My road to Digital Minimalism
Learn how to embrace technology for the things you truly care about. Learn how to be focused in this distracted world.
Hey there! Happy Sunday.
First of all, let’s catch up. Although it doesn’t affect me directly, I have been falling into a rabbit hole of the #Election2020 results. From being awake all night watching news channels to reading countless articles and Op-eds, I have done it all. I should have read a Dan Brown book instead. Anyway, let bygones be bygones.
Just like we all waited for our haircuts and parties in lockdown, we have to wait again. Americans have a “lame-duck’’ presidency for 3-ish months when President Trump would retain power in the White House.
If the GOP does maintain control of the Senate, Biden’s legislative agenda could face a McConnell-sized roadblock. That’s the exact gridlock investors cheered earlier this week because it’d likely keep Trump’s pro-biz legislation intact.
Anyway, here’s something that cheered me up during the counting:
Best Political Ad Campaign Ever 📺
I've seen some great political ads in recent weeks, but this is the most potent ad I've seen for how politics SHOULD be. All leaders should follow Utah’s example and lower the heat. What a refreshing sight to watch!
"We can debate issues without degrading each other's character," says Peterson. "We can disagree without hating each other," says Cox. "And win or lose, in Utah we work together," says Peterson. "So let's show the country there's a better way," says Cox.
Yes! To all of that!
So…I started listening to Cal Newport’s Podcast a couple of weeks ago AND it has struck a chord with me.
It’s rare for an author to create a podcast that so effectively reinforces and explores the concepts presented in their writing.
Cal’s mix of guidance, productivity hacks and tough love is potentially life-changing.
It’s like having your personal mentor. No way I miss listening to him during cycling at night.
Cal has the wisdom to spare and generously takes time to answer all kinds of questions, from the practical to the philosophical, giving each one a good dose of thoughtful advice as well as the occasional kick in the butt.
There is often humour and the occasional laugh, yet the topics visited are serious, and the answers are guided by a solid set of principles which are revisited again and again until they almost become second nature.
Honestly, “valuable insights” seems too weak of a phrase to capture how much Cal has positively transformed both my work life and my personal endeavours.
What is Digital Minimalism? 🔋
Digital minimalism is a philosophy that helps you question what digital communication tools (and behaviors surrounding these tools) add the most value to your life. It is motivated by the belief that intentionally and aggressively clearing away low-value digital noise, and optimizing your use of the tools that really matter, can significantly improve your life.
My take: Less is More 🔑
We have to realize that the new digital technologies have an abundance of potential to improve our life but realizing that potential is a very tough job.
Understanding when a new technology can fortify and support your core principles is valuable.
What does it all boil down to for me? The general thinking is that a minimalist digital life is not a rejection of tech but it is, by contrast, an embrace of the immense values that these new tools offers…provided we know how to best leverage them on behalf of the things we truly care about.
Actionable snippets on Digital Minimalism:
#1 Social Media 📱
I spent a month in 2019 without any form of social media. Guess what happened?
During that month away, I learned some important lessons. And I unlearned a few bad habits. Most importantly, I discovered a need for me to use social media differently going forward.
The good I learnt:
Purpose:
It is now clear to me, the purpose is communication. Social media can be a noisy place, and we don’t want to add to the noise—we want to whisper to the people who are listening. Effective communication of thoughts, ideas and insights.Augmentation:
Use social media to augment your creations. Your creations should provide value. Social media will simply append your creation. For example, my newsletter isn’t social media, it’s my creation.Value
Before clicking that “Tweet” button, think about the value you’re providing. Before publishing, I must be able to affirmatively answer one question: Does this add value? If not, then I delete.Unfollow
Many of us have been let down or put in a very bad mood by seeing a post of a celebrity or a friend. Letting go of the negative is the only way to make room for the valuable. Unfollow them today.
The bad:
Idiots and Pacifiers:
If the purpose of social media is to communicate with other humans, then we also must be careful with whom we engage. The best method is to avoid arguing. Whether it’s books or social media we get lost in, we must work hard to use these tools deliberately to help us function in the real world—not remove ourselves from it.Triplicate:
Post a photo to Instagram, repost it to Twitter, and then re-repost it to Facebook. Lather, rinse, repeat. Triplicating our efforts isn’t only tedious, it’s the opposite of using these platforms intentionally.
#2 Information Overload 🌧️
Do any of these sound familiar?
Too many apps/social media
Too many WhatsApp groups
The need to work online, but wanting to sever the digital connection
Saving things “just in case” (I am guilty as charged)
Saving too many digital reading materials, falling behind & feeling overwhelmed
Having too much online data, too many identities
Having to use social network or chat apps to connect to teams, and being constantly distracted
Not being sure about the best way to store photos, digital memories, passwords
Needing to check Twitter/Instagram (FOMO)
Sorting emails
With the advent of the internet, the democratization of information has progressed more rapidly than ever before in human history. Whereas centuries ago we used to have trouble finding information, now the issue is filtering it.
There appears to be little reason to be concerned about ‘the loss of mankind’s memory.’ There are good reasons for being concerned about the overloading of its circuits. — Elizabeth Einstein
When information is cheap, attention becomes expensive. — The Information by James Gleick
How do we know what information is useful and what isn’t? How do we separate the signal from the noise?
#3 Don’t click Like 👍
Social media is paradoxical when you think that Humans are social animals.
There is a stark difference between conversation and connection.
The conversation is in person or a phone call.
The connection is “1-bit”: liking or commenting on a post
Use your connections to create conversations
What this looks like: seeing a photo of a friend’s engagement and scheduling a meetup to congratulate instead of liking the photo and commenting “Congrats”
Limiting the number of friends on social media will greatly help you reach this goal
#4 Win Leisure Back 🏄♂️
Often times, in the modern digital world, instead of actually pursuing fun leisure activities, we will fill our gaps of time with things that we do not even enjoy. READ THAT AGAIN.
Key takeaways:
Prioritize demanding activity over passive consumption
Use skills to produce valuable things in the physical world
Seek activities that require real-world, structured social interactions
Fix or build something every week (Writing this newsletter for me)
#5 Others
Things that I do regularly, up for consideration:
I stay away from websites that encourage excessive content consumption (Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and even Reddit to an extent)
I turn off my computer about 1-3 hrs before bed (working on doing the same for my phone)
Real-life social interactions over digital social interactions. Staying up till 4 and having an IRL conversation with a couple of friends instead of watching Netflix.
I let myself enjoy silence every once in a while (no audiobooks, podcasts, Spotify playlists, podcasts etc.)
Hello Darkness, my old friend. If I'm feeling bored, if I feel sad, if I feel frustrated, I just let it happen. Aren't these experiences what makes me human after all? Why should I try to drown that out with technology?
Endnote: The Digital Frontier
Digital time has such a spectrum. It would be interesting to see a system developed to help people consciously track their time spent online and evaluate if the activities
a) contributed real pleasure to their lives and
b) are in line with their values and principles.
When I actually think about it, almost nothing in the news directly or indirectly affects me. And there is not much I can do about most of it. If something is really important, or really affects me I know I will learn about it anyway – I’ve done “news fasts” of several months before, and it really only had positive impacts on me – less time wasted, less time worrying about things I can’t influence or control, and less time getting angry about things that don’t really matter.
In the end, allow me to inspire you to read the book: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. Here are some reviews:
Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo of technology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digital pursuits that do and don’t, bring value to your life.” —Ezra Klein, founder of Vox.com
This book is an urgent call to action for anyone serious about being in
command of their own life. —Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle Is the Way
Those who have read this book, have won the digital lottery, in effect.
Less stuff, more life!
Less scrolling, more living!
Until next time,
Darshil
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👋 The End
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After a lot of excellent reviews, I will be publishing Part 2 of the series The Art of Negotiation by Chris Voss coming Sunday. If you haven’t already, please read Part 1 by clicking below!