Number of words: 1,725<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our lives have become tech-centric. It\u2019s starting to \u201cown\u201d us. It\u2019s time to seek ways to redesign our relationship with technology. Enter Digital Minimalism. In 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the future: the iPhone 3 and, along with it, the App Store. It marked the beginning of the mobile revolution, the era of the apps and streaming. Not much later, Amazon introduced the Kindle. One of the oldest technology known to man became digital. And, a year later, Google launched Chrome. A little over a decade has passed but it seems like a century ago that our phones had a physical keyboard and we texted using SMS. Ten years later we are addicted to technology. We crave for it. Here are alarming numbers from research:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s time to put an end to this madness. Life happens when you look up and around you, not screens. How can we be more mindful around our technology? Digital minimalism is the answer\u2026 What Is Minimalism? \u201cThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up\u201d, a book about cleaning, simplifying and organizing your belongings, brought minimalism into the mainstream. And so, upon hearing the word \u201cminimalism\u201d, many think of owning only a few pieces of clothing, a tiny house with nothing but a mattress and zero waste. This couldn\u2019t be further away from the truth. Minimalism has little to do with stuff. Things are just a by-product of a mindset. Minimalism is about mindset. It\u2019s about living with intention. You make room?\u2014?space and time?\u2014? for the things you love and eliminate everything that distracts us from them. You become intentional with what you choose to do and own and how it impacts your way of living, thinking, and perspective on life. To add value to life, think subtraction. Think of what you can remove. Less is more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Is Digital Minimalism? As a part of Minimalism, Digital Minimalism embraces the same philosophy: to be intentional with our use of technology. Here\u2019s Cal Newport definition of digital minimalism: \u201cDigital minimalism is a philosophy that helps you question what digital communication tools (and behaviors surrounding these tools) add the most value to your life. It is motivated by the belief that intentionally and aggressively clearing away low-value digital noise, and optimizing your use of the tools that really matter, can significantly improve your life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s cleaning up your digital life to use just what you need in the most efficient way possible. You question whether a particular piece of technology?\u2014?email, social media, internet browsing, the phone?\u2014?is adding or removing value to your life. Below you\u2019ll find Digital Minimalism tips to simplify your online life and start building a better and healthier relationship with technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital Minimalism: Using the Computer Intentionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s start with the easiest one: setting up your computer to use it with intention. The goal is to remove anything that is not adding value and double down on what we use on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clean Up the Desktop: remove all the files and programs from your desktop. Use Spotlight to open them instead choose a Clean Wallpaper: it might seem trivial, but your wallpaper can have an impact on your productivity. Pick a photo that won\u2019t distract you but rather help you focus. I like Simple Desktops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Auto-Hide the Dock: you can set it up in the Dock preferences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uninstall Programs: go through your apps and delete everything that you don\u2019t use<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Install Updates: after clearing your unused apps, check for updates on the ones left and actually install them work in Full-Screen Mode: most programs offer full-screen mode, a perfect way to block out distractions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital Minimalism: Simplifying Files<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time to graduate to something a little more tricky: files. As hard drives get bigger we tend to accumulate a lot of digital junk on our computers. Over time, it\u2019s harder to find what we need. It\u2019s time to stop that. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delete: first up is deleting all the files you don\u2019t need<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upload to the Cloud: now split your files into two categories: the ones you use regularly and the ones you don\u2019t. For the later, upload them to the cloud. The major contenders are photos and old files you don\u2019t need<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make Content Searchable: choose easy to remember names for your folders and files so you can always find anything quickly using search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fewer Folders: search is so powerful now that filling becomes a thing of the past. Use fewer but bigger folders. I have \u201cWork\u201d, \u201cPersonal\u201d, and \u201cFun\u201d and then just search inside each one of them for what I need<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clear to Neutral: at the end of the day, close all your tabs and programs, delete or move all the files from Downloads, empty the trash, and shut off your computer. By clearing to neutral you\u2019re helping \u201cfuture you\u201d get started<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Access, Don\u2019t Own: ownership can be stressful. Instead, take advantage of the access economy by streaming video and music<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital Minimalism: A Better Phone Experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next up, let\u2019s tackle something a little bigger: our phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A little over a decade these devices didn\u2019t exist. So how come they are such a big part of our lives now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the step-by-step for digital minimalism on your phone and all-around a better experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remove Apps: as with the computer, start by deleting all the apps you don\u2019t use anymore. For apps you use but not frequently consider using the browser version<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remove Social Media: trust me, you\u2019ll survive. Social media isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing but it\u2019s definitely a bad habit<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Mindful Home Screen: place the 4 most used apps on your dock at the bottom. Put everything else into a single folder<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clean Up Contacts: browse through your contact list and delete numbers you won\u2019t need ever again<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delete: the prime candidates are podcasts and music you don\u2019t listen to anymore. Stream instead of downloading<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now Use Search: you can use spotlight not only to find apps but also content within them, like finding someone\u2019s phone number by typing their name. Search is your new best friend<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remove Notifications: leave phone calls and text messages but remove all the other notifications. Trust me, the world won\u2019t come to an end. When you want to check something, open the app and do so. Don\u2019t let the app control you to open it<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do Not Disturb: schedule Do Not Disturb after working hours so you can relax, such as from 8 PM to 8 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital Minimalism: Escaping Email Hell<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The average adult checks their email 45 times. Yet nobody has claimed to have changed the world by checking email. Treat email as a to-do and schedule it in your calendar. Only check email twice per day: late morning and late evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how to embrace digital minimalism when it comes to email:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turn Off Notifications: if you\u2019re not going to check email, why do you need the dings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No Email Before 11 AM: spend the early morning performing Deep Workon critical work that moves the needle on your goals<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have an End Time: one Pomodoro cycle (25 minutes) per session is more than enough to process email<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Close It: if you\u2019re done, close it. Out of sight, out of mind<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unsubscribe: from anything you don\u2019t need, such as newsletters, groups, mailing lists, and notifications<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Send Fewer Emails: not every email needs a response, especially if it\u2019s going to be \u201cThanks!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delay Answers: many \u201curgent\u201d emails tend to solve themselves<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be Succinct: don\u2019t write ten sentences when two suffice. Try replying to every email with three sentences or less<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reply with Statements: don\u2019t answer questions with another question. When asked \u201cWhat time should we have the meeting at?\u201d, be assertive: \u201c10 AM\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get Up: if it\u2019s going to take more than 10 minutes to write a reply, get up and go talk to your co-worker or wait until they take a break. Personal interactions beat email any day of the week<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking for a great productivity system to deal with email systematically? Copy the Getting Things Done Gmail System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital Minimalism: Internet<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s time to tame the biggest monster of them all. The internet is one big wonderful yet messy place. If you don\u2019t use wisely, you end up in rabbit holes. Here\u2019s how to achieve digital minimalism on the internet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Know Your Time Wasters: use Time Tracker to figure where you spend most of your web browsing. Knowing the time-wasters is the first step<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfollow & Unfriend: if it doesn\u2019t interest, entertain, or inform you anymore it\u2019s time to go. Our feeds are full of distracting posts from people we\u2019re not particularly close to. Unfriend anyone that doesn\u2019t add value to your life<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delete Social Media: no sense using all the platforms available. Keep only the ones that you love. If you want to go hardcore, delete your profiles (here\u2019s how to remove Facebook). To be less extreme simply de-activate your account<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No Bookmark Bar: next time you want to browse Reddit you\u2019ll have to manually type it<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Review Your Reading: stop browsing websites that do not contribute to your life. Removing an option by default is the quickest way to change behavior<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Block Websites: blacklist websites that aren\u2019t essential for work. In Mac use SelfControl; in Windows Cold Turkey; in Chrome StayFocusd; in Firefox use LeechBlock<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital Minimalism Is a Process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last thought I want to leave you with is that digital minimalism is not something that you do once and you\u2019re done with it. It\u2019s easy to delete and declutter your digital life in one big swoop and then immediately start collecting digital junk again. That\u2019s why digital minimalism is a process: it\u2019s not something that you do, it\u2019s something that you are. Therefore, you need to become a better gatekeeper of what you allow in your digital life. Constantly purge anything that doesn\u2019t add value to your life. Above all, remember: you are a person, not a product. Act like one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n