From 797a1404213173791a5f4126a77ad383ceb00064 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Christian Cleberg Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2024 22:34:28 -0600 Subject: initial migration to test org-mode --- content/blog/2023-10-04-digital-minimalism.md | 106 -------------------------- 1 file changed, 106 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 content/blog/2023-10-04-digital-minimalism.md (limited to 'content/blog/2023-10-04-digital-minimalism.md') diff --git a/content/blog/2023-10-04-digital-minimalism.md b/content/blog/2023-10-04-digital-minimalism.md deleted file mode 100644 index 63259dd..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2023-10-04-digital-minimalism.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,106 +0,0 @@ -+++ -date = 2023-10-04 -title = "Digital Minimalism" -description = "My personal retrospective on digital minimalism." -+++ - -I've written [a note about minimalism](/wiki/#digital-garden) -before, but I wanted to dedicate some time to reflect on digital -minimalism and how I've been able to minimize the impact of digital -devices in my life. - -> These changes crept up on us and happened fast, before we had a chance -> to step back and ask what we really wanted out of the rapid advances -> of the past decade. We added new technologies to the periphery of our -> experience for minor reasons, then woke one morning to discover that -> they had colonized the core of our daily life. We didn't, in other -> words, sign up for the digital world in which we're currently -> entrenched; we seem to have stumbled backward into it. -> -> *(Digital Minimalism, 2019)* - -## The Principles of Digital Minimalism - -As noted in Cal Newport's book, *Digital Minimalism*, there are three -main principles to digital minimalism that I tend to agree with: - -1. Clutter is costly. - - Digital minimalists recognize that cluttering their time and - attention with too many devices, apps, and services creates an - overall negative cost that can swamp the small benefits that - each individual item provides in isolation. -2. Optimization is important. - - Digital minimalists believe that deciding a particular - technology supports something they value is only the first step. - To truly extract its full potential benefit, it's necessary to - think carefully about how they'll use the technology. -3. Intentionality is satisfying. - - Digital minimalists derive significant satisfaction from their - general commitment to being more intentional about how they - engage with new technologies. This source of satisfaction is - independent of the specific decisions they make and is one of - the biggest reasons that minimalism tends to be immensely - meaningful to its practitioners. - -## Taking Action - -In order to put the logic into practice, I've created a few new habits -and continued performing old habits that are working well: - -### Using Devices With Intention - -- I already rarely use "social media", mostly limited to forums such - as Hacker News and Tildes, so I've just tweaked my behavior to stop - looking for content in those places when I'm bored. -- Use devices with intention. Each time I pick up a digital device, - there should be an intention to use the device to improve my current - situation. No more endless scrolling or searching for something to - interest me. - -### Prevent Distractions - -- Disable (most) notifications on all devices. I spent 15-30 minutes - going through the notifications on my phone, watch, and computer to - ensure that only a select few apps have the ability to interrupt me: - Calendar, Messages, Phone, Reminders, & Signal. -- Disable badges for any apps except the ones mentioned in the bullet - above. -- Set-up focus profiles across devices so that I can enable different - modes, such as Personal when I only want to see notifications from - people I care about or Do Not Disturb, where absolutely nothing can - interrupt me. -- Clean up my home screens. This one was quite easy as I already - maintain a minimalist set-up, but I went extreme by limiting my - phone to just eight apps on the home screen and four in the dock. If - I need another app, I'll have to search or use the app library. -- Remove the work profile from my phone. This was a tough decision as - having my work profile on my device definitely makes my life easier - at times, but it also has quite a negative effect when I'm "always - online" and can see the notifications and team activity 24/7. I - believe creating a distinct barrier between my work and personal - devices will be beneficial in the end. - -### Creating Alternative Activities - -This is the most difficult piece, as most of my hobbies and interests -lie in the digital world. However, I'm making a concerted effort to put -devices down unless necessary and force myself to perform other -activities in the physical world instead. - -I've started with a few basics that are always readily available to me: - -- Do a chore, such as organizing or cleaning. -- Read a book, study a piece of art, etc. -- Exercise or get outdoors. -- Participate in a hobby, such as photography, birding, disc golf, - etc. -- Let yourself be bored and wander into creativity. - -## Making Progress - -I'll be taking notes as I continue down this journey and hope to see -positive trends. I've always been a minimalist in the physical world -and it feels refreshing to filter out the clutter that has come to -dominate my digital life over the years. - -I'm excited to see where this journey leads. -- cgit v1.2.3-70-g09d2