How 'Digital Minimalism' Book by Cal Newport Helped Me as a Developer
Tags: productivity, developer
Published: 2024-07-11 23:06:34

In today's hyper-connected world, it's easy to fall into the trap of constant digital engagement. As an aspiring developer, I noticed how I spend more of my time on social media and less on productive work. I know how hard it is to resist these distractions coming from digital tools: endless notifications, reels with auto-play features, and many more that have a huge impact on my focus and overall well-being.

Everything changed when I found the book **"Digital Minimalism"** by Cal Newport. The book helped me understand how these digital tools affect our lives and how I can use them effectively and intentionally to support what really matters to me.

In this blog, I am going to talk about what Digital Minimalism is, how I apply it in my life, the benefits and experiences, and much more.

## What is Digital Minimalism?

Let's define what Digital Minimalism is first. You might have an assumption about it, but Digital Minimalism is simply **"a strategy to help people optimize their use of technology and keep from being overwhelmed by it."**

> The concept of digital minimalism states that you should focus on the things that matter most and be okay with missing out on the rest.

This video demonstrates our current generation:

![Moby & The Void Pacific Choir - 'Are You Lost In The World Like Me?' (Official Video)](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/5rqa8gha2mq6ttvb5tc2.png)


Watch this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VASywEuqFd8&t=41s)

Everyone is on their phone, while eating, working, or at school. This video just describes our generation. and I think most of us are guilty of the behaviors mentioned in the video.

Anyways. What do you value most in life? What are the things that truly matter to you? For instance, I deeply value the connections and relationships I have with my family, relatives, and friends. To support this, I use Facebook as a tool for staying in touch. While I can't completely delete or leave Facebook, I set specific rules to avoid becoming addicted and ensure I use it solely for maintaining meaningful connections.

In the book, Cal Newport also talks about how these digital tools profoundly impact our lives and well-being if not used properly and intentionally. Big tech companies make their products as addictive as possible because this is how they generate revenue. The more you use their apps, the more money they earn, so they do everything to get your attention.

### Interesting Fact:

Many CEOs and popular individuals limit themselves and their families in using these digital tools. For example, in the book, it was mentioned that Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, famously restricted his children's use of technology at home. In a 2010 [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html) interview, he mentioned that his kids hadn't used the iPad because he believed it to be too addictive.

> Steve Jobs knew how dangerous and addictive their products are.

## Main Reasons Why People Get Hooked and Distracted by Technology:

Most of us already know these things but didn't realize how these little details or features make the app irresistible. Knowing them is very helpful.

### 1. Auto-Play Videos

Videos or Reels automatically play as users scroll through their feed. For example, sites that use this feature include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Now you don't have to click the screen to play the video or reels that you're watching; you just scroll, and it will automatically play. Before you know it, you've been scrolling for 2-3 hours without even noticing because each piece of content is personalized to your preferences, thanks to algorithms.

### 2. Push Notifications

Alerts notify users about new messages, likes, comments, or updates. Sites that use this feature include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc.

They want your attention, so they will send notifications that will keep you engaged and using their apps. For example, when you see that someone tagged you in their post, you'll be curious about the tagged post, right? And then you’ll spend more time on that post, liking, commenting, etc. Or if someone liked your post. It's hard to resist and you'll be curious about which photo was liked. 

### 3. Stories

Short-lived content that disappears after 24 hours. Sites like Facebook and Snapchat use this feature.

It creates a sense of urgency since you won't be able to see it after 24 hours. So you don't want to miss anything from your crush's story, and you check Facebook every time just to ensure you don't miss any posts. I think we can all agree on this one, haha.

### 4. Likes and Comments

Users can like and comment on posts, providing social validation. Facebook, Instagram, and many more use this feature.

When we don't get the amount of likes we expect, we post more often to reach that point of likes or followers, encouraging users to use the app more frequently. Getting likes and comments allow these apps to send you a notification, to keep you engaged with the app.

I know these things because I've been addicted to these apps. I used YouTube and Facebook more often. The activity you do there, for example, liking, commenting, etc., is the information or content that you like the most since you engaged on those things or topics, and the algorithm will throw more contents or topics about these, so you spend more time on this app. 

That's why you might wonder: you just said to yourself that you're just going to use Facebook to chat someone, but you ended up starting to get distracted and ended up scrolling, and it's been 2 or 3 hours already, and you didn't notice it.


## Applying Digital Minimalism in My Life

How do I apply the principles from the book to my life? We have different situations in life, so it really depends on you how you're going to apply this philosophy (Digital Minimalism) in your life.

### 1. 30-Day Break

The first thing I did, as mentioned in the book, was take a 30-day break from optional digital tools in my life. Optional are those that will not cause serious problems if you decide to delete or not use them for a long period. For example, Facebook is not really optional since most of us need to communicate with our friends or family. An example of optional  might be YouTube because it won't cause any problem if you don't use it for 30 days, right? Unless it's your source of income, you can't really delete or completely avoid it for a long period. But if you're using YouTube. You used it excessively on scrolling and watching, and you spend too much then this can be considered as your optional . It really depends on how you use a specific app.

I decided to remove and not use the following apps:
- YouTube
- Facebook (I still used Messenger)
- Twitter
- Instagram

During the 30-day break, I try to explore other things that might give me a sense of purpose and satisfaction than these apps. For example, reading and going to the gym. This is the perfect time to explore activities that might give you real satisfaction. Instead of spending hours on these apps, you'll use that time to explore things to other activities. 

In my case, I chose physical activities like working out or walking since I'm in front of the screen all day already.

### 2. SocialFocus: Hide Distraction - Chrome Extension

It is a very helpful [Chrome Extension](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/socialfocus-hide-distract/abocjojdmemdpiffeadpdnicnlhcndcg) that you might like. It helps you avoid being distracted by social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, and many more.

Features include:
- Block feed and reels
- Block the site
- etc.

For example, my YouTube Feed looks like this:

![YouTube Feed](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/hhweg4az0qodf44p1hkm.png)

> Removed the thumbnail. You can do much more than this.


### 3. Minimalist Launcher

I downloaded this launcher on my Android phone to make it less distracting. I love using this launcher as it really helps me focus and avoid distractions. I don't get a flood of notifications when I open my phone, which also helps reduce lag, haha. It has many features, such as blocking an app for a specific period of time, app-time reminders, and more. 

You can check the website [here](https://www.minimalistphone.com/) for more information.

I'm not sure if it's available on iOS, but you can watch this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmcOtIrZ8r0) if you're interested in making your iPhone more minimalist and free from distractions.

![Digital Minimalist Launcher](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ysu71w6i3jkcmd7jzmi5.png)

![Digital Minimalist Launcher](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/clun5627u73qj5w20uwh.png)

Actually, I have a lot of other principles and rules that I applied, like, for example, solitude (what I mean by solitude is when you're sitting with your thoughts with no distractions like your phone, computer, or TV. Just you with your thoughts).  I also restricted myself to not using these digital tools at a specific time or day. For example, I would only use a specific app on a certain day. I am allowed to use it on weekends, but on weekdays I would not use any of them unless it's very important, like checking email, LinkedIn, etc.

## Benefits

These are the benefits I got from applying Digital Minimalism to my life:

### Reduced Screen Time

Before reading this book by Cal Newport, my screen time was >= 4 hours a day, mostly spent on YouTube and Facebook. I was addicted to the personalized content and reels, scrolling for hours without realizing.
 
After reading the book and applying some principles and strategies, I reduced it to only 1-2 hours per day. My most-used apps now are Drive, [InstaPaper](https://www.instapaper.com/), Messenger, etc., which are not designed for endless scrolling.

![Digital Wellbeing - Screen Time](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/v3mj1a8ea5qv99yvf3vi.jpg)

> I spend 1-2 hours using my phone, but if I'm not using it for reading, probably this screen time is lower than one hour.

### Reclaimed Focus and Attention

Since I reduced my screen time, I was able to reclaim my focus and attention from these distractions and noise. With more focus, I could choose where to spend my time which on things I valued and important to me, like coding and connections, etc.

Reading the book help me to understand how these technologies affecting my life and well-being, I explored possible activities that might give me sense of purpose and satisfaction in life than spending it all on social media apps. Instead, I focused on improving my technical skills, communication skills, and building connections, all of which are important to me.

If I still spend more time on these social media apps, I couldn't even afford to write blogs and share my thoughts and learnings from other people. I am also active to open-source, currently building my portfolio, projects, exploring hackathons, school, reading and many more. 

Instead of me spending it in these social media apps, they are now being spent on these meaningful activities that I valued and important to me.

### Felt a Sense of Purpose

Regaining my focus and attention from distractions helped me find a sense of purpose and satisfaction in my life, because all my time and attention were spent on things I truly valued and that mattered to me. 

### Avoided Being Drained and Overwhelmed

With the strategies I learned from the book, I optimized my smartphone to be less distracting. I used many techniques mentioned above, which helped me avoid feeling overwhelmed and drained. 

Before, even with 8 hours of sleep, I felt tired because of the excessive time spent on social media apps. Switching between apps to absorb as much information as possible, it was quite exhausting and depressing. 

I thought that it's a good idea to do this, but I just realized that most of those things are not really important to me. Instead I focus myself on things that is important.

## Challenges

Here are some challenges I faced while applying the principles from the book:

### Hard to apply

Initially, it was difficult to apply some principles from the book since I used to spend a lot of time on these apps. It's hard to resist these apps. But eventually, I realized I didn't need to use these technologies as often as I thought. I just realized how addictive I am, for example, the first time I blocked YouTube on my phone, I later tried to open it without realizing I had blocked it. 

This showed me how addicted I was and how much these technologies controlled my actions.

### FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

I experienced a fear of missing out (FOMO), "feeling apprehensive that  might miss important information, events, or experiences". Applying these principles made me feel like I was missing out on a lot. But I asked myself if I really cared about these things. Do I need to spend hours scrolling through social media apps? Do I get any benefit from this? I realized it's okay to miss out on some things as long as it helps me find happiness, satisfaction, and freedom from distraction, and focus on things that I valued.

> Remember: The concept of digital minimalism states that you should focus on the things that matter most and be okay with missing out on the rest.

## Summary

After reading this book, everything changed. I changed how I view digital tools and learned how to use them effectively to support my goals and desires. You won't reach your goals if you're constantly distracted by unnecessary things. You need to choose where to spend your time and attention, and don't let these apps dictate and control you.

Applying the techniques and strategies from the 'Digital Minimalism' book improved my overall well-being and focus. Instead of spending time on social media apps, I now focus on improving myself, such as my technical and communication skills.

While some might argue that these technologies provide a lot of information and knowledge, that's why they can't leave these social media, I tell you that these tools are indeed powerful if used properly but can diminish their benefits if used excessively. I'm not saying you should quit using these technologies entirely. They are powerful tools we should use to our advantage. However, when used excessively and unintentionally, the impact can be huge in terms of our focus and overall well-being.

That's it! I hope you learned something from this blog and that it convinced you of the impact digital tools have on our lives. Use them intentionally and effectively to support what you want in life, and forget about everything else (those unnecessary ones).

## Additional Reading
- [week in the life of a digital minimalist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-q65az1G84)
- [The Social Dilemma - Tristan Harris - New Age In Tech Presentation](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html)
- [How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day | Tristan Harris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C74amJRp730)
- [Steve Jobs Was a Low-Tech Parent](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html)
- [Tristan Harris Congress Testimony: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRrguMdzXBw)

P.S. I highly recommend reading the book; you can find free PDFs online. Many concepts and principles are explained much better in the book than in this blog.

if you have any question then feel free to comment below. If you want to connect with me, you can find my socials [here](https://linktr.ee/jfmartinz).

Bye-bye!