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Last updated on April 9th, 2022 at 09:05 pm
During the first few weeks of quarantine, my mind felt completely bogged down. I believe a lot of it had to do with the media I was consuming. Sitting there mindlessly scrolling and clicking on articles that caused more anxiety than reassurance. So I decided to stop scrolling by doing a digital declutter.
Except it’s not that easy if you’re not intentional about it. I’d still scroll and have that unceasing feeling of brain clutter.
Then I finally picked up the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. I’d been wanting to read it for a long time and I finally found it on the county library’s ebook system. (Ironic, no?)
Digital Minimalism goes through all the negative effects we inadvertently know about using screens and brings it front and center with scientific research and examples to back up all the negative effects.
The main point is this: technology is not bad but we must use it in a way that enhances our life, not in a way that it takes over.
Most of us, myself included, have unconsciously allowed technology to take over, although at no fault of our own. Engineers have designed the apps on our smartphones so that we become addicted to checking.
It’s no accident.
We’re led to believe we don’t have enough time –that we’re so busy. But I don’t think we’re as busy as we think we are.
We believe we’re busy because whenever we come to a pocket of time with nothing to do, we automatically reach for our smartphones and pop open an app.
But that time could be put to much better use.
If you’re feeling like you don’t have time to do other things (like learn an instrument, read more, or even organize your home), use a digital declutter to get more time and organize your life.
This is what I’ve done to digital declutter and find time to do all the things I’ve been wanting to do.
The Digital Declutter Experiment
A couple of years ago, I began a small experiment in digital decluttering. Tired of constantly opening apps when prompted by an alert, I shut off nearly every notification on my smartphone.
No longer having the big red notifications prevented me from checking my email, Facebook, and Instagram every time I looked at my screen. But after a while, I began to open them anyway.
In Digital Minimalism, Newport recommends going a step further by removing all these distracting apps from your smartphone and only access social media sites from your computer.
But he also encourages you to fit this into your own needs and lifestyle based on what’s necessary. The premise is to make technology work for you.
As an online entrepreneur, I can’t exactly remove everything. I removed Facebook because I found myself mindlessly scrolling and getting anxious far too often. But I left Instagram because I like using and posting IG Stories. (I don’t use any other social media …Pinterest is a search engine, and I already limit my use on that app.)
The next step I took was to set aside deliberate time to go use each of these apps or replace what I was getting from other sources.
Planning
One thing I’ve been more intentional about since I finally figure out how to do it is planning out my week. Once I took the time to write down everything I need to do in a week and scheduled it out, I realized I have more time than I thought. Where was all the time going before?
Probably to mindless scrolling and app checking.
Here are the decisions I’ve made for using each app intentionally.
I deleted the app from my phone. I plan on only checking Facebook once per week and it has to be for getting involved with a group. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really use it for keeping in touch with anybody …those I want to talk to I’ll text or get on the phone with.
I also unliked and unfollowed pages and people that were posting things that tempt me to click, then bog down my mind (mostly news).
I usually avoid the news altogether because it stresses me out. But then I was left feeling uninformed. The uncurated articles from Facebook helped me stay informed but with the side effects of anxiety.
In Digital Minimalism, Newport recommends curating where you get your news and setting aside specific times to read it. Right now, I’m experimenting with reading the news during breakfast.
(Eating breakfast daily is another habit I’m cultivating, so I’m using Gretchen Rubin’s habit strategy of pairing to do both.)
Now I’m not clicking on clickbaity articles and wasting my time getting riled up about strangers on the internet.
And that feels good.
I really love Instagram. It’s fun. But I found myself spending way too much valuable time on there and not really engaging. (Which I know is bad because I have my friend Molly Cahill’s Instagram Engagement Checklist.)
Instagram is still on my iPhone but I’ve scheduled 20 minutes a day on my planner to keep myself in check and focused. Also, I used the screen time limits Apple now includes on its devices to warn me when I’m coming up on my time limit.
I’ve been working on planning and scheduling my Instagram content ahead of time so that when I do get on the app I can use my time to engage and actually build connections.
So that I’m not tempted to constantly check it, I removed the Mail app from the bottom of my iPhone’s home screen. I could’ve removed it altogether, but I want to experiment this way first.
Recently I’ve been reading emails before I begin creating, which is a big no-no if you follow Marie Forleo. (“Create before you consume,” she says.) So I’ve thrown my email app into the bucket with all my other messaging apps to make it harder to get to.
I’ve made a more conscious effort to only check and respond to emails on my computer (which I have to do for work anyway).
Next, I’ve been slowly unsubscribing from emails hitting my inbox. There are only a few people I want to follow and hear from, so I’m cleaning out the messages I’m able to click and consume.
To be clear, Pinterest is a search engine, not social media. However, it’s easy to get sucked into the app for hours at a time.
Since I’ve been listening to Simple Pin’s podcast, I’ve revamped my Pinterest marketing strategy so that I’m not spending hours there finding other people’s Pins to save. I now save mostly my own.
I do use the app for research purposes for content and creating inspiration boards for clients. But that time is limited for work.
Better use of time
One of the reasons I’m so eager to cut down on my screen time is because I’ll be homeschooling Juliana this fall. At first, I was freaking out about how I’d find time to work and teach and do all the other things I’m responsible for. Then when I audited my time by scheduling it out, I found way more time than I thought I had.
It turns out if I don’t use my phone constantly, I have a lot more time on my hands. I’m also able to focus on Juliana more because I’m not distracted by what other people are doing. (So part of this is me wanting to be a better example for my daughter.)
Now let’s turn this to you: If you’re feeling like you don’t have a lot of time, or your mind feels cluttered, try a digital declutter.
I recommend reading Digital Minimalism but if you can’t get it, or don’t want to for some reason, at least remove all the notifications and alerts from your phone. Trust me, it makes a huge difference.
Then plan out intentional time to spend on social media, the internet, and even TV.
You’ll be amazed at how much time you have for other things you’ve been wanting to do.
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