Digital Minimalism

9 min read

I have been on this journey to understand my social media usage for a few months now. I have kept track of the thought patterns that come up when I scroll through Twitter and Instagram. In the last two years, I have also read a couple of books about productivity (Atomic Habits, Deep Work, The Productive Life) and technology (Bored and Brilliant, Unfrazzle). I heard about Digital Minimalism from another reader on Instagram and decided to pick it up – how did Cal Newport’s research align with the thoughts I had been having? What new strategies could I learn to make the most of my time? This book offered a lot of information and below I have summarized how it aligned with my ideas and my takeaways. Take a look at the synopsis first to get an idea about the depth of content in Digital Minimalism.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It’s the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.

In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling author of Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has already improved countless lives.

Digital minimalists are all around us. They’re the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations without furtive glances at their phones. They can get lost in a good book, a woodworking project, or a leisurely morning run. They can have fun with friends and family without the obsessive urge to document the experience. They stay informed about the news of the day, but don’t feel overwhelmed by it. They don’t experience “fear of missing out” because they already know which activities provide them meaning and satisfaction.

Now, Newport gives us a name for this quiet movement, and makes a persuasive case for its urgency in our tech-saturated world. Common sense tips, like turning off notifications, or occasional rituals like observing a digital sabbath, don’t go far enough in helping us take back control of our technological lives, and attempts to unplug completely are complicated by the demands of family, friends and work. What we need instead is a thoughtful method to decide what tools to use, for what purposes, and under what conditions.

Drawing on a diverse array of real-life examples, from Amish farmers to harried parents to Silicon Valley programmers, Newport identifies the common practices of digital minimalists and the ideas that underpin them. He shows how digital minimalists are rethinking their relationship to social media, rediscovering the pleasures of the offline world, and reconnecting with their inner selves through regular periods of solitude. He then shares strategies for integrating these practices into your life, starting with a thirty-day “digital declutter” process that has already helped thousands feel less overwhelmed and more in control.

Technology is intrinsically neither good nor bad. The key is using it to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you. This book shows the way.

Content Notes: None that I could identify.


Themes for Thought from Digital Minimalism

I want to start off by saying that Digital Minimalism is not just about social media or apps – it is a book about intentional technology usage. Our apps and devices are so intermingled with each other that to be successful at digital minimalism, it is not enough to just tackle the apps. The philosophy does not advocate for dropping everything, turning off the Internet and switching to a flip phone. All it wants for the reader is to think about their technology usage – how much is it? Why do we use it? Can we use it in a way that we can make time for other things we want to do. We have to think holistically. 

Principles of Digital Minimalism

  1. It is hard to look at the things we do for fun and to relax with a profit/loss mindset, but in the long run, if we don’t think through this, it will hurt us. You might wonder what do we measure the value of using the technology against? It is time. How much of our time and attention has to be sacrificed to earn the occasional hit of likes and feeling popular on social media is the cost we pay when using it. Our most important resource is the minutes in our lives, and digital minimalism is all about prioritizing where we spent our minutes.
  2. When we think through why we use technologies, we can find a sweet point where we get the most out of technology, without losing anything. This can come about by creating new habits, setting regular times when we check on the particular people whose lives interest us or talk to them in person or via phone.
  3. It is natural to feel that we will be left out or miss important announcements or events in people’s lives. However, when we commit to digital minimalism, that itself yields satisfaction. From my own experiences, knowing that I am in control of how much time I spend on apps and why brings me a lot of satisfaction. It makes me feel like I have designed a lifestyle where I am pursuing my passions the best way I can.

To implement these principles, Newport presents some ideas. He did an experiment with his mailing list where people implemented various strategies to become digital minimalists, and he shares what worked and didn’t work for them. The key idea was to identify think about:

  • How and when to use a particular technology
  • Cultivate high quality alternative to the easy distraction of new technology

By making time away from devices and creating routines and habits that still help us achieve the same goals, we are able to have a more fulfilling experience. Newport also suggests making actual time for people to call us rather than relying on long text conversations as an immediate way to catch up with people, without dragging it on.

Reclaim Leisure

If I was to recommend one chapter of this book, it would be Chapter 6 – Reclaim Leisure. It is all about creating a life well lived and the most important characteristic of such a life is to be satisfied with what we do.

A life well lived requires activities that serve no other purpose than the satisfaction that the activity itself generates.

Digital Minimalism, Pg 166
leisure activities - reading
Image on Unsplash

Though the examples that Newport gives relate to leisure with a physical end object, eg woodcraft, I believe that activities like writing and reading, while not producing something physical in the objective sense, are equally satisfying pursuits.

One of the concerns that I mentioned above was the fear of losing out. We have always heard of scheduling the important things, Newport suggests to also schedule the low-quality leisure (yes, that includes just mindless scrolling). I found his suggestion of a Season Leisure Plan fascinating and something I would implement in the future. 

A good seasonal leisure plan contains two types of items: objectives (specific goals with strategies on how to accomplish them) and habits (behavior rules to stick to) that you intend to honor in the upcoming season.

Digital Minimalism, Pg 207

How I use Digital Minimalism

I have tried the obvious strategies of taking certain apps like Twitter and Facebook off my phone so that I don’t mindlessly scroll on them on my phone, but most of the time, the time I saved by not going on those apps, would end up on a different app altogether like Instagram. There are too many easy distractions at our fingertips. 

I started using Twitter regularly about two years back when I became serious about writing regularly on my blog. I connected with many people in the book blogging community as well as authors. It was the place to spread the word. But with trying to be more visible, came the tension around was I truly visible? I would see other people’s success, the number of likes they were getting (and superficially it seemed to me that they were not doing much), and yet my content wasn’t getting the same reach. These constant negative feelings and impulsive comparisons were pulling me down. 

Twitter & Facebook

I sat down with myself and thought about what I really wanted. My goal was to read and write regularly and my audience does not affect those things. I love reading and writing, always have, and the number of views are not reason to propel me to do more (I already read 8-12 books a month, what more can I do there, even to satisfy the audience?). While Twitter and Facebook have been wonderful to connect with people and get my content to those interested to read them, they no longer factor into my writing. I don’t have either of them on my phone. I check Twitter only through Tweetdeck so that there is no live feed. I check if anyone else has posted a link to my blog and my messages. That’s it.

Instagram

My focus has moved to Instagram though. That’s the app on my phone. And it isn’t there to get more likes or more views for the blog. It is impossible to add links to posts and stories unless one has 10,000 followers and the chances are, I will find a new hobby before I reach 10k. I love staging books – it’s a creative outlet for me and that is why I spend time on Instagram. There are two low-pressure engagement groups that have helped me find amazing book recommendations and given me ideas for further staging. Instagram is all about aesthetics for me and I love it! Instagram tracks the time spent on it (and you can set restrictions on there if you like) and currently, I am at about 35 minutes a day, which isn’t bad! 🙂

What these little things have done
  1. I no longer worry about how much I am writing on my blog. I have been able to take the views and likes out of the equation and just focus on my internal tendency to follow my passion.
  2. There are a couple of people whose work I admire and look up, at least once a month. I have a dedicated time to catch up on what they have been posting on their book blogs. 
  3. I have stopped using Goodreads as frequently. People post Goodreads updates all the time on Twitter. I did that too when I was active there. To reduce further time on my phone, I just keep track of books in my bullet journal and add things to Goodreads if I feel like it.
  4. I add books I see on Instagram to my library holds or lists. That keeps me going on my TBR rather than forgetting about books I have added to it. 
  5. Not being on Twitter has helped me rethink what I want to read. I don’t get as many review requests anymore and by not being constantly bombarded with people coming out with new books, I am able to focus on my own TBR.

Overall, Digital Minimalism is a well researched and informative book. With lots of examples and literature to turn to, Cal Newport puts together a great argument towards building a more intentional technology habit. The strategies he suggests to get started are good too. They can be hard to follow through but if you have already started thinking about how and when you use technology, I would build on from there, rather than taking a 30 day break. There were certain parts of the book that felt anti-Facebook to me but as the first major social media platform that has innovated immensely in the last decade, I can see why it ended up being the target.

reading experience for Digital Minimalism and short review
Quick review of Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

** Digital Minimalism is available in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! I’m sure you will be able to find a copy at your local library (that’s how I read mine) so check it out there first. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle

Below are some other resources and books to check out if you are rethinking social media use and want to look into the effects of phones on our brains.

Cover image: Photo by Pratik Gupta on Unsplash

Enjoyed this post? Get everything delivered right to your mailbox. 📫

Kriti K Written by:

I am Kriti, an avid reader and collector of books. I bring you my thoughts on known and hidden gems of the book world and creators in all domains.

5 Comments

  1. November 17, 2020
    Reply

    I remember you talking about this before, Kriti. The book seems to have confirmed your already very sensible and balanced approach to the use of social media. I’m sill trying to decide where my priorities lie, but writing stories and poems on my blog and interacting with people on WP is what gives me the greatest satisfaction… and might sell the occasional novel. I’ve gone a bit quiet everywhere this month for NaNo though!

    • November 17, 2020
      Reply

      Yes this is the one I was referring to 🙂 As our goals change, our technology use changes too and I think that’s something this book did not do a good job of explaining. I;m glad you know what brings you satisfaction – that’s really important! ❤️

  2. November 18, 2020
    Reply

    It’s really interesting to hear about your approach to social media, Kriti! I don’t use Instagram, partly because it seems so time consuming. I limit myself now to only one look through my Twitter timeline per day. It definitely helps. Great to hear you are finding a better balance too. 🙂

    • November 18, 2020
      Reply

      Thanks, Stephen! Looking at the timeline once a day is a great strategy. I am always curious about how people maintain a balance in their online and offline life so it is neat to get your insight. 🙂

  3. Gayathri Lakshminarayanan
    December 1, 2020
    Reply

    I love the idea behind this book. I wish I could take a leaf off these suggestions and try it out! Good rec.

What are your thoughts about this post? I would love to hear from you! :) Note that comments are moderated and you will get a notification when they are approved!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.