Digital Minimalism: 3 Questions for Long-Term Success and Happiness
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We’re not big fans of the D-word here at Myrth, but we’re making an exception this one time for something important. If you haven’t thought about it in a while, it’s probably time to go on a technology diet.
Look, we get it. Technology is key to how so many of us live our lives. Our Myrth team is spread out all over the place, so we rely heavily on Slack messages, emails, and video chats to work together. But that doesn’t mean all technology is helpful or healthy.
In fact, some of it is probably hurting you.
We’ve recently been reading Georgetown computer science professor Cal Newport’s latest book, Digital Minimalism, and reassessing (yet again) our relationships with our phones, laptops, and apps. Emma’s talked here before about how she manages her tech use, but things change over time, and it’s always good to check in with yourself periodically. More mindful use of our technology will give us time and mental bandwidth for achieving the other goals we’ve set for ourselves, whether that’s creating a new habit, breaking a bad one, or something else.
Minimalism Is A Tool, Not A Set Of Rules
“Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.”
Let’s back up a bit, though. To understand digital minimalism, you first have to understand minimalism in general. It’s not about limiting yourself to a certain number of physical possessions, dressing only in neutral-colored linen, having no deep personal connections with the world, or even about tossing out your tv. Minimalism is about knowing how much is enough, and stopping there. As The Minimalists say, “Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.”
Minimalism has a long history, and digital minimalism was born from those millennia of thought and experiment. Its essential idea is this: as with the physical world, it’s easy to fill our digital world with clutter. This clutter not only doesn’t add things to our lives, but can be actively harmful. In the case of our digital lives, it can cause distraction at work and at home, interrupt special moments with loved ones, and even have addictive tendencies.
All of these get in the way of your ability to grow as a person and achieve the things you really want to achieve. Distraction, noise, and clutter aren’t great for your physical space, and they’re not great for your digital world, either.
Enter: the digital declutter.
How To Do A Digital Declutter
Newport recommends starting out with a 30-day declutter period. That involves removing all non-essential tech from your life - all the things you don’t absolutely need to do your job or communicate with the most important people in your life. For most of us, that includes things like Netflix, social media apps (yes, Instagram, we’re looking at you), and mindless phone games.
To maximize your chances of success, find real-world substitutes for the digital things you’re giving up - books, coffee meetings with friends, newspapers, etc. Be mindful of what triggers you to check your digital devices (boredom, frustration, craving new input, avoiding people) and plan for how you’ll address that. Finally, because unexpected things happen, make a plan for what you’ll do if you slip up and need to get back on track.
Digital Minimalism for Long-Term Success
When you’re done with your declutter phase, however long you decide to make that, you’ll want to plan for a better long-term relationship with your technology. Start reintroducing technology slowly and mindfully. As you reintroduce each bit of technology, ask yourself three questions: what, how, and when?
What technology am I going to use? Just because you liked it before doesn’t mean you’ll miss it during your declutter or want to resume using it when your declutter is over. Maybe you found that you can’t use Facebook without sinking into a mindless scroll, that news apps just send you into a spiral of worry, or that having four different messaging platforms on your phone is overwhelming. You don’t have to reintroduce the things that don’t work for you.
How am I going to use this technology? Once you choose the things you’re going to keep using, ask yourself how you plan to use them. We loved this episode of Pivot, where its host, Jenny Blake, explains how she uses Instagram intentionally. Instead of following all 2000+ of her Facebook friends, which just filled her with anxiety and made her constantly compare her life to others, she follows only soothing content like New Yorker cartoons and cute animals. The takeaway? Use your tech the way that works for you.
When am I going to use this technology? Finally, set limits for yourself. Tech apps, especially social media apps, are designed to be addictive. You can break that loop by setting time limits for each day, deciding to only use certain apps on certain days of the week or during certain times of day, or using other strategies that work for you. We hate getting sucked into the endless beeps and scrolling of social media, which is why we’ve built Myrth to be the kind of app where you only need to check in briefly once a day. Everything else can be done off-line.
By thoughtfully engaging with your technology as you move forward, you’ll be able to set appropriate limits and keep it from taking up more space in your life than it should. That will leave you space for doing more of what you really cherish: spending time with loved ones in real life, exploring other hobbies, learning a new language, or maybe writing that book you’ve always wanted to write. The sky’s the limit.
Have you gone on a digital detox? Do you live a digital minimalist life? We’d love to hear your strategies for success! Leave a comment below.