Recently, I read Digital Minimalism and started implementing some of its ideas in my life. In this post, I want to share my perspective on the book and the effects it has had in my life.
Part 1: Foundations
The main argument behind the reasoning in the book is that many people have been convinced to use technology in ways that detract from their happiness and values. Building on the philosophies of Aristotle, Henry David Thoreau, and others, Cal argues that we can find happiness through skilled, focused work and pursuing our deeply held values.
The way to achieve this is to take a minimalist approach to digital technology. That means dropping or modifying our usage of the apps, services, and devices that fail to provide the most value for our time.
Digital Minimalism
A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.
Digital Minimalism, 28
This can be contrasted with a maximalist approach, which says that anything that provides some value should be included.
There are three principles Cal presents in support of this philosophy:
- Clutter is costly.
- Optimization is important.
- Intentionality is satisfying.
The explanations behind these principles were one of the most interesting parts of the book, and there isn’t room here to give it justice—so I will leave that for you to read!
The Digital Declutter
To be minimal requires some deep thinking about what value we actually get out of the services we use. For a quick example, some of the value that I get out of Facebook is staying connected with my family. Perhaps by commenting on my sister’s post about my niece and nephew. However, that value is probably better supported by calling my sister. The connection is more meaningful, and it’s not diluted by the mindless scrolling that Facebook often draws me into.
Cal recommends doing a month-long digital declutter to start that process. While in the middle of everything, it can be difficult to evaluate what actually works for us. This is especially true because many apps are designed specifically to grab our attention for as long as possible. Simply saying “I won’t use ______ as much” isn’t likely to last very long.
So, it’s best to start with a clean slate and put everything down for a month. Note that this covers only “optional technologies,” which we have to decide for ourselves. Cal suggests this heuristic: “consider the technology optional unless its temporary removal would harm or significantly disrupt the daily operation of your professional or personal life” (page 64).
During that month-long declutter, the goal is to find and reconnect with satisfying, meaningful activities. Then, at the end, when it’s time to start reintroducing what had been cut out, we can make decisions about whether there’s room in our lives for that, after all.
It’s not all black and white, though. A lot of times all we need to do is optimize our use of a service in order to get what we want out of it without being distracted by its lower-value parts.
Part 2: Practices
The remainder of the book focuses on various qualities of a good life, and practices we can do to obtain those qualities. The exact qualities—solitude, deep conversation over shallow connection, and high-quality leisure—are debatable, but the evidence Cal presents is convincing.
As I have started to implement some of these practices in my own life, I can say that they have been effective for me. The existence of this blog is evidence of that. Prior to doing my digital declutter, I would spend hours reading articles on my phone. Sure, some of those articles had useful information for me, but there were better ways for me to learn new things. Now I use Android’s digital wellbeing tools to limit my browser to five minutes a day, just to look up something quick when I need it, which has led to having time for writing of my own.
Conclusion
I still have room to grow in my practice as a digital minimalist, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Cal Newport’s book. Even if you decide that the philosophy isn’t for you, I think anyone can benefit from thinking about the questions it raises about our relationship with the technology that has become such a large part of our lives.
I’d love to hear your perspective on this philosophy! Especially if you have tried or are trying digital minimalism. I’m always looking for ways to continue growing.