Digital Minimalism
Book by Cal Newport. As you can see, I’m a fan.
Introduction
- Problem: technology has so many benefits but has also mixed so many negatives about it as well, leading to technology’s control over our lives
- Moderate approaches are fair, but we need to develop a deeper philosophy on how we use technology
Digital Minimalism
Spend less time online to make full use of our high tech world. Prioritizes long term meaning over short term satisfaction.
Part 1: Foundations
A Lopsided Arms Race
Digital Minimalism
- Its hard to reform your digital life through the use of tips and tricks alone
Definition of digitial minimalism
Focus online time on small number of carefully selected activities that strongly support your values and miss out on everything else
- Always about implicit cost benefit analysis: ignore trivial distractions and even if there is a new technology that supports values, it must be the best technology
- By basing technology off values, we regain control over technology
- Maximalist philosophy: any potential for benefit is a reason to use the technoloy
- Not only do you have to quit social media, but you can also optimize it: use email newsletters instead of social media, bookmarking Facebook pages that are important
- Principles behind why this works:
- Clutter is costly: cluttering attention can lead to a greater harm than the individual good of all the apps that you download
- Thoreau’s new economics is a good supporting argument: we cannot only look at the benefits from a social media website, but also its costs. How much of your time and attention must be sacrificed by the occasional profit/connections you make on social media websites
- Must be thorough in our calculations of time spent.
- Optimization is important: not only should you select technology that supports your values, but think carefully about how you will use it
- Think of the law of diminishing returns. Small changes can lead to massive improvements, but they certainly diminish over time
- Many people are still stuck to the early part of the diminishing return curve and have not tried to optimize
- Examples: make Netflix streaming a social activity, removing app from phone
- Experiment with how you can best use technology
- Intentionality is satisfying: one big reason why minimalism is meaningful to practitioners
- Purposefully controlling what role technology plays in life. Can disregard at any moment (e.g., Mennonite, Amish)
- Clutter is costly: cluttering attention can lead to a greater harm than the individual good of all the apps that you download
Digital Declutter
- Recommend a rapid transformation, occurs in a short period of time and likely to stick
- Process:
- Put aside thirty-day period during which you take a break from optional technologies in life
- Explore and rediscover activities and behaviours that are satisfying and meaningful
- Reintroduce optional technologies at the end, but need to determine what is value is and how you will use it to maximize value
- Like a reset, but not a detox. This isn’t simply a break, it is a lifestyle change
- Step 1: Define Technology Rules
- Step 2: Take a Thirty Day Break
- Step 3: Reintroduce Technology