Days come and go, leaving us wondering about the accelerated speed of time in the recent times. Time, as we all are aware, develops its speed according to the activity we are involved in. If it is something that we enjoy, time flies like a hurricane; if it is something boring, time refuses to budge. After the arrival of the smart phones and the internet, time hardly ever stands still. Everyone around us, including ourselves, are forever engrossed in the wondrous world of internet, gorging on goodies for the mind. And often we find that the goodies that we devoured were nothing but junk for the brain, for which we had spent our priceless moments.

Digital minimalism is a must- if we really want to keep ourselves focused on the important things in  life. Digital minimalism involves prioritising, organising, simplifying and eliminating everything that distracts us from living a good life with specific intentions.  

Digitization has spun us into its web, and it is very difficult to live a life in which we are not completely immersed in the world of the internet. However, we must find our way out of the digital maze and keep our life focused and meaningful. Here are some ways in which we can come out of the digital vortex and keep our life simple, clear and stress free.

1. Keep the morning hours free for doing things that need your undivided attention. An hour of work achieved in the morning will add up cumulatively over the days, increasing the productive output substantially. Do not look at the smart phone till the morning’s work is done.
2. Avoid notifications as much as possible, as most of the information will be available in the mail.
3. Check emails twice mid-morning and evening when the attention span related to work begins to waver.
4. Keep an hour for social media when productive output is low. Set timer for time spent on social media as it will not contribute much in achieving aims.
5. Regularly delete all unnecessary files, mails, pictures, videos, music and downloads.
6. Make separate folders for different types of files and keep those folders in a separate folder to keep the desktop clean.
7. Keep a clean background for the desktop and uninstall apps which are no longer in use. A clean workplace brings about intellectual clarity and keeps one focussed.
8. Smart phones should not be taken to bed as it hampers sleep pattern and is detrimental to health in the long run.  
9. Work in full-screen mode to retain attention and avoid distractions.
10. Make a to-do list every evening and add the things not done to the next day’s list, along with allocating a specified time for doing the same. That way tasks will not pile up and will be done on a regular basis.

Keeping a digital-media free day once a week will be rewarding and will help in clearing the mind from information overload. Every kind of information is available on the web for access, when and as we need them. Therefore, it is unnecessary to overburden ourselves with extra information shared through the social media. It can take some determination to keep ourselves from investing too many hours in social media, but will be helpful in the long run.

We have come a long way from the time when W.H. Davis wrote ‘Leisure’ (1911) in his ‘Songs of Joy and Others.’ He would indeed have been surprised to see our lives truly full of care, without any time to stand and stare.

                                              “What is life if full of care,

                                                We have no time to stand and stare.”

Digital minimalism will provide us with actual leisure, which will relieve us from stress, help us think clearly and help live a purposeful life.

More suggestions on Digital Minimalism would be most welcome.