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38 <code>2019-10-05</code>
39 <h1>Thoughts on digital minimalism</h1>
40 <h2>Put that screen down!</h2>
41 <p>Ah yes, yet another article on the internet on this beaten to death
42subject. But this is inherently different, since it’s <em>my</em> opinion on
43the matter, and <em>my</em> technique(s) to achieve “digital minimalism”.</p>
44
45<p>According to me, minimalism can be achieved on two primary fronts –
46the phone & the computer. Let’s start with the phone. The daily carry.
47The device that’s on our person from when we get out of bed, till we get
48back in bed.</p>
49
50<h3 id="the-phone">The phone</h3>
51
52<p>I’ve read about a lot of methods people employ to curb their phone
53usage. Some have tried grouping “distracting” apps into a separate
54folder, and this supposedly helps reduce their usage. Now, I fail to see
55how this would work, but YMMV. Another technique I see often is using
56a time governance app—like OnePlus’ Zen Mode—to enforce how much
57time you spend using specific apps, or the phone itself. I’ve tried this
58for myself, but I constantly found myself counting down the minutes
59after which the phone would become usable again. Not helpful.</p>
60
61<p>My solution to this is a lot more brutal. I straight up uninstalled the
62apps that I found myself using too often. There’s a simple principle
63behind it – if the app has a desktop alternative, like Twitter,
64Reddit, etc. use that instead. Here’s a list of apps that got nuked from
65my phone:</p>
66
67<ul>
68<li>Twitter</li>
69<li>Instagram (an exception, no desktop client)</li>
70<li>Relay for Reddit</li>
71<li>YouTube (disabled, ships with stock OOS)</li>
72</ul>
73
74<p>The only non-productive app that I’ve let remain is Clover,
75a 4chan client. I didn’t find myself using it as much earlier, but we’ll see how that
76holds up. I’ve also allowed my personal messaging apps to remain, since
77removing those would be inconveniencing others.</p>
78
79<p>I must admit, I often find myself reaching for my phone out of habit
80just to check Twitter, only to find that its gone. I also subconsciously
81tap the place where its icon used to exist (now replaced with my mail
82client) on my launcher. The only “fun” thing left on my phone to do is
83read or listen to music. Which is okay, in my opinion.</p>
84
85<h3 id="the-computer">The computer</h3>
86
87<p>I didn’t do anything too nutty here, and most of the minimalism is
88mostly aesthetic. I like UIs that get out of the way. </p>
89
90<p>My setup right now is just a simple bar at the top showing the time,
91date, current volume and battery %, along with my workspace indicators.
92No fancy colors, no flashy buttons and sliders. And that’s it. I don’t
93try to force myself to not use stuff – after all, I’ve reduced it
94elsewhere. :)</p>
95
96<p>Now the question arises: Is this just a phase, or will I stick to it?
97What’s going to stop me from heading over to the Play Store and
98installing those apps back? Well, I never said this was going to be
99easy. There’s definitely some will power needed to pull this off.
100I guess time will tell.</p>
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