How Can Digital Minimalism Make Your Online (and Offline) Life Easier

Digital minimalism is a mindful approach to technology use and its significance in a world saturated with digital devices and distractions. Your day is probably full of devices, notifications, and the desire to check up on emails, social media, and posts from content creators. None of us can get away from all that, unless we’re prepared to move to a forest somewhere and become a back-to-the-earth hermit, so by adopting a digital minimalism approach, we can minimize the “noise” of the digital world.

So, how can digital minimalism help you?

More Hours in Your Day

The average adult is spending six hours and forty-one minutes online every day. Granted, some of that is necessary. But you can check on things like iOS exactly how much time you spend on specific apps. Think of how much more time you’d have to do things you enjoy, such as project cooking, spending time with friends, or taking up a new hobby, if you weren’t spending all that time in a digital environment.

Improved Focus & Productivity

By cutting down on your digital distractions, you can improve your focus and therefore your productivity.

Let’s say you’re building a spreadsheet for work. If you’re anything like us before we discovered digital minimalism, this task might get interrupted by a phone or an email app on our computer. Or we’d duck away from the spreadsheet to check out Reddit or YouTube. Or we’d be listening to a podcast while working because we’d tricked ourselves into thinking it’s possible to do both easily. But now that we’ve discovered digital minimalism, we don’t do any of these things—and our spreadsheets are that much better for it (and come together that much more quickly). Turning off our distracting apps and devices during focus time, blocking distracting websites during the workday, and admitting that we can’t multitask has helped us become more focused and productive.

Reduce Spending

Digital goods cost a lot of money. An online shopping habit can cost a lot of money. And so can subscriptions, which just seem to be multiplying.

By embracing digital minimalism, you can reduce your spending. Maybe from now on you only buy games when they’re on sale. Or maybe you adopt a rule about only shopping online once every two weeks. And maybe you look through your various online subscriptions and trim them back.

Better Relationships

Fewer hours on digital distractions means more hours face-to-face.

But more than that, there’s some evidence to suggest that face-to-face communication and socializing is better for relationships and better for our mental health.

Again, this isn’t to say that digital tools have no place in developing relationships. We’ll take a Zoom call with Grandma over not seeing Grandma any day. And sometimes the only time you can spend with your friends is in an online game. We’re just saying that it’s smart to be more selective about spending time in the digital world.

Better Sleep

The more well rested you are, the happier you are and the more productive you are. Scrolling on your phone in bed equals poor sleep. Using a smartphone before bed has been linked to poor sleep in study after study.

Have a More Active Lifestyle

We love things like TV and gaming, but there’s no denying that these loves lead to a lot of sitting around. Cutting back on these digital habits can lead to a more active lifestyle, whether it’s taking up a new sport with friends or just going for a walk in the park. And remember, digital minimalism isn’t going full luddite. By listening to a podcast while walking, you’ll probably be able to really focus and enjoy it more than if you were listening to it while working.

Greener

Our electronic goods require a lot of resources to make, ship, and power. Rare earths are mined the world over to build the devices that make us happy. With that in mind, wouldn’t it be greener to hold onto a phone a few years longer, maybe repairing it when necessary? Also, devices require a lot of power. Depending on where you are in Canada, electricity contributes quite a bit to our greenhouse emissions. But what you may not realize is that the services you’re using are also costing the planet. Whether it’s streaming a show, playing a game, or using an app, there’s a server somewhere drawing power to give you your content, host your game, or do all the calculations necessary to make your app work. Even when those things go green and use renewables, the greenest choice is always to reduce usage.