About a month ago I decided to start a digital declutter experiment, inspired by reading Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism. For at least the past two years I’ve been increasingly wary of the role digital tools, entertainment, and particularly social media have encroached on my life and attention.
The point of the declutter was to hit reset, and rid myself of the obvious offenders for a 30 day period. And the results, now that the experiment is over?
Some online experience I’ve really looked forward to returning to, while others I don’t have much plan to return to. Twitter is a great example of a site I’d habitually check all day every day. But depriving myself of it for 30 days has changed my view of the site – I’ve lost all desire to return to it, at least in any active sense.
Instagram, on the other hand, I’ve missed as it’s a connection between friends and family. It still requires some limits in place to avoid sucking me into it for too much each day, but I think it’s a tool I’ll use sparing moving forward.
Linkedin is an other example of a site that still feels relevant and valuable for me from a professional sense, but it too I’d like to restrict to only a small investment of time each week.
I consider the experiment a success, and a worthwhile one to try. Much like an elimination diet can help you identify food sensitivities and allergies, a digital declutter can help you see the digital parts of your life with a third person perspective, and isolate which experiences are creating value vs causing harm.