of passion and perseverance that drives long-term achievement. During my coding bootcamp days, her regular reflection check-ins helped me witness the true power of accumulated progress—those small daily efforts that compound into significant growth. As we tackle April's Digital Spring Cleaning theme, let's use this framework to build resilience while tidying our digital lives.

Passion Pulse

The digital tools we use should (mostly) spark joy and serve our purposes efficiently. This month, I invite you to examine your tech stack with fresh eyes:

• Which software subscriptions truly align with your goals and values?

• Where might you be experiencing redundancy across tools?

• What digital tools bring you genuine joy or help you slip into "the flow"?

Journal Prompt: List all your current software subscriptions with their monthly costs. Circle the ones that feel essential. Star those that bring you joy. What patterns emerge?

Perseverance Points

Tech challenges are inevitable. Recently, I've been following the Next.js security discussions—a framework I've invested time learning and have built my portfolio with. While my current projects don't handle sensitive customer data, these situations still prompt important reflection about the tools we rely on.

For small business owners, every tech solution will eventually present limitations. Rather than seeking perfect tools (they don't exist!), we can build our resilience by:

1. Expecting occasional changes from our tools

2. Creating contingency plans

3. Organizing our core business functions into distinct categories:

   • Email management

   • Cloud storage (for cross-device access)

   • Customer relationship management (CRM)

   • Marketing email platform (with analytics and CRM integration)

   • Website hosting

   • Scheduling and forms

Journal Prompt: What tech disappointment have you experienced recently? How did you respond? What would a more resilient response look like next time?

Growth Gauge

File management is a foundational skill that few of us were formally taught. Yet mastering your digital organization system can save countless hours and reduce cognitive load.

This month, I encourage you to play with your software settings! You have my official permission to explore, experiment, and even break things (temporarily). Create test projects, generate fake data, and discover the hidden features of the software you're paying for! This playful approach is how we truly learn and grow.

Journal Prompt: What's one digital organization skill you'd like to improve this month? How might you set aside 15 minutes to "play" with a tool you use regularly but haven't fully explored?

Resilience Reflection

I recently rekindled my relationship with Sunsama as my task manager after abandoning it four years ago during a post-layoff budget cut. What's fascinating is realizing why I struggled with it initially: I was overcomplicating it!

I had created an elaborate point system where tedious tasks earned more "points," which I'd tally for rewards. This system became so cumbersome that I considered building an app just to manage it. The irony! I've now embraced the simplicity of treating each task with equal importance and focusing on one thing at a time.

Journal Prompt: Where in your digital life might you be overcomplicating things? What would simplifying look like? What resistance arises when you consider streamlining?

Grit Goal

Setting achievable digital organization goals that work with neurodivergent thinking patterns:

1. Time-Bound Approach: Set a 10 or 15-minute timer for inbox processing rather than aiming for inbox zero

2. Flexible Organization: Designate specific "to be filed" folders rather than requiring immediate organization (I call mine "Inbox" for simplicity)

3. Visual Systems: Use color-coding that aligns with your intuitive associations

4. Process Documentation: Record Loom or Scribe videos of processes you frequently forget or take screenshots before changing settings

5. Automation: Use text expanders for frequently typed information and set up automated backups for peace of mind

6. Regular Maintenance: Create a "digital maintenance" recurring task on the first of each month with built-in rewards

7. Intentional Spaces: Use different browsers for different purposes to create dedicated focus areas

Journal Prompt: Select one goal from the list above (or create your own) that resonates most. What small step could you take in the next 24 hours to move toward this goal?

Community Connection

As part of my own digital spring cleaning, I'm mindfully downsizing my online presence. I'll be stepping back from Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram) and Twitter, focusing instead on BlueSky and YouTube. With the “potential” TikTok ban looming, I'm reflecting on which digital spaces truly serve my wellbeing and community connections.

I'd love to hear where you're finding meaningful community online these days. Which digital spaces feel nourishing rather than depleting?

Journal Prompt: Map your digital communities on paper. Which ones energize you? Which ones deplete you? What would an intentional digital community presence look like for you?

Mindfulness Moment

When examining your software systems, approach from a grounded state, ideally first thing in your workday. This allows you to clearly identify friction points in your workflows. Try this practice:

1. Before reviewing a digital process, take three deep breaths

2. As you move through each step, notice physical sensations in your body

3. When you encounter a hurdle, pause and write it down

4. For each friction point, ask:

   • How is this currently done?

   • What tools are being used?

   • (most importantly) Why does this need to happen?

By documenting these answers, you're creating a personalized guidebook for your operations—one that honors both efficiency and your unique needs.

Journal Prompt: Select one digital workflow that frequently frustrates you. Move through it slowly while noting your physical and emotional responses at each step. Where do you feel tension? Where does the flow feel natural?

Your Turn!

I'd love to hear your reflections on any part of this framework! Reply to this email with your insights, challenges, or celebrations. Your responses help shape future content and remind us all that we're not alone in our digital organization journeys.

Next month, we'll check in on our Digital Spring Cleaning progress and explore how our grit has grown through consistent small actions.