The Digital Declutter // Digital Minimalism 04

“Like decluttering your house, this lifestyle experiment provides a rest for your digital life by clearing away distracting tools and compulsive habits that may have accumulated haphazardly over time and replacing them with a much more intentional set of behaviors.” -Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism

Being a computer scientist, Dr. Cal Newport invited volunteers from his email subscriber list to alpha test his digital declutter method. He expected fifty participants. He got 1,600.

People are hungry for solutions to an overwhelming life mediated by tech platforms. This article explores a promising option, the digital declutter.

The declutter is an abrupt change to your digital lifestyle, because a gradual change may not be effective. There’s too much inertia in a behavioral addiction, such as social media use or gambling. Go cold turkey.

If you’re interested in trying the declutter for yourself, the three steps are summarized below.

1. Define your technology rules.

The declutter is meant to remove “optional technologies” also known as “new technologies” such as Instagram, text messaging, and Reddit. Your coffee maker is not a new technology. If you’re not sure whether or not a technology is optional, use Cal Newport’s rule of thumb, quoted below:

Consider the technology optional unless its temporary removal would harm or significantly disrupt the daily operation of your professional or personal life.

If a technology is not optional, say work email, you can still cut the fat through operating procedures, specifying how and when you use the technology. For example, you use work email only after lunch and before leaving the office, and you delete or don’t reply to messages whenever feasible.

When you’ve developed your list of removed technologies and the operating procedures for remaining technologies, write down your plan and post it somewhere visible.

2. Take a break.

This is not just a detox. This is a time to test, cut clutter, increase your intention, and make a permanent transformation to your digital life. If you view the declutter as a temporary state of being, it may be harder to stick to it and less beneficial.

You’re going to have a lot more time on your hands when you make these cuts. It’s important to have high quality activities to substitute for passive digital distraction. Otherwise, you may end up checking the weather to substitute for your quick glances at facebook. Prioritize your wellbeing and explore meaningful leisure.

Part 2 of Digital Minimalism goes deep on the value and practice of leisure. For now, consider the hobbies you left behind or want to try. Get the guitar out of the closet and sign up for that salsa dancing lesson.

3. Reintroduce technology.

This step requires decisions that will last into your future. If you go back to haphazard tech use after your 30 days, it is just a detox. The declutter is a time for thoughtful assessment and reflection.

When deciding what optional technologies to bring into your life, use the following questions.

-Does this technology directly support something that I deeply value?

-Is this technology the best way to support this value?

-How am I going to use this technology going forward to maximize its value and minimize its harms?

For the first two questions, demand that the answer be an emphatic YES!

For the third question, liberate yourself from the binary proposition that tech companies propose, either you use it or you don’t. In fact, there are many ways to use these products. If you use Instagram because you’re a visual artist and value seeing inspiring work from other artists, your use has probably swollen to include frequent checks and many accounts not related to your art. Cut the excess, check the 12 most inspiring accounts every Sunday night and nothing more.

For more, read the book, Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.