1---
 2date: '2019-10-05'
 3subtitle: 'Put that screen down!'
 4title: Thoughts on digital minimalism
 5url: 'digital-minimalism'
 6---
 7
 8Ah yes, yet another article on the internet on this beaten to death
 9subject. But this is inherently different, since it's *my* opinion on
10the matter, and *my* technique(s) to achieve "digital minimalism".
11
12According to me, minimalism can be achieved on two primary fronts -- the
13phone & the computer. Let's start with the phone. The daily carry. The
14device that's on our person from when we get out of bed, till we get
15back in bed.
16
17The phone
18---------
19
20I've read about a lot of methods people employ to curb their phone
21usage. Some have tried grouping "distracting" apps into a separate
22folder, and this supposedly helps reduce their usage. Now, I fail to see
23how this would work, but YMMV. Another technique I see often is using a
24time governance app---like OnePlus' Zen Mode---to enforce how much time
25you spend using specific apps, or the phone itself. I've tried this for
26myself, but I constantly found myself counting down the minutes after
27which the phone would become usable again. Not helpful.
28
29My solution to this is a lot more brutal. I straight up uninstalled the
30apps that I found myself using too often. There's a simple principle
31behind it---if the app has a desktop alternative, like Twitter, Reddit,
32etc. use that instead. Here's a list of apps that got nuked from my
33phone:
34
35-   Twitter
36-   Instagram (an exception, no desktop client)
37-   Relay for Reddit
38-   YouTube (disabled, ships with stock OOS)
39
40The only non-productive app that I've let remain is Clover, a 4chan
41client. I didn't find myself using it as much earlier, but we'll see how
42that holds up. I've also allowed my personal messaging apps to remain,
43since removing those would be inconveniencing others.
44
45I must admit, I often find myself reaching for my phone out of habit
46just to check Twitter, only to find that its gone. I also subconsciously
47tap the place where its icon used to exist (now replaced with my mail
48client) on my launcher. The only "fun" thing left on my phone to do is
49read or listen to music. Which is okay, in my opinion.
50
51The computer
52------------
53
54I didn't do anything too nutty here, and most of the minimalism is
55mostly aesthetic. I like UIs that get out of the way.
56
57My setup right now is just a simple bar at the top showing the time,
58date, current volume and battery %, along with my workspace indicators.
59No fancy colors, no flashy buttons and sliders. And that's it. I don't
60try to force myself to not use stuff---after all, I've reduced it
61elsewhere. :)
62
63Now the question arises: Is this just a phase, or will I stick to it?
64What's going to stop me from heading over to the Play Store and
65installing those apps back? Well, I never said this was going to be
66easy. There's definitely some will power needed to pull this off. I
67guess time will tell.