Digital Minimalism: Simplifying Our Digital Life

In the past few years I’ve worked on curating my worldly posessions. Buying only what will add significant value to my life, delcuttering what doesn’t serve me, and taking good care of current favourites. A small home calls for a more conscious selection of “things”, and I’ve greatly enjoyed the benefits a more minimal mindset offers. I have fewer things to organise, spend less time cleaning & tidying, spend less money on buying things I forgot I already had, and produce less waste by shopping more consciously and stretching the lives of items I already own. I’m coming close to the point where everything in my home has a purpose: either a practical one, or simply bringing a smile to my face.

As our lives revolve around technology more and more and our possessions shift from physical to digital, it makes sense to apply the principles of minimalism there as well. It may seem like there’s no need; the digital world isn’t a small home. More digital storage space is readily available to us, often even for free, and it’s easy to just let our digital files, programmes and online presences pile up over time.

Now I’m not suggesting you delete all your files (unless you want to, of course). Storing certain things digitally rather than in physical form can have many benefits. However, it’s good to remember that digital storage is in fact physical as well. As the world becomes more and more digital, the demand for online space rises and with it, so does the need for mass data centers that use huge amounts of energy for both running and cooling the machines that store our online world.

Relieving a little bit of that pressure can be a reason for trying digital minimalism, although our individual impact on that front is neglectable. I personally enjoy a more minimal digital space for the same reasons I enjoy a more minimal physical space: less clutter, easier access to what I need, and a better functioning environment. For me, a more minimal digital space makes for a better user experience. Here’s how I go about digital minimalism in different areas of my life.

Curated Social Media Feeds

Social media is one of the greatest assets of our time. It connects us to the world, to people we never would’ve met in real life, to different opinions and new world views, to likeminded individuals and inspiring creators. But it also has a shadow side. It can encourage negative comparison, surprise you with hurtful words or images, put the weight of the world on your shoulders by supplying a constant stream of bad news, make you a victim of bullying or bring out the worst in you as you end up in all kinds of online discussions.

At the start of 2019 I decided I was done with consuming whatever was most accessible online. I re-evaluated what value all platforms and websites I was on had in my life, and decided to stop using two completely. I went off Twitter and stopped using my Facebook page. On my private Facebook profile, I unfriended anybody I don’t know in real life or had only met once. I also “unfollowed” everybody I did want to keep a certain connection to, but didn’t want to see the updates of. I personally really dislike when people get political on social media, so I unfollowed anyone who does that.

On Instagram, I unfollowed nearly everyone I was following at the time, which was mostly makeup, fashion and lifestyle influencers that always made me feel like I couldn’t keep up. I sought out a different online community, one that stimulated me in a positive way, and found a wonderful list of ladies to follow whose content inspires me and makes me feel good. My Instragram feed is now a shrine for nature, slow living, and finding beauty in simple things, rather than glamorous living, consumerism and facial enhancements, like it used to be.

I strongly encourage you to take charge of what you consume online. KonMari your social media feeds and subscriptions and only keep what’s useful or brings you joy.

Inbox Zero

Yep, we’re going there: email organisation. Email decluttering, in fact.
It’ll take some work, archiving or deleting those thousands of old emails you may have in your inbox right now, but trust me when I say emptying out your inbox completely is worth it.

My inbox currently only houses incoming mail: things that require action, whether it’s replying to the email or taking action on something in the email. When an email is read and replied to, I archive it in its proper folder. If it’s hanging out in my inbox, I know it still needs attention.

How precisely you want to archive your emails is up to you. I keep my folder structure very simple, as my email service has a good search function and I can usually find whatever I’m looking for pretty quickly. I have four folders: one for conversations with (potential) sponsors, one for conversations with my network/agency, one for emails containing financial documents or info and one simply called “other”, for everything else.

Emptying out my inbox every day means I’m always on top of my emails. Nothing gets lost, forgotten or drowned. I can see how many new emails came in at a glance and estimate how long it’ll take me to process them. Archiving or deleting them all by the end of the day gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment and a clean slate for the next day.

Also, don’t forget to unsubscribe from any unwanted newsletters. That’ll save you a lot of time in the future.

Clearing Storage

I’m sure every one of us has obsolete files on their devices. Especially if you’ve used the same device for a few years and don’t declutter your files regularly. Consider getting rid of anything you no longer need and likely won’t need anytime in the future. Empty out your downloads folder, empty your recycle bin, delete old documents, screenshots and audio recordings.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a lifetime of photos on your PC. Try going through all your photos and deleting multiples of the same photo, as well as any photo you would’ve discarded if this was an old-school developed film. Blurry pictures, indiscernible pictures, 100 of basically the same selfie. Make it so that all there’s left are photos you’ll enjoy browsing through and looking back at in the future. There’s no point in keeping everything and having to scroll for ages looking for that one good photo.

Apps

Go through the apps on your phone and tablet, and see if there’s anything there you don’t use or don’t use often enough. Getting rid of apps is one of the quickest ways to free up lots of storage on your device. It’ll also help with the visual clutter, having fewer apps.

Also, consider sorting the apps you decide to keep into folders, so they’re easier to find. Group all photo apps together, all games, all financial apps, all video streaming services…

Another thing you can do is to clear the “desktop” or front page of your device. The first tab on my phone only contains a clock and my four most used apps. One slide to the left brings me to the tab with all my app folders. That way they don’t clutter up my home screen. Bonus: this helps make your phone more distraction-free too, by keeping all non-necessary apps out of reach just that little bit more.