1---
 2template:
 3title: Thoughts on digital minimalism 
 4subtitle: Put that screen down!
 5date: 2019-10-05
 6slug: digital-minimalism
 7---
 8
 9Ah yes, yet another article on the internet on this beaten to death
10subject. But this is inherently different, since it's _my_ opinion on
11the matter, and _my_ technique(s) to achieve "digital minimalism".
12
13According to me, minimalism can be achieved on two primary fronts --
14the phone & the computer. Let's start with the phone. The daily carry.
15The device that's on our person from when we get out of bed, till we get
16back in bed.
17
18## The phone
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
24a time governance app -- like OnePlus' Zen Mode -- to enforce how much
25time you spend using specific apps, or the phone itself. I've tried this
26for myself, but I constantly found myself counting down the minutes
27after which 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,
32Reddit, etc. use that instead. Here's a list of apps that got nuked from
33my phone:
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, 
41a 4chan client. I didn't find myself using it as much earlier, but we'll see how that 
42holds up. I've also allowed my personal messaging apps to remain, since 
43removing 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
51## The computer
52
53I didn't do anything too nutty here, and most of the minimalism is
54mostly aesthetic. I like UIs that get out of the way. 
55
56My setup right now is just a simple bar at the top showing the time,
57date, current volume and battery %, along with my workspace indicators.
58No fancy colors, no flashy buttons and sliders. And that's it. I don't
59try to force myself to not use stuff -- after all, I've reduced it
60elsewhere. :)
61
62Now the question arises: Is this just a phase, or will I stick to it?
63What's going to stop me from heading over to the Play Store and
64installing those apps back? Well, I never said this was going to be
65easy. There's definitely some will power needed to pull this off.
66I guess time will tell.