It has been more than a decade since apple
merge iPod and phone into 1
Books are compressed into a tablet.
We are in a world where there's almost no
way we can survive without technology.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not against technology.
I love the fact that we are living in such
an advanced time. But if we slow down and
notice, we are not effectively using these
techs as a tool. Instead, our behaviours are
controlled by them, our happiness depends
on it, to a certain level, we can't live without
it.
We probably stare at screens longer than the
time we face our loved ones. If we are tired
of this phone-lit face of ours, then digital
minimalism might be the solution.
Similar to minimalism, what we want to achieve
from digital minimalism is to be mindful with
the use of our techs and digital tools. Use
them intentionally, instead of them taking
control over our lives.
My minimalism journey has been comfortable.
Removing things are pretty much straight forward.
However, when it comes to digital clutter,
they can be intangible but yet visible. I'm
overwhelmed by the mess I've accumulated over
the years. They are an eyesore, but yet they
can be invisible if we choose to. Often, we
just choose to see what we want to see, and
hide the ugly side.
But thanks to the prior knowledge on minimalism,
I know that there's no need to rush the whole
process. So I'll be bringing you along with
me on this journey of digital decluttering.
I’ll call it the Mass digital cleanse. Baby
step by baby step.
So today let's start with something everybody
has and it’s always near us, a phone. A
study shows that in 2019, we use an average
of 3 hours 30minutes on our phones.
And my average daily use far exceeded the
result. And thar’s the reason why I really
need this digital decluttering.
But first, let me explain. My girlfriend is
not here with me so these few weeks we have
been skyping with her through phone.
But being able to justify doesn’t make the
excuse better. I still spend a lot of time
on social media, instagram to be exact.
So, take a look at our screen time report
on our phone in order for us to know how and
what can we do to make the various changes
for the better.
So now, let us look into our primary source
of digital clutter, apps.
We clutter our devices with these tools. The
fact that they are free makes us keep whatever
we might need in the future in our phones
no matter how useful they are, I call them
"just in case" apps, and I always have this
"just in case" mindset at the back of my mind.
I wouldn't know when I’ll need them, so
I chose to keep them, and that has created
a huge issue for me. It doesn’t just clutter
my phone, it clutters my mind as well and
deeply affects my productivity. There's a
lot of time when I stare at my home screen.
I can't seem to find the app that I want.
Maybe, it's because I'm messy and disorganised.
But the best thing we can do is to declutter
useless apps.
And how can we define "useless"?
That’s when we need to give ourselves a
guideline to follow. I use the 90-day rule.
If you haven't used it for the past 90 days.
This app is probably not essential for me
to have on my phone. I find 90 days is the
perfect spot for me. It’s that recent, but
still long enough for me to identify that
this app is not important for me.
After filtering with this guideline, we can
also dive deeper if these remaining apps.
Do they bring us value? Or are they another
duplicates.
Sometimes we can't decide what we want. Especially
me, I’m very indecisive. I have apple maps
and google maps. I kept both apps with the
same function because I can't decide which
is a better option. Just pick one and stick
with it. Remember, we can always change our
choices. One map, one music player, one email.
I've also made a separate video where I've
decluttered 60 useless apps which I thought
I might use in the future, but apparently
not. It’s exclusively on my Patreon page.
If you are interested, please check it out.
Don't be afraid to delete apps. I know they
are free and we ended up hoarding a lot of
them. But it's because they are free, we can
always retrieve them back whenever we need
it, but of course do it mindfully.
After decluttering unnecessary apps, I'm pretty
sure social media apps are still on our phone.
I'm not all against the use of social media
because it helps me to connect with people
across the globe. I can reach out to you guys
and communicate with yall through messages.
However, something with such great power has
its dark side. If we are not mindful of the
use, it will become the glue that glues us
to our phones.
I'm not here to tell anyone to deprive ourselves
and ban us from using it. But what's important
is to find the balance, because there's a
difference between using it as a tool and
being treated as a tool of social media conglomerates.
A lot of us have probably found ourselves
in a situation where we know that we have
tasks to complete or have to rest, but yet
we are stuck in the rabbit hole of mindless
scrolling.
We fall into this trap because it's easy.
A simple act of reading the time on the phone
can lead to constant scrolling on Instagram,
without you being aware. Just with one click
and we can see what we want to see. One of
the ways I cut down on the use of social media
is by adding friction to the use of these
apps. I hide it. Try changing the location
of the app, so our muscle memories wouldn't
know where to find it, even if I want to.
And during the wait, I start to realize that
I just wanted to search for a cheap thrill
of scrolling.
This friction creates a waiting time for us
to think about what we are trying to do, and
stop our subconscious mind from doing what
we are not supposed to.
However, a simple way to stop those distractions
is to delete the app. Nothing as straightforward
as that. We can redownload it if we have to
make a post or treat it as a tool.
I’ve deleted my instagram for a few days
now and i’ve downloaded it once to make
a post, to use it as a tool. But I love the
feeling of knowing that I don’t have to
go for a virtual adventure on the explore
page just because I’m bored.
Next, delete your contacts. It's one of the
most satisfying things to do, removing unwanted
contacts from your phone. You might start
to notice you probably only need 20% of your
contacts. If we aren't that close to this
particular person, we perhaps wouldn't even
communicate via calls or text. Not to mention,
I feel that most of this secondary relationship
occurs on social media, we wouldn’t even
need their numbers. And while deleting your
contacts, you will be surprised there are
lots of names you can't remember who they
are and start to wonder how they even end
up in our contact list.
For this, I can't give you an exact rule on
how to clean it up because that depends on
the relationship with the person. But a rule
of thumb for me is, if I don't plan to meet
this person again on purpose, I'll probably
don't need his or her number in my phone.
Next is media. That is an easy one for a lot
of us, all thanks to streaming services. There
goes the time when we have to download music
$& video and sync it to our phones. But If
you listened to podcasts and downloaded them
to your phone automatically. We can delete
those podcasts that we have no interest. Of
course, unsubscribe to those which doesn’t
bring you any value.
One of the most significant assets in my phone
is my photos. They are precious visual aids
that can pull back a lot of my memories, they
are something I couldn't bear to lose them.
So I need to back them up regularly. We wouldn't
know when they might be gone. The easiest
way is to have cloud storage, but I still
do the most traditional form of drag and pull
them into my computer. I'm a caveman. Additionally,
I only have 64 GB on my phone, backing them
up and clearing it from my phone is the best
way to free up some space.
And before backing up, it's also essential
for us to vet them thoroughly and delete redundant
pocket shots or double chin photos.
Remove notifications. I have to say notification
is hands down is the biggest distraction.
They are the visual and audio signals that
draw our attention to the phone. Whether it
is text, emails, ads or reminders for you
to use more of the apps, remove them. If they
are genuinely an emergency, they will come
in the form of calls. If you need to check
something, you can always use the app.
It really depends on what you consider as
an essential notification and of course, it
depends on your job scope. I would want to
be responsible for you losing your job, but
it’s also important for us to have a clear
separation once it's off work timing.
For me, I've stopped all notifications except
for my productivity apps, Telegram, which
is how I communicate with my circle of friends.
Notifications for text messages are still
on even though they can be one of the most
irritating distractions. But it still serves
me well with the ease of keying verification
code.
And recently, I’ve switched off my email
notification on my phone. Emails can be one
of the most stressful things to read in the
morning. I've limited my use of replying email
just on my computer.
Remember we have control over our phones,
not the other way round.
Lastly, as we have come to the end of decluttering,
it's crucial to keep them neat and tidy. I'm
a messy person. I don't think that's a piece
of new news. My phone is as untidy as well.
So it’s important for me to keep them neatly
in folders, for me to have easy access. Furthermore,
remember to be intentional with the apps and
information we download and have a regular
digital decluttering to keep unwanted clutter
away.
Finally, after such a long wait, I managed
to put myself together to make this video.
I might call it baby step but in fact, it's
a massive step for me. Especially the part
where I removed instagram off my phone. It
might be inconvenient to download when I need
to make a post. But it’s also because of
this fiction that stops me from consuming
content mindlessly.
That also gives me such clarity when I use
my phone. Just like what Cal Newport said,
intentionality is satisfying. Knowing that
everything I do on my phone is intentional,
instead of using it as an addiction. That’s
fulfilling enough for me to continue my journey
of digital minimalism.
Other than that, there is something amazing
about having a cleaned phone, because it felt
like it's a new phone but yet with a mindful
touch to it.
So I hope you enjoyed watching this digital
minimalism video because I had so much fun
removing all the digital clutter, maybe you
should try it out too.
I'll upload an exclusive video of the apps
I've removed from my phone on my Patreon page.
I've also transferred some of my monthly favourites
there, which is the best place for me to share
something more personal and private. And the
support on Patreon also allows me to create
more fun videos like this. So I’m really
grateful and appreciate the support.
I will continue to work on my digital minimalism
as I progress to computer, email, social media
and even photography & videography files.
Like I've said baby step by baby step.
So I hope you have enjoyed watching this,
thanks for watching and I’ll see you guys
again next week.
