Technology has changed our lives at such speed and with such impact in ways that we probably are not wholly aware of. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the good technology brings and use it every day. But there is a flip side to it as well that I had not given sufficient thought to before until I watched a few documentaries and did more reading on the topic.
The impacts could range from being as small as running out of space on your phone because of the numerous duplicate files and photos you have, to algorithms that are specifically designed to impact our brain’s reward system to keep us addicted to our screens because we live in an attention economy where we, the customer, are now the product. This paper in the Harvard Brain further outlines how the impacts on our dopamine system impact our learning and habit formation. And at worst, it allows for the perpetuation of biases or perhaps dangerous ideas that exist in society to occur on a greater scale.
Now I’m no tech expert, I would not even consider myself tech-savvy. But one of my goals is to be a digital minimalist so that I can find more focus amidst all the noise in today’s world and circumvent the tactics tech companies employ to keep us hooked to our devices. It’s not just about deleting digital clutter but also having the necessary tech boundaries in place to support our well-being.
Why is it worth it? For me the benefits are:
- Helps me focus and concentrate by reducing distractions to boost productivity - Cutting out the invisible productivity-killers buys me back more time and energy to do the things that matter to me.
- Saves me time looking for files, articles, or documents - I get distracted easily so what should be a quick search for that screenshot of a recipe I took could turn into a 30-minute stroll through memory lane of my photo gallery.
- Gives me more emotional energy - Just as physical clutter causes low-level anxiety, digital clutter can equally add to that distress. An organized digital workspace gives me more feelings of calm, freedom, and peace of mind.
- Frees up mental space and allows me to create systems that help me automate parts of my life - By leveraging technology to automate, I cut out a lot of unnecessary “manual labour” to free up more mental space for other endeavours
- Helps me be more intentional with my online activities - By choosing to eliminate distractions and filtering out the unnecessary, I reduce things that fragment my time and frazzle my attention.
I’ve tried tips like not using my phone for a weekend, deleting social media apps, doing a digital detox, and various other suggestions but I end up back at square one where I yet again need another digital detox or a weekend without notifications.
It becomes a vicious cycle.
I needed a more permanent solution. Much like quick hardcore diets don’t work in the long run, short-term methods like digital detoxes don’t have a long-term effect. I needed a better system to leverage the good that technology brings and sidestep the bad. I needed to create a digital minimalist lifestyle whereby I can optimize for productivity without becoming a slave to my devices. My relationship with technology needed a complete overhaul.
So in this section of my blog, I share my journey of how I Konmari my digital world. You can expect posts such as:
- My top tech boundaries to support my well-being
- How to organize emails, files, documents for quick and easy access
- How to easily keep track of learning materials for professional development
- The mental traps of social media and how to avoid them
If you would like to get started with digital decluttering but don’t know where to start, you can download my free 10-step checklist to a better digital life.
Technology has changed our lives in massive ways at such a speed that we didn’t have time to learn how to ensure the relationship we have with it does not negatively impact our health. The challenge is that the problems can be hard to see as they are often not obvious or within our sphere of awareness but still have a pronounced impact on our well-being. In an age where we are constantly connected and online amidst an endless sea of information to wade through, it takes work to focus on the things that truly matter.
Technology should support our life, not run it.
As always, take what is useful, and leave what isn’t. The goal here is to share ideas, start conversations, and continue growing.
To a decluttered digital life,
Sharon