3 Ways To Become The Best Digital Minimalist This Spring

This spring cleaning season is the perfect time to become a digital minimalist and assess your digital devices.

Nothing screams spring more than the act of spring cleaning. This spring cleaning season is perfect for becoming a digital minimalist and assessing your digital devices, such as your phone, laptop, iPad, and other technology.

We tend to overestimate the ratio between our time and our mental capacity. This is because we spend more and more time in front of screens and devices, which changes how we think, concentrate, and process information. 

As a society, we are becoming increasingly mindful of our collective, limited attention span and the overabundance of information caused by the internet age. The solution could be introducing digital hygiene to combat the bombardment of information we see daily.

This is precisely what we refer to as “digital minimalism.” In this post, we will explain this new but exciting concept and show you how to practice it this Spring!

What Is Digital Minimalism?

There are many different approaches and meanings for digital minimalism, but the baseline is this: you’re limiting your informational intake on your digital devices. 

You’re clearing all the clutter, deleting all those “just in case” apps that send you notifications, and, if you’re an extremist, getting off social media entirely.

Digital minimalism is the effort to regain control over one’s attention span and spend more time on the things that matter. It allows one to live a simple lifestyle.

Social Media and Informational Abundance 

News, gossip, images, videos, and carefully curated portrayals of people living their best lives are all part of social media; chances are you’re on it. 

Social media is all tailored to you. Notice how conveniently your next video or article is laid out for you? That’s the power of social media algorithms and addictive technology. 

The algorithm knows what you want and wants to give it to you. Now. 

“No information technology ever had this depth of knowledge of its consumers – or greater capacity to tweak their synapse to keep them engaged.”

Andrew Sullivan, “I Used To Be A Human Being” 

Apart from social media, more people tend to hoard information nowadays. Today, when you see something beautiful, you instinctively pull out your phone and photograph it. 

Somehow, just enjoying the moment doesn’t cut it anymore. 

We need it saved, and we need it validated by other users. 

Why Become a Digital Minimalist 

The number one reason could be that you’re suffering because of technology. Studies have shown that social media use is linked to depression, poor sleep, anxiety, and low self-esteem. 

Researchers also show that the internet essentially hijacks our analytical ability and concentration. So, if you’ve caught yourself mindlessly scrolling, looking for nothing in particular, you might want to try trying digital minimalism this Spring.

How To Embrace Digital Minimalism 

To embrace digital minimalism, we need to become mindful of our digital habits. Investigate your technology habits and consider how to improve them for your physical and mental well-being. 

Try to measure how much time you spend on social media or your phone, especially when that time is not linked to a particular goal or focus.

How often do you check your emails and social media accounts? You will most likely check it once you get the notification or just habitually every few minutes. 

If this is the case for you, give digital minimalism a try with these initial ideas: 

Batch Your Digital Tasks & Schedule Them

Chances are your business, or your job won’t burn down if you only check your email once daily.

Some jobs, like Customer Support, don’t allow this, but if your career or business enables you to be less active, try it. You might even experience a boost in productivity!

Keep track of all your digital tasks, such as emailing, batch them up, and schedule them to be completed at a specific time each day. You can also clear your digital tasks during your seasonal spring cleaning sessions.

Limit Social Media

Take note of how often you use social media daily, just by habit. Then, try to mindfully enforce a daily limit and allow your dopamine receptors to regain their sensitivity.

You will notice that you don’t miss out on much, but you have plenty of time to invest in things that truly matter to you.

Limit Streaming And Entertainment

Entertainment and information are around the corner. But, of course, they’re not even around the corner. They’re in your house, in your pocket, readily available.  That doesn’t mean you should instantly turn to your phone whenever you feel bored.

Sometimes, being bored is human. We are now addicted to constantly chasing the dragon, always looking for the next series to binge or the next game to play. But, unlike us, YouTube won’t disappear. 

Slow down, look around, and spend time with people you cherish this Spring. Unlike the informational overabundance that will only keep growing, the people you love won’t be around forever.  You could also spend less time with media and more time celebrating all the wonders of spring with various spring activities or seasonal self-care.

Again – Pay attention to what matters, and choose wisely when giving your time and attention to something!

Final Thoughts

So, what does this have to do with digital minimalism? The digital minimalist life is about paring down possessions and focusing on the essentials. 

Applied to our digital lives, it means getting rid of everything that doesn’t add value and only keeping the tools and apps we need to be productive and connected. 

This process starts with decluttering desktops, email inboxes, and social media feeds for most people. 

It can be a challenge at first, but once you get into the habit of regularly purging your devices of unnecessary clutter, you’ll find that you’re more focused and productive whenever you use them. 

So, if you’ve caught yourself spending more time on the screen, take up on this idea and try digital minimalism!