#19 Applying Minimalism To Your Digital Life

Lesson 19 Applying Minimalism to Your Digital Life Learn healthy habits to be more intentional and less distracted is in this digital age.

Minimalism is a great tool to use in your digital life to eliminate distractions and bring more meaning into your life.

In this lesson I want to share some practical strategies to make the choice of distraction less favorable.

Do you find yourself picking up your phone,

Seeing a notification and then forgetting why you picked it up in the first place?

Maybe you are picking it up just out of habit or boredom?

Is YouTube or Netflix the easiest choice when you get home after work?

You originally thought you would get a few things done but one episode turned into three and now it's time for bed?

Are there small projects around the home that seem to never get done?

Do you watch more than 5 hours of TV,

Movies,

YouTube,

Social media a week?

Do you find it challenging to get to sleep without checking your phone before bed?

Is your phone the first thing you look at in the morning?

Do you wish you had more time to pursue hobbies?

If you answer just to one or more of these questions you might enjoy trying some of my suggestions.

If you are uncertain that your screen time is too high I also recommend trying to audit how much you spend on your devices and watching a screen.

You can audit your time with a simple paper and pen or you can try an application that will look how much time you are using your screen.

My suggestions are just a few things that we changed around our home and tested with our own devices.

Yes,

I too recognize my default choice of social media and movies were the reason I wasn't doing other activities and hobbies that I used to love.

These are 6 tips to make your digital detox easy to do.

Tip number 1.

Hide the television.

Our 50 inch flat screen television now sits behind a picture of art,

Very colorful and beautiful to look at.

We found that the television was always the center of attention in a room and we wanted to set up our space without it being a focal point.

Now when we want to watch something we just move the painting and put it back when we are finished.

We watch less and play more.

Some visitors are surprised when they don't see a television in the room and they all smile when we point at the beautiful canva covering the TV and tell them that the TV is behind it.

Tip number 2.

Create a hidden charging station.

My phone gets put away in a cupboard around 7 to 8 pm every night and it doesn't come out until after my morning routine is finished.

Putting the charging station behind a cupboard doors made it easier for me to distance myself from mindless scrolling in the evenings.

Yes,

Some of you may gasp when thinking about whether or not someone could get a hold of me by phone when it's on silence.

The truth is I feel the risk is worth the peace and quiet I get from not having it close at hand.

Everyone is different and will have different levels of comfort so choose something that feels right for you.

You can still keep your ringer on but have your phone put away.

Tip number 3.

Go back to the alarm clock.

Yep,

The phone had become our everything including the morning wake up call to get out of bed on time.

However,

Both Samantha and I noticed after a while that our phones weren't just being used as alarm clocks in the bedroom.

We were both developing habits of taking emails,

Reacting to notifications and basically not sharing with each other before bed anymore.

We recognized our habit was interfering with our love,

Life and ability to fall asleep easily so we went to a second hand store and bought two old alarm clocks.

It's been two years now with the no phone in the bedroom rule and it made a huge difference for our health and the health of our relationship.

And for those of you who are wondering,

No,

We have not missed out on any news or emergencies that we would have needed our phones right by our beds for.

Simply by going back to old technology we were giving ourselves a huge digital detox.

Tip number 4.

Use a timer.

A really effective exercise in limiting your email and social media time is to batch the time together,

Meaning instead of checking emails or updates as they happen,

You block off a specific amount of time at intervals during your day and use a timer.

Both Samantha and I started using this practice because we found that we were working longer than we needed to,

Essentially because we were being ineffective.

And let's face it,

Unless the email is labeled ASAP or emergency,

Then it can wait one or two hours before your next time slot of emails.

If it's a truly emergency,

They will call you,

Wouldn't they?

So for example,

I take my emails three times a day.

Once in the morning,

Once after lunch,

And then lastly before the end of the work day.

I allow 20 minutes for social media once or twice a day.

This has been the most challenging hurdle to get over.

Remember,

You set the time limits and the frequency.

Everyone has to start somewhere.

Tip number five,

Plan your ideal week.

There is no sense in freeing up your time if you aren't sure about what you will do with it.

And maybe that newly discovered free time is spent with a little more idleness or meditation.

Not every minute needs to be filled with activities.

I draw out a basic weekly template in my bullet journal.

You can use a printout or piece of paper too.

You can also use a Google Calendar or an electronic version to visualize where my time goes and map out how I would like to spend my time.

You can also find more information about this exercise in our book,

A Recipe for an Extraordinary Life.

When you can visually see your week,

It brings an awareness about the time you have and where you spend it.

This exercise is not supposed to make you feel like a slave to a schedule,

But more of an inspiring exercise to make your daily life reflect your goals and aspirations.

Because if you don't decide how to spend your time,

Someone else will.

And most likely you won't like it.

Tip number six,

Plan a potluck.

It's amazing how a little company of friends or family can give you more endorphins than that like button on Facebook.

I think it's important that every now and again you get social,

But allow it to be a burden.

Let everyone participate in sharing the preparation of food and even the cleanup.

Most people don't allow their guests to help with clearing dishes or putting the furniture back,

But you should accept the help.

It allows your friends and family to feel involved and allows them to return the gratitude of being invited to your home.

Of course,

We always love having potlucks because of the variety,

The conversation,

And the effort of hosting is far less draining because getting social is supposed to be about sharing time,

Catching up,

And enjoying good food,

Not about feeling stressed or anxious about all the cleanup that will be left behind.

When possible,

You can also organize the spotlights outside.

You can go to your local park,

You can enjoy your backyard,

Or you can just go to any public space that will allow you to just gather and enjoy amazing food.

Now it's time for you to take action and integrate in your life new strategies to control your technology usage.

You can copy some of the ones that I just shared,

Or you can come up with your own ones.

Have fun and enjoy the process.