Written by Sven Mesihovic

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Technology is consuming our time – now more than ever – in some way, shape, or form. Yes, it helps us maintain relationships and business functions during the pandemic, but let’s confess, there are lots of low-value “technological” activities that just swallow up our attention. Knowing how harmful these activities can be to productivity, friendships, and personal well-being sometimes isn’t enough to stop us from using them.

I was wary about what habits I would develop upon entering quarantine. Fortunately, my roommate recommended me the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport on the first day of quarantine. In the book, Newport dives into the philosophy of how individuals should be using technology, why we find ourselves so entranced by what’s on our screens, and how we can break free from and hold technology has on us. At first the philosophy may seem fairly radical, or even anti-technology, but as the book develops you begin to see the practicality and pro-efficiency ideals embedded in its practices. The lessons learned from this book will be essential to thriving beyond the COVID-Era since we are just now entering a truly digital age.

What is Digital Minimalism?

Newport Defines Digital Minimalism (DM) as:

“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 the things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.”

It then follows that a Digital Minimalist is and individual who prioritizes their values, and then that individual(s) uses technology in a way that directly supports those values. This does not necessarily mean downloading hundreds of applications to streamline all your values into your phone, but rather it involves deliberately addressing certain values that can be positively affected by reducing either the steps or time it takes to complete the task.

What do you value? The best example of this is mobile check deposits. Everyone values getting paid, but not everyone values getting their check, driving to the bank, stopping for gas, getting a flat, etc. and THEN getting paid. Mobile depositing effectively cuts steps (at least the step of driving to the bank), and it drastically cuts down on the time it takes until the money is in your account which makes it a technology that can positively impact your life. Mobile depositing is a generic tech that serves as a good example, but in reality there are thousands of technologies that can support your more specific values. What matters most here involves understanding where and how these technologies are going to impact your life.

Normal Deposit		Mobile Deposit
Drive to Bank	15 minutes	Deposit Check	5 minutes (with complications)
Deposit Check	3 minutes
Drive Home	15 minutes
Total Time (“Best Case”) = 33 minutes		Total Time (“Worst Case”) = 5 minutes

*Based on the time to my bank

Why does DM matter?

New technologies are abundant. Yes, some of them are useful or can even be life changing. However, many more have little to no benefit. With so many free apps, we can get fooled into thinking that it’s entirely free. . . not realizing the expensive value of our opportunity cost.

We often have a false impression of the benefits, when in reality, this tech also brings a slew of negative psychological or physical effects:

“Connecting” can be lonely. For example, a 2017 study found that individuals with high social media usage had higher feelings of social isolation compared to their low use counterparts. Newport even mentions that Facebook’s internal research began to show similar results (before it got shut down). Ironically, social media sites are perceived to combat this exact feeling!

It’s addictive. On top of this, the algorithms that allow people to discover new content on sites like Facebook and YouTube are designed to capture their attention for as long as possible.

The screen can hurt you. Prolonged usage of these apps can cause eyestrain, sleep problems, and even reduce physical activity. At first glance, using technology to the point of eyestrain may seem unfathomable, but with the shift to digital work environments, people are already spending 8+ hours each day staring at their screens. Any technology use on top of these 8 hours significantly increases the likelihood of any physical harm tenfold. How many of us has looked at a screen for more than 8 hours in a day? Lots, I imagine.

What are some best practices?

Digital minimalism can be a guide. Everyone is a little different. Some of the fanatics scale down to “dumb phones” (flip phones) or take off-the-grid sabbaticals, while the more moderate practitioners restrict technology to particular times of the day. Regardless of degree of application, the goal is to enhance your high-value activities by ensuring your tech usage is a means, not an end.

Face-to-face. For starters, face-to-face interactions triumph over virtual ones. A common pitfall that virtual environments may perpetuate is that social media likes and comments are equivalent to full blown conversations. Not true.

Prioritize. In reality, ten x 15 minute Instagram sessions spent liking posts from 700 different people cannot compare to a 2.5 hour hang out with 2-4 people in person or even a 30 minute individual phone call. The intimacy that these smaller gatherings provide allow you to learn the different “nuances” and “expressions” (Newport) of a select group which, in turn, allows you to grow closer and connect in a truly human way.

Getting in the habit of carving out time to prioritize specific friends/co-workers will strengthen your relationships and build a network of individuals you can trust as the world evolves.

Budgeting screen time. Another classic technique is restricting screen time. By “budgeting” out your time for digital exposure, you have greater control of the most “value-adding” exposures. This has become such a common, and effective, practice that Samsung has even implemented app time restrictions into their phone UI software.

Design your “newfound” time. An important note: Newport suggests that you find a specific high-value activity to fill your “newfound” time. Without a specific activity to fill up this time, you may find yourself pulling up YouTube for another few hours. By deliberately stating what you will be doing, just as you deliberately stated when you will cutoff tech use, you set yourself up for success before you’ve even begun.

Be in the world, not of it. In the book, Newport elaborates on how the Amish have thrived as a community because “they start with the things they value most, then work backward to ask whether a given new technology performs more harm than good with respect to these values.” As a result, the Amish have adopted town phone booths and tractors as well as solar panels and generators to directly benefit their high-value activities.

Be picky with technology. Outside of the Amish community, taking a similar mindset may prove beneficial as technology continues to evolve. This means being deliberate and rigorous when deciding how you will let new tech enter your life so that it has a clear and direct impact on your life/high-value activities. As a result, you may find yourself following the Amish teaching of “being in the world, not of it”.

Employees that keep this in mind will certainly have an advantage over those who don’t:

By creating/maintaining a reliable network of relationships, you will work better cross-functionally and be more open to new opportunities
By focusing on less, you will likely be more productive and generate better results
By making time for personal growth, you can reinvent yourself and innovate
By starting with your values and working backwards, you can start to question the artificial norms that have defined our (over)use of technology

Generally speaking, it is essential that we control how technology is integrated into our lives to ensure the technology serves our values rather than forcing our values to adopt the technology. The world is currently saturated with technology meant to only eat up our limited time.

My two cents, give it a shot. Small victories are still victories. It’s always worth fighting for things we can control. Reclaiming your time from technology that is not helping you is a good thing. For me, it’s a new perspective, attitude, and approach on how to achieve the goals that really matter.

Some things I have changed:

Block off time for that “thing” you want to do – I personally wanted to get Bloomberg certified, so I blocked off the time period 9:30-11:30/12 AM (time usually spent on my phone or surfing the web) every morning. Because I blocked off time AND found something to fill the time with, I was able to complete my Bloomberg certification in about 1.5 weeks (10 days).
The infamous “extra 10 minutes” – Somehow I’d have “10 extra minutes” almost 10 times a day, so clearly the time adds up quickly! In situations where I found myself with extra time on my hands, I always made sure to reach for a book rather than my phone. By adding another 100 minuets to my daily hour of reading, I was able to read 5 books (400 page average) in about 4 weeks
Mindful messaging – Rather than checking my phone whenever it would ring, I would instead keep my phone on silent, out of my reach, and only check it at certain predetermined times (usually after I complete some work or if I urgently needed to message someone). Doing this made me feel much more control over how often I checked my phone, when I would use apps, and the the time I spent staring at a screen.
Delete Social Media – The hardest thing is letting go… because there are about 15 steps you need to go through before Instagram will let you completely delete your account. My social media usage now consists of the monthly Facebook check and the bi-weekly LinkedIn check, both of which are no more than 5 minutes. This was the first step I took to becoming a Digital Minimalist and the reason I was able to commit to the philosophy.

Your tips on digital minimalism?