TidyPilot

Digital Noise Audit

A 10-minute worksheet that shows you where your apps, files, and notifications are fighting each other. Print it or jot answers in any notes app. The goal is not to clean everything today — it is to find the parts of your system that work against each other.

Step 1: Devices

List every device that can interrupt you:

• Phone:
• Computer:
• Tablet:
• Watch:
• Work device:
• Other:

Step 2: Repeated notifications

Where do you receive the same alert more than once?

App/source	Phone	Computer	Watch/tablet	Keep where?
Calendar
Email
Messages
Work chat
Social

Rule: one alert should have one primary route unless it is truly urgent.

Step 3: Source-of-truth map

Choose one owner for each category.

Category	Current places	Source of truth	Review later
Files
Photos/videos
Notes
Tasks
Calendar
Passwords/recovery codes
Receipts/subscriptions

Step 4: Duplicate zones

Mark anything that may contain duplicates:

• iCloud
• Google Drive
• OneDrive
• Dropbox
• Desktop/downloads
• Phone photos
• Screenshots
• Calendar
• Contacts
• Notes
• Browser bookmarks/tabs

Do not delete yet. Create review queues first.

Step 5: App overlap

Which apps are doing the same job?

Job	Apps doing it	Keep	Phase out
Notes
Tasks
Files
Chat
Photos
Calendar

Step 6: First cleanup rule

Write one rule you can keep this week. Example:

Screenshots are reviewed every Friday: keep, act, archive, or delete.

• Your rule:

Step 7: Next step

TidyPilot Digital Pilot turns this audit into a full system: a source-of-truth map, notification routes, safe duplicate review queues, and a 10-minute weekly maintenance routine.