Digital minimalism: 6 rules to live by.
Constant smartphone usage has led to us all living in a constantly interconnected world, with instant access to social interaction and other means of mental stimulation, which can be quite pleasurable at the moment.
However, this comes with it’s downsides; studies have found that increased, constant smartphone and social media usage comes with it’s downsides, with an increase of low-level anxiety and depression amongst avid social media users. Also leading to a lack of mental clarity, and increasing feeling of being overwhelmed.
I’m not at all suggesting that you should immediatly deactivate all your social media accounts, and throw away your smartphone. Our smartphones provide a ton of benefits that are advancing the world in a better way on an unprecedented level, but at the same time it is important to recognise the harmful effects, and minimise these by abiding by some simple rules.
6 Rules for Digital Minimalism
Digital minimalist YouTuber Nathaniel Drew, in one of his videos lays out 6 simple rules to prevent the internet from taking over your life.
It’s been 6 days since I’ve started abiding by these rules myself, and have definitely noticed an improvement in mental clarity, enabling greater focus so that I can be more productive, but also be more present and enjoy small moments more.
You might not be able to apply all these rules to your life (depending on what you do), but you can do some of them.
1. Don’t check social media / email until noon
Start off your day in a calm, and centered way, focusing just on yourself, rather than other people’s problems, and what they want from you.
Spend your first few hours not caring about what’s going on in the digital space, but in your own, personal space.
There are built in functions such as schedule ‘do not disturb’ mode on iPhone, and ‘wind-down’ on some Android phones that automatically prevent notifications at a certain time, and turns it back on when you set it too.
2. Do not check social media, email, or messages while in bed.
It’s important to have as minimal interruptions as possible when you are trying to sleep, to ensure that your mind, as well as your body, gets the rest it needs.
I would also suggest setting your phone to do not disturb mode at least an hour before bed, and take some time to reflect upon your day, and think about the next, rather than keeping your mind occupied with the constant, chaotic, online world.
3. Do not take your phone with you to the bathroom.
We all do this — It’s really important to have breaks throughout the day, and a bathroom break is one of them. Going to the bathroom keeps you away from people, also use it as an opportunity to get away from your smartphone.
There are some hygenic reasons too:
‘If you wipe your bum then pick up your phone, you may as well not bother washing your hands because all the bacteria you put on your phone will end up back on your hands,’ — Hygiene exprert, Dr Lisa Ackerly
4. Look at your food when you’re eating.
This is probably the most difficult rule for me — I love watching whatever new recommended YouTube videos throws at me, and this combined with the pleasure of eating is great.
Entertainment by means of video, music etc is a great form of gratification, but eating food also is a different kind of stimulation, that you really only get to enjoy when you care about nothing else but the food — take time while eating to practice mindfulness, thinking about the food, it’s taste and the entire process from the food being made, to you eating it.
5. Track and limit your time on social media.
In an era where your attention is literally monetised, and companies have dedicated departments and employees for the sole purpose and tweaking and optimising applications, competing to capture your attention for as long as possible, it’s incredibly important to make sure you’re the one in control of where your attention goes to, rather than someone else controlling you.
Utilise features such as ‘screen-time’ in iOS, and ‘digital-wellbeing’ on some Android devices to reflect upon which apps you’re spending the most time on, and think about whether it’s more than necessary.
After all, what gets measured, gets managed.
6. Set a deadline everyday.
Get into a habit of cutting things off at a certain time in the day, at a certain time in the evening.
Not doing so can lead to your mind remaining wired up when you’re about to go to bed, and can make it harder to sleep, or lead to a decreased quality of sleep.
All of these rules can be hard to follow at first, and may not suit you — but think about the reasons behind them, and personalise them to suit your life and ensure that you’re limiting smartphone usage, to use it as a tool, rather than a means of endless pleasure that most of the time, you’re not the one in control of, because somtimes:
“Endless pleasure becomes its own form of punishment.” — Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic
