I’ve been reading Cal Newport’s “Digital Minimalism”, and I’ve decided to try out the “digital declutter” exercise he describes in the first half of the book. Basically it’s an elimination diet of optional apps & entertainment on your devices. The goal being to get back to a baseline, and giving yourself the perspective to consider whether a certain app is creating true value in your life, or is just another distraction worth cutting out from your life permanently.
I’ve built a list of the technology I want to eliminate during this 30 day period. Mostly distracting apps and websites, but I’m also limiting entertainment like streaming services and video games.
I already consider myself someone with a healthy relationship with technology, but I’ve no doubt the transition and adjustment period of having to find new ways to fill idle time will be tough. I’ve already identified reading, writing, and exercise as good substitutes during this period, but also a chance to get reacquainted with my hobbies.
This is day 1.
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2 responses to “Digital declutter”
Jeff – I absolutely loved Digital Minimalism. I’d love to hear what your declutter looked like? I recently moved into a SaaS sales role from banking, and have found myself feeling guilty for not being on LinkedIn / Twitter all of the time.
How do you manage your professional effectiveness while also not being on these platforms all the time?
After doing this declutter for nearly a month, the biggest takeaway for me has been how much I tend to overestimate my reliance on most of these platforms. Initially cutting out apps like Twitter and Linkedin were jarring, purely from cutting that addictive loop of checking those apps for shiny new notifications. But after a week or two of that, I’ve found any desire to even look at them has vanished. And I’m no worse for it. I learned that years ago when I completely deleted my Facebook account. I haven’t missed it once.
Certainly some apps, like Linkedin, I’d consider more essential if I were in a career search, for instance, or sales, but right now my need for daily interaction with that site is pretty minimal. I imagine once I wrap up in a week or so with this experiment, I’ll allow myself access again to Linkedin, but strictly on weekends or evenings. And then, only the web client. I have no plans to add back any dedicated apps for social media.
Were I to be more required in my professional duties to be present on these platforms regularly, I suspect the solution is one of rules and balance. Dedicated work profiles. Dedicated time periods and boundaries. I already do that sort of thing with slack, email, and my calendar, so why shouldn’t social platforms be governed by similar rules?
Best of luck!