How many hours a day do you spend on your devices? If you’re like most people, it’s a whopping eleven hours a day! That’s according to a 2018 Nielsen Total Audience Report, which found that nearly half an adult’s day is dedicated to consuming content.
There’s no denying that technology is essential to the world we live in today. But between overflowing inboxes and persistent beeping of notifications and endless scr0lling, it can leave you feeling distracted and overwhelmed. When your relationship with technology is no longer productive, intentional and purposeful then it calls for a reset. That’s where is digital minimalism comes in. Being a digital minimalist will not only reduce your time spent on digital devices, but will also improve your quality of life by adding value to the things around you – and it all starts some decluttering!
If you’re interested in applying a method similar to KonMari to your digital life, here are a few simple tips to help you get started.
1. Delete applications
Unless you’re strict about your phone maintenance practices, there’s a good chance you have more apps than you need. Go through all your apps and delete the ones you haven’t opened in the last two weeks. If you can, go a step further and get rid of social media apps that you can live without.
2. Declutter your inbox
Do you dread opening your inbox because it’s splitting at the seams with thousands of messages? It’s for a virtual chop down. You don’t have to do it all at once – take a few minutes every other day and scan your inbox for old, unnecessary e-mails that you can delete. You’ll feel refreshed and might even reconnect with some important people from your past.
3. Unsubscribe from newsletters
Too many of us know the pain of missing an important email because it was buried under a barrage of spammy emails. Here’s a general rule to guide you: if a newsletter has stay unopened in your inbox for more than month, just unsubscribe.
4. Turn off your notifications
You might have notifications filling up your homepage and startling you unnecessary “ping” sounds. Most of the time, it’s nothing that requires your immediate attention and is merely a distraction (especially social media apps). Deactivate them unless you really need them.
5. Clean up your desktop
Just like your home, a huge mess of icons on your computer can weigh down your mind. It also slows down the performance. The best solution is delete files one by one or move them to their respective folders. If that’s too much work, right-click your desktop, select the “view” option, then uncheck the “show desktop icons option” to hide all your desktop icons.
6. Organize your photos
Let’s be honest, not all photos are worth keeping. Do a photo clean up by deleting old screenshots, blurry photos, and duplicates. Afterwards, organize them in a folder system for easy access.
Wrapping up
Digital cleaning is a great way to make sure your tech tools are clutter-free and organized. It can feel like a daunting task at first, but just like any other minimalist practice, the key is to start one step at a time.
