Creating an Environment for Digital Minimalism
3 suggestions to make your new lifestyle stick
Many digital minimalists come to the point of halt whenever they initially get rid of their devices. We feel awesome during the initial days and weeks of the change. There is more time to read, work out, or express our creativity. However, a typical pitfall of this method is that we transfer our consumption from one device to another. The TV shows or social media engagement may have left our pockets, but it still permeates the environment in which we operate. The mere fact of getting a basic phone or getting rid of the apps is not enough to generate positive habits in the analog space. We have to create a digitally-free environment to make the habits stick and invite new positive outcomes for our lives.
Suggestion 1: Create physical distance from smart devices
This is by far the easiest suggestion on this post. It is quickly actionable and provides lasting change as the years pass by. By walking around a trail, visiting a friend for a cup of tea, or changing our routines, we can achieve the distance necessary to allow the inconveniences of basic devices to integrate with our new lifestyle. After multiple inconvenient moments, you will learn to live without the quick fixes that smart devices provide. Traveling to Florida this past weekend, I was reminded of the easiness that smartphones provide while traveling. QR codes for tickets at TSA, Uber or Lyft rides in an unknown city, readily available maps, and reviews for new eateries.
Had I not created the necessary gap between my technology use in previous years, I would have found it frustrating to navigate around this new environment. However, I already had practice with re-engaging old practices like hailing a taxi, printing my traveling materials in advance, and asking locals for recommendations instead of relying on the algorithms on the internet (which led me to Tako Cheena, an excellent Asian fusion restaurant). The distance created throughout my past allowed me to survive during my short stint in Florida and enjoy my surroundings without the need for smart devices.
Creating distance is simple and helpful for reorganizing your priorities. The more time you spend outside or doing activities with others, the easier it will be to realize what is important to you and how to maximize your time to enjoy those activities more frequently. Let it be going to the gym, sharing time with a significant other, or breathing fresh air in nature, creating distance will materialize the decision to spend less time online and more time offline.
Suggestion 2: Declutter your living space
I must confess I need to do this myself. After moving to Colorado, I reorganized my studio and wanted to pursue an essentialist mindset. I did a thorough inventory of every device I owned. I selected which ones to keep due to their usefulness, and which ones to discard, but I have not followed through. The clutter of my studio feels like a stain that I seem to not be able to get rid of. That is until today. A couple of hours after I send this blog to you, maybe as you are reading it, I will be cleaning my studio and disposing of my unnecessary devices. I have a Kindle that will be recycled, headphones that have lived past their usability, and countless cords that do not seem useful at this point in time. The clutter may not be crazy, but it keeps us attached to unnecessary items.
Decluttering is very useful because it not only creates distance from smart devices but eliminates them completely. Detachment from digital sources is just the first step of digital minimalism. In order to create positive experiences in the offline world, the goal is the progressive elimination of “digital pollution.” This pollution comes from a multitude of sources. It can be a browser with social media, a smartphone pinging you via WhatsApp every 10 minutes, or the snarky and clever “next episode” button on your favorite streaming app. As you re-envision your digital practices, consider decluttering your physical and digital spaces. Purging old selfies or photos of your food, donating or selling your older devices, and uninstalling programs that are not used anymore are some examples to consider. After a couple of sessions of decluttering, you’ll find more mental space and a better environment to foment offline habits.
Suggestion 3: Adopt digital silence
Over the last few years, smart devices have become exponentially more powerful. We can use them to turn the lights in our house, help us communicate with people on the other side of the globe, and even pay for our groceries. Our dependency on them continues to increase as they become an extension of ourselves. Thus, we ought to make space for silence. A period of time every week where we turn them off and recover our time for reflection. This suggestion is related to creating physical space, but it is wholly different. Digital silence is about turning to our thoughts and enjoying the stillness that boredom provides. Creating physical space from our smart devices provides an atmosphere for digital silence, but it is not digital silence.1
Mastering these periods of silence is complicated. We are so used to receiving constant stimuli that our brain does not desire interruptions. We want more every day, hour, and minute. In order to regain our sanity, creativity, and peace, we need to let go of the flashy colors emanating from our devices and re-engage with the palette found in the rocks, trees, and objects outside the walls. While digital silence is not only found in nature (there are plenty of distractions found in trails), it is a helpful avenue. Find a place that works for you (either inside or outside) and learn to enjoy the lessons that silence provides.
Some Helpful Aids
Rize is a productivity tracker software that reminds you to take breaks and breaks down your productive hours. I recommend you get a lifetime license via AppSumo.
Cold Turkey is a computer blocker that allows you to only use certain apps at a time.
Get a basic phone. They create a lot of friction and help in the digital minimalism journey. Use my dumbphone finder to filter through the different options.
You can go on a walk and listen to a podcast via an old mp3 player or talk to a friend at a party. These create distance from smart devices. Digital silence is the complete disconnection from the outside world. Newspapers, thoughts from others, email, etc.