Spring isn't just for tidying closets—it's also the perfect time to declutter your digital workspace and reduce tech-related stress. As we wrap up Spring Cleaning Season and National Stress Awareness Month, we’re focusing on boosting performance, clearing out digital clutter, and helping your team work smarter—not harder.
If you're dealing with a sluggish computer, messy spreadsheets, or slow IT support, we've put together practical tips and productivity insights to help you refresh your tech environment and finish spring strong.
Is your computer getting slower by the day?
Apps take forever to open, your browser freezes, and your morning starts with a 10-minute wait just to log in.
Before you call IT or budget for a new machine, try these quick DIY fixes that often speed things up—no tech degree required.
A full restart clears temporary files, resets stuck processes, and gives your system a fresh start. If you usually just “sleep” or “shut the lid,” a proper reboot can work wonders.
Too many tabs = too much memory usage.
Close anything you’re not actively using—especially resource hogs like Chrome, Teams, or Zoom.
Some apps run in the background every time you log in—even if you’re not using them.
Junk files pile up over time and can slow things down.
Outdated software can slow performance or cause compatibility issues. Check for Windows updates and keep apps like Teams, Office, and Chrome up to date.
🛡️Scan for Malware or Unwanted Programs
Even if you don’t see popups, sneaky malware or “bloatware” could be eating resources.
Run a quick security scan using Windows Defender or your preferred antivirus tool.
If your hard drive is 90% full or more, your system can struggle.
Back up large files to OneDrive or an external hard drive to free up space.
This is the only semi-technical tip on the list. If your device supports it, adding RAM is often the most cost-effective way to breathe new life into a slow machine.
These tips work great for everyday slowdowns, but if your entire office is dealing with sluggish systems, there might be a bigger issue—like aging infrastructure, poor network setup, or overloaded servers.
ITS helps businesses optimize their tech, keep things running smoothly, and spot problems before they cost you time and money.
💡Want us to evaluate your systems for speed issues?
Excel is powerful—but most people only use the basics.
If your spreadsheets look like a wall of tiny numbers and text, it’s time for a quick cleanup.
The good news? You can make your spreadsheets easier to read, share, and understand in just a few clicks—no formulas or advanced training needed.
Highlight your data, go to the Home tab, and click Format as Table.
Boom—your data is now clean, sortable, and easy on the eyes.
Bonus: it auto-adds filter buttons to each column.
If text is getting cut off in cells, click Wrap Text in the Home tab.
Now you’ll see the full info—without stretching the column 10 miles wide.
Tired of forgetting what each column means?
Go to View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row so your headers stay put while you scroll down.
Instead of manually dragging column widths, select your whole sheet (Ctrl + A), then double-click any column border. Excel will auto-fit the content perfectly.
Want to quickly spot high numbers, low scores, or duplicates?
Use Conditional Formatting under the Home tab to color-code your data—no formulas required.
Click on any blank row or column, right-click, and choose Delete.
Or use Go To Special > Blanks to select all empty cells at once and clean up faster.
Got a list of names, emails, or values with duplicates?
Select the column and go to Data > Remove Duplicates. Excel will clean it up instantly.
Use Cell Styles (Home tab) to add bold headers, highlight totals, or give your sheet a consistent look—without messing with fonts manually.
When your spreadsheets are clean and easy to read,
your team can work faster, make better decisions, and avoid costly mistakes.
💡Want to strengthen your tech environment and
improve everyday efficiency?
Sticky notes. Random docs. Long email threads.
Let’s be honest—most teams are bad at capturing and organizing notes.
That’s where Microsoft OneNote comes in.
OneNote is like a digital binder that helps you organize your ideas, notes, and meeting recaps in one easy-to-search place. But most people barely scratch the surface.
Instead of one giant notebook, break it down.
Example: “Marketing,” “Operations,” or “Client A – Implementation.”
This keeps everything grouped logically so you’re not scrolling for days.
Inside each notebook, create Sections like “Meetings,” “Ideas,” “To-Do,” or “Project Phases.”
Think of these like tabs in a binder—they make it easy to jump between types of content.
Each meeting = one page.
Each brainstorm = one page.
Each checklist = one page.
Name them clearly with the date and topic so you (and your team) can find them later.
Highlight a sentence and click the checkbox icon to create tasks.
Even better: you can tag items as Important, Questions, or Follow-Up so you don’t lose track.
If you use Microsoft Teams or Outlook, OneNote integrates directly with both.
The search bar in OneNote is powerful. It can find text, tags, and even handwritten notes (if you’re using a tablet).
No more hunting through old notebooks or files.
Tired of recreating your meeting layout every time?
Just build a simple template (agenda, attendees, action items) and duplicate it for weekly meetings. Your notes will be consistent and way easier to review.
When your notes are clear, organized, and easy to share, meetings become more productive and drive real action.
Looking to boost productivity and security across the tools your team already uses?
💡We help businesses streamline their technology for better collaboration and smarter work.
You submitted the ticket.
You sent the email.
You even called—twice.
But the issue still isn’t fixed, and your team can’t work. Sound familiar?
Slow IT support isn’t just annoying. It’s expensive.
Every minute your systems are down is a minute of lost productivity, missed revenue, and growing frustration. And it’s happening more often than it should.
The Problem?
You’re not just dealing with broken tech—you’re dealing with a broken process.
Good support doesn’t mean fast talk. It means fast action.
If your current provider takes days to respond (or doesn’t respond at all), that’s a sign of deeper issues—like poor communication, lack of structure, or being stretched too thin.
But here’s the truth:
You deserve better.
And there are things you can do right now to start getting the support you need.
It sounds obvious, but many delays happen because people bypass the system. Make sure your team knows the correct way to submit issues—and what info to include for faster help.
If everything is marked as urgent, nothing is. Work with your provider to create priority levels (P1, P2, etc.) so they know what truly needs immediate attention—and what can wait a few hours.
Don’t just hope they’ll get back to you. SLAs are promises written into your agreement—like
“we’ll respond to critical issues within 1 hour.”
If your provider won’t agree to one, that’s a 🚩red flag.
Too many cooks cause chaos.
Having a single person on your side (and theirs) to handle communication speeds up troubleshooting and avoids missed messages.
Use these meetings to talk about recurring issues, support trends, and what can be improved. It keeps your provider accountable—and your team heard.
If your current IT partner can’t or won’t improve, you’ve outgrown them.
And you don’t need to settle for poor support.
At ITS, we’re built for fast, friendly, and reliable help. We don’t just wait for your call—we proactively monitor, respond, and fix problems before you even notice them.
Want IT support that shows up on time—and solves the problem the first time?
Let’s talk.
