When you finish a task, should you archive it or delete it? Archiving keeps it searchable if you need it later, while deleting removes it permanently. Archive when you're unsure you'll never need it again.
All right, I don't need this anymore. I'm just gonna go in and archive or delete or archive or delete or archive or delete or archive. Delete archive. Curious whether you should archive or delete that task or email or document. Yeah, Take the stress out of it. We're gonna cover it in this quick video. First of all, what is the difference between archiving and deleting? Well, it really does depend on the piece of software that you're working within. But generally speaking, Archive is kind of like a folder in some ways. You know that folder that you have inside your filing cabinet that you never really look in, but you know it's there in case you need it? Yeah, that's what Archive is. It's kind of tucking things in that dusty corner. It's there if you need it, but it's out of your way if you don't need it. That's what archive is all about. Deletion, on the other hand, is more serious. It's what it sounds like. It's like putting that piece of paper in the paper shredder and saying goodbye forever. For most software, deleting something doesn't instantly just make that piece of information disappear forever. Most of the time, when you click delete, in most tools, your information will go into almost like a pre deletion area, often called a trash can or recycle bin. This is also also kind of like a folder, but rather than it just being a nice little dusty folder that doesn't do anything, this is almost like, you know, death row for your files in that all of the stuff that's inside this recycle bin or deletion area will eventually be permanently deleted. It's up to the software whether that's instantaneously after 30 days or whatever it is. For example, in the software ClickUp, you can archive any given task by going into the three dots of settings. That'll just tuck it out of your view, but it'll still show up in search. It'll still show up in your sidebar if you choose to show archived. However, if you delete that same item, it'll no longer show up in search. It'll no longer be findable, except by going into the overall trash can of your account, where you can then recover that file, but only only for 30 days, after which that item is permanently deleted. Now this is just ClickUp. That's one example. But most pieces of cloud based software work in a similar way. Always check the piece of software you're considering deleting from if you're feeling nervous. So what should you do when you're hovering over that file and you're trying to figure out should I archive or should I delete? Well, if it's something you do not need now, but you might need at some point in the future, I would archive it. If that item is something you probably won't need it again, but you're not willing to swear your mother's life on it again, I would probably archive it. If you're super sure you do not need an item again, but you're also prone to being indecisive in changing your mind, I would archive it. If you're zoning out right now and you actually just skipped ahead in this video and reached this point because of the chapters we have in this video. TLDR too long didn't read archive it if you're not sure, archive it if you're kind of sure, archive it. If you think you're sure, but you're not really sure you're sure, archive it. If in doubt, archive it. However, if you never want to be reminded of something again because its actual existence just drives you mad and you couldn't stand to see that task or calendar event or document one more time or you'll just snap and quit your career and go become a van lifer in the Midwest. If that is you. In that case, go ahead and delete that task, document or whatever. Only in that extreme instance, or if you are trying to reduce your data footprint and the carbon footprint of your data in either of those extremes, that is when I would go about deleting. But otherwise, if you have archive available, it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, right? Yeah, thanks for watching this Quick rundown on Archive vs Delete. I hope this was helpful to you. If you're still stuck on the fence, go ahead and drop a comment below. And until next time, enjoy the process.
