I just updated this post on May 12th 2021

My life was heavily influenced by the book Digital Minimalism

The main thing I took away from the book was that even though a piece of technology is free, it costs you something. Using Facebook is free, but it costs you the other things you could have done with the time you spend on it.

I became convinced that I will be a happier, more connected, wealthier, more successful, more devoted version of myself if I only use technology to do the things I value.

Since changing a lot of my technology habits two years ago I’ve received several raises at work and I truly do feel less stressed and more focused and present in whatever I’m doing. I feel like I own my phone and it does not own me.

Here is how I approach things now:

Social Media

  • WhatsApp for staying in direct communication with people I plan to see in real life one day.
  • LinkedIn to maintain connections with people I might want to connect with one day, but I don’t log in unless I have a specific person I want to contact.
  • Meetup to plan for actually meeting people in person.
  • Nextdoor, I only log in to borrow things from neighbors and ask for local recommendations.
  • Every other account has been deleted.

Movies/TV/YouTube

I very rarely consume entertainment alone, almost all visual entertainment is consumed with others. I often go a whole week without watching TV.

Audiobooks/Podcasts

  • I don’t just listen to every episode of any podcast where I find the topic interesting, I subscribe to a few and only pick the most compelling ones.

Email

  • I aim to only check personal email about two times per day and try to zero all inboxes if possible.
  • I check work email a couple times per day during work hours and try to completely zero the inbox every time.

Browsing

I do not browse the internet for entertainment. I only use the internet when I have a planned purpose for doing so.

Phone

  • WhatsApp is the only social media app on my phone.
  • The browser and YouTube are both disabled from 9:30pm until 3pm every week day. I only enable it in the settings if I need it for something specific that can’t wait until I am at my computer. (This rarely ever happens)

Bathroom

  • I go to the bathroom without my phone.