Digital Minimalism

 I was reading one of my blogs on Minimalistic Lifestyle and one of the things she is talking about is "Digital Minimalism."

Many of us have heard about Minimalism. Usually when we hear that we think of decluttering, cleaning, giving old items away to charities, and many think of blank walls and small portions of things in the home for instance, not having all the appliances out of the counter. 

That is a hard one for me in my home. For one thing, I am an appliance junkie. I love things that could make my life easier, for another, I use them often and I just hate taking them in and out of cupboards. So, I compromise. I unplug all the appliances I am not using and only plug in the toaster usually because that is what I use the most. 

Digital Minimalism is nearly the same, however, we are talking about decluttering your life online and on your phone. It is about reclaiming your life.

Minimalism helps us reclaim our time online

I do not have the Facebook app on my phone. I use Chrome to go to the Facebook website and use it there. I spend less and less time online. Which, funnily enough, my friends have noticed. Mostly for worry because of my health issues, so I do health updates here and there for them, and going forward, I am really going to give it my all to post intentionally.

Minimalism stems the spending

It helps us to stop buying things we don't need. I know for sure, that when I don't have WISH on my phone and ETSY and I only have the apps I actually need, it makes a HUGE difference. I also turned off notifications on my phone for most of my apps that are not health-related or needed. This gives me back time in my life and allows me to save more for the things I really want, like travel, vacationing, etc.

Minimalism buys you time

Minimalism buys you time because if you need less, you can work less. I find her words to be true about others who live in fancy houses and have fancy items and while I would love to live in a large house, I do not want the upkeep, high-priced bills, and the rent or the mortgage of those places. People who I know who live like this are under more pressure to work more or to have both the wife and the husband put in more hours to pay for all that. 

Less stuff equals fewer hours.

It really is that simple.

If you lead a simple life, less stuff, less clutter, etc, you find you have more time for the things in your life you really want.

Time is not on my side with Stage 4 Cancer.

For me, every little thing I can do to give me more time is important to me. 

It helps me live the life I want o live not the one I have to live.

Because of the email blog I read, I have more ideas I want to push myself forward to be better at Digital Minimalism in 2023 and years into my future...

• Delete unused apps from my phone
• Post intentionally online and less frequently
• Turn off my phone when out to eat with others
• Purchase items online intentionally
• Declutter my laptop by removing unused programs
• Leave my phone at home when I can
• Take long walks to think to myself and be alone with my thoughts
• Either Journal or Write letters to yourself
• Limit texting others
• Hold "Conversation Time" where you actually speak to others in person at over the phone. 
• Zoom or Facebook Video where you can't be there in person

Other Digital Minimalist Practices from the website "Simple and Straightforward"

• Delete social media from your phone.
  
• Turn your devices into single-purpose computers. For example, keep separate devices for work and personal business.
  
• Use social media like a professional. This means only interacting in meaningful ways that contribute to a goal — not mindlessly scrolling or clicking "like".
  
• Embrace slow media. This includes books, newspapers, and podcasts.
  
• Dumb down your smartphone by deleting unnecessary apps. Try to use your phone more for talking than for text-based communication.

Here are a  couple of websites that I love and in part, 

My thoughts today stem from the article that he wrote on Simple and Straightforward

https://simpleandstraightforward.substack.com/

The blog that featured it was No Sidebar

https://nosidebar.com/

Thank you for reading this far. I would love to see a comment from you and thoughts on what you think about "Digital Minimalism"

With all my love,

Trisha Trixie