I’m currently reading the book Digital Minimalism, and despite not being far into it, it is already a topic I wanted to write a blog about.

Of course, by now you’re probably aware that I’m really into minimalism; living with intention and only being surrounded by things and people that serve a purpose and bring me joy. Less is more, quality over quantity. This is how I live my life.

While I have talked about the fact that I left social media in my journey toward inner peace, I didn’t think of it as “digital minimalism”; instead, as a separate decision I made to better myself. And by saying that, in no way am I implying that I’m better than people on social media. I am just saying that I am better than I was while on it. I’m far less self-involved, less insecure, less stressed, and much less miserable.

Anyway, tying it into my minimalism journey was a “light bulb” moment for me. Again, less is more. Less digital clutter.

So I recently took it a step farther and I decluttered my cell phone. It felt just as freeing as when I did this to my closet. I uploaded all my photos to the cloud, then removed them all from my phone, along with any apps I wasn’t using (including streamlining my messaging apps).

It can get really overwhelming having conversations and group chats on Signal, Messenger, WhatsApp, and via regular text. Ahhh! I removed two of those applications because people can reach me via the other methods if needed. It may sound silly, but all these little things we do to simplify our chaotic lives really do bring a little inner peace and calmness.

I also removed any contacts I no longer keep regular contact with—people who since leaving socials haven’t reached out to me and vice versa. Of course, there are some exceptions to that; the moms at the school who I’m not close to but want to keep their numbers on hand, for example, cousins I don’t keep regular contact with, and so on. I kept anyone I may want to reach, but any past friends I don’t foresee needing or keeping in touch with in the future because we’ve drifted were removed.

I also clean my mail inbox daily, as well as my text messages.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed in your tech life, give this a try. You don’t need to remove social media like I did; just “tidying” up your phone feels great.

Simply,

Jules