My Digital Declutter
In June, 2023, we read Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. As i discussed during the meeting, I know that I suffered from an abundance of digital distractions. Ever since I started mowing the lawn when I was a kid with my Sony Walkman headphones on, I can't think of a time when I've really purposefully experienced solitude.
So I decided to do the digital declutter Cal recommends in the book.
I removed social media apps from my phone (exception: I kept Instagram with the library's account on there b/c lately we've been getting good growth and engagement by being responsive to customer stories and tags),
Removed all my games (yep, Wordle, too),
Removed the browser (it can be done!), and
Removed anything else that was on there that was in any way a time-waster or a compulsive digital behavior bug (including my Starbucks app which got heavy use).
First week down and here are some results and observations:
Here’s what the phone saw. Big drop in screen time, decent drop in pickups!
I don’t feel compelled to have my phone with me all the time, and I’ve even left it at home a time or two. Very freeing.
Here are some other thoughts and observations from the week.
GETTING MORE SLEEP
I both napped a lot more and got more sleep at night, which has been pretty damn nice. I slept more on the weekend probably to power through some of the loss of my time wasters, but also am not spending time checking things before bed (often stressing myself out about assignments or obligations) and not grabbing my phone if I can't sleep in the middle of the night.
NOTICING MORE THINGS
I definitely feel like I had blinders on to things around me. My wife is super observant and always asks me things like "is that car still parked in front of the neighbor's house?" or "did you see that cat outside?" and I totally could not recall things that were probably feet away from me. Now, without the headphones feeding me podcasts and books, I see and remember things. I like it.
GETTING MORE WORK DONE
I absolutely feel like I'm getting more tasks completed, I'm getting things done ahead of time, and I'm even seeing the quality of my work and my ability to think on my feet improve.
My boss was talking with me a few weeks ago about the different parts of my department. I inherited the department and it was and is called Community Relations and Marketing. We know what the marketing part is, but there’s always been some debate about the community relations part. He asked “what’s the community relations part mean to you?” We talked about PR and what it might mean in other organizations, but it was more opinion than purpose.
This week we were talking about our central contact center, and it clicked. THAT could be what “community relations” means. Not PR, not business development, not ad trading, but how do we manage our relationships with our community at the member level. My department does some, but it’s never been a whole picture. This is the bridge. Well, that was my epiphany anyway and it felt strong. We’ll see if it becomes reality.
READING A PHYSICAL BOOK IS NEAT
I absolutely love audiobooks for the convenience. I can read a book three times or more in the course of a month because I’m listening at every moment during chores, driving, walking… There are other benefits too, but it’s mostly convenience. But now i’m reading physical books and it’s really nice. I don’t know that I’ll be able to read the same volume of books, but I’ll see.
MISS MY PODCASTS
I do miss my podcasts. I like the para-social relationship and comfort that listening my favorite podcasts brings. However, I know that they were sources of distraction, so I’m finding ways to make more use of the time (like writing this article!).
PEOPLE AND DOGS ARE COOL
While it was sort of fun to post jokes on the Seinfeld subreddit or share thoughts on Facebook or Twitter, sharing those same things with the people in my life is better. I can see very well now how sharing things online can cause a constant feeling of having to fill the gap and check for reactions. I don’t care for the emptiness, and real life interactions don’t make me feel that way.
Also, I like giving our dogs my full attention. We have a 1 1/2 yo golden/yellow lab mix and a 12 week-old puppy. I like hanging out with them and not just casually observing them as they grow up.
REPLACING ‘LIKES’ WITH THOUGHTFUL COMMENTS IS BETTER
I took the “don’t click like” from the book to heart, and it does feel like a much better way of interacting online. Even in the group I manage for this club, I’ve stopped clicking like. I appreciate everyone’s comments and it’s nice to take the time to think about that and share it with them. I hope it helps our interactions on the receiver’s side, because it definitely helps from this side.
So, there’s three more weeks in the declutter, then I’ll see what if anything I want to add back and how. Will share more about how it’s going.
Are you now or have you ever tried this or something like it? Email me to let me know your thoughts. Thanks for reading!