Pseudonym's Space

Digital Declutter 3

I have been unable to return to my previous digital minimalist habits since my illness. This is a common experience for me. Whenever I stray from whatever I put in place for myself to limit my use of social media, addictive feeds, etc it's difficult for me to get back to them without a more significant intervention than simply having the intention to do so, or actively trying to. This is why (at least for me personally) I disagree with people who say that using more overt strategies to limit internet consumption, like a dumbphone, are not necessary because all you need is 'willpower'. Basically, in this case, I don't think willpower works, at least for me, and I suspect for most people. Because these services are of course designed to be addictive, they are designed to defeat your willpower.

I've done two previous digital declutters, as defined in Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. My first was in 202X (don't remember) when I first read the book. It was illuminating but ultimately didn't have staying power for me, I think because I didn't do enough to replace my existing digital habits with alternatives. The second was earlier this year, and was working pretty well for a couple months until my illness kind of threw things out the window. Today is Day 1 of my third 30-day digital declutter, where I'm going to try to return to my habits I had in Declutter 2.

Briefly, the idea of these declutters is to take a break from 'optional technologies' for 30 days. During the 30 days you try and cultivate alternative activities for your leisure life that are more meaningful and rewarding than scrolling. Then, after the 30 days are up, you intentionally re-introduce these technologies, with caveats or constraints that allow you to use them in ways that better benefit you.

Here's my rundown for how I'm planning to use technologies for the next 30 days:

Optional Technology Operating Procedure
Streaming Video Services OK Socially
Streaming Music Services Don't use
Video Games Don't use
Podcasts Pare down to 10
ebooks Don't use
Audiobooks Don't use
Fitness Tracker Don't use
YouTube OK socially
Reddit Don't use
Bluesky Don't use
Twitch Don't use
Discord Don't use
iPhone OK to use for utility and work purposes
Ember Mug Don't use
eInk Tablets Don't use
General News Sites, Newsletters, and Blogs/Articles Don't use; buy a physical newspaper or magazine
Tech News OK to use on work laptop while working
Personal email Check 1/day on laptop or tablet
YNAB Check 1/day on laptop or tablet
Personal laptop OK
ChatGPT / AI tools OK to use for work
DAP OK
New Accounts Don't create unless important
Web Browsing Phone - OK socially
Computer - OK if avoiding news, listicles
Forums Don't use

Mostly, I'm just choosing to not use digital technologies where it's optional to do so. Obviously I'll continue to use technologies required for work. Some things, like streaming video, I am fine using if I'm in a social context where I'm watching with others, otherwise I'm skipping them. For my phone, I'm removing all entertainment apps and just keeping utility apps, and setting it to grayscale. I'll avoid using internet on it unless I have a specific social or practical need to do so. I'm blocking reddit.com since that's a hard one for me to resist.

Overall I'm looking to give my brain a break from so much input, and slow down to a more analog pace. Here are some of the things I'm thinking of doing instead: