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- Digital Minimalism
Weekly Inventory Check:
The Month has ended, you know what that means. Review, Recuperate, and Renew. Check what was done, what wasn't done and why. And start planning for the new one.
Digital Minimalism
Recently, I have been too hooked to my phone, and technology in general. As unbelievable as it sounds, I used to have strict offline hours. I would switch off my phone at 11 pm sharp – about a couple of hours before hitting the bed and in the morning, I would wake up, give myself some time to stretch, walk and THEN I would switch on my phone. The routine could no longer be maintained when Ramadan commenced because there are long wake hours before Sehri and that’s when the habit went all wrong. And now, it has become sort of an addiction. We are 2 months down after the holy month and I am still not able to get back to my better functioning self. It has taken a toll on my mind and body. I am having so much more headaches than I ever had before due to an excessive screen time. I have realised that it’s affecting my well-being and I am losing my focus elsewhere.
You see where I am going with this? Towards digital minimalism.
Technology today is unavoidable and the concept of digital minimalism is not to take you centuries back. It is to optimise the time you spend on it and to help you find the right kind of balance without being overwhelmed about it. All the Silicon Valley apps that you interact with today are purposely built to compel the users to keep their eyeballs on the phone at all times and also ensure to leave a hook for the users to return back. They want them to use these apps in a particular way and for long periods of time.
The industry experts are diligently incorporating various evolutionary trips and triggers to encourage prolonged phone usage and frequent checking. The constant urge to check the phone and the feeling of missing out has to be controlled! And this is where, digital minimalism comes into play – the concept that teaches us the mindful use of technology. I believe that it’s important for each one of us to schedule a downtime as part of our daily routine, unplug ourselves and do a digital detox. Too much technology, be it time spent on smartphones, social media, or in front of other digital screens can have unintended consequences - as you can read from my experience. Even my wife has started to complain a lot about my excessive screen time.
Want More?
If you are struggling like I am to find focus and calm, here is a great read. Where this concept can be very valued, it is also too painful to implement and it might only limit to hardheaded. Check out this article by Kati Virtanen. A person often comes under an intense dilemma – whether to prioritise health and self or to be part of the bandwagon and in the always-on state. Here are the pros and cons associated with digital minimalism.
Read of the Week
To better understand the concept of digital minimalism, there is a great book that I came across; Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. In this book, the author emphasises on how to attain a focused life by truly understand the meaning of digital minimalism and applying it in your daily life. It’s basically a practical guide to cutting back on screen time.
Thoughts to Leave you With
Honestly, it’s a tricky situation to be in – fear of missing out and finding the right kind of balance to compartmentalise work and home life. You have to learn how much use of the phone is enough for you and also understand whether the time invested on it is for purposes like coordination, research or any other constructive endeavours, or if it is primarily expended on trivial matters, like checking how many likes you got on the latest post that you published. It’s quite a painful situation to be in. As Bill Maher said, “The social media tycoons are selling an addictive product. Apple, Google and Meta are essentially drug dealers.” Can one truly break free from this addictive cycle? Well, I am also figuring it out..
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