3283: Digital Simplicity Defined in 3 Ways: Emotionally, Practically, and Logistically by Jenny Lee of Hello Brio

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[00:01:05] Digital simplicity defined in three ways, emotionally, practically, and logistically.

[00:01:12] By Jenny Lee of HelloBrio.com. And I'm Justin Mollick, reading to you with permission from the

[00:01:18] authors. I cover lots of topics like personal development or self-help, mindfulness, happiness,

[00:01:25] minimalism like today. And with that let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:01:35] Digital simplicity defined in three ways, emotionally, practically, and logistically.

[00:01:42] By Jenny Lee of HelloBrio.com. Digital minimalism is not the answer. Let's define

[00:01:49] digital simplicity and compare it to digital minimalism and digital maximalism. This post is

[00:01:56] for anyone who feels overwhelmed by their tech but knows it's not sustainable to ditch it altogether.

[00:02:03] Just know that by adopting digital simplicity as a life philosophy, you can start to use technology

[00:02:09] as a tool and streamline your workflows to foster your creativity and growth. In short,

[00:02:16] digital simplicity brings about abundant creativity. Let's explore what digital

[00:02:22] simplicity is in terms of these three points of view. Emotionally, what it feels like.

[00:02:28] Practically, what it looks like day to day. And logistically, what your general philosophy is.

[00:02:34] The emotions behind digital simplicity, digital minimalism, and your current state of digital

[00:02:40] maximalism. How digital maximalism makes you feel. Let's assume you're in digital maximalism,

[00:02:47] having landed on my blog post somehow. Emotionally, you probably feel super overwhelmed with your

[00:02:54] technology use. There's too much information in this connected world, too many great things you

[00:02:59] need to consume, books, blog posts, YouTube videos, tweets, podcasts, email newsletters.

[00:03:07] You're consistently behind. You have popcorn brain, you're subconsciously searching for dopamine bump

[00:03:12] after dopamine bump. Not to mention your personal tech overwhelm. You're drowning in digital files,

[00:03:19] you don't know what to do with your photo library. You try to stay organized with your digital life

[00:03:23] but can't find the time. Your focus is constantly broken from those non-stop group text messages,

[00:03:30] or even worse, you may forget to respond to texts altogether. There's a better way.

[00:03:36] The emotions behind digital minimalism. If you're anything like me and lean towards extremes,

[00:03:43] your knee-jerk response may be to swing the other way and cut yourself off completely and dive head

[00:03:49] first into digital minimalism. Spoiler alert, digital minimalism isn't the real answer. With

[00:03:56] phone-free weekends and month-long social media cleanses, you may feel a huge relief at first,

[00:04:03] but then you may start to feel FOMO. And then you may actually miss out on important things.

[00:04:09] Digital simplicity evokes confidence and accomplishment. By nature, digital simplicity

[00:04:15] gives you a sense of control and balance. When you have your digital sh** together,

[00:04:21] you will be able to find things quickly in a simple personal knowledge management system,

[00:04:26] have workflows and habits set up so that you cut down on transition time, and use your technology

[00:04:31] as your second brain so that you can be more present and in the moment. What digital simplicity

[00:04:37] looks like day-to-day. Sweeping solutions feel good, like dumping out your backpack or sweeping

[00:04:44] everything off your desk. While you might learn stuff about yourself in the process of quick and

[00:04:49] drastic fixes, this approach may not work out for you in the long run. Digital minimalism

[00:04:56] isn't a sustainable solution. If you opt for digital minimalism, you may end up using tech

[00:05:03] as minimally as possible or not at all. These solutions come to mind. Paper planners, notebooks

[00:05:10] abound, piles of hardcover books, note cards, sticky notes, and scraps of paper strewn across

[00:05:16] your desk, sore arms from carrying this all around in your backpack. But then what do you do when

[00:05:22] you have an email to follow up on or a blog post that you want to bookmark? If you're hearing this,

[00:05:27] chances are you're a tech forward person like me, so an analog first approach won't serve you and

[00:05:33] you'll feel friction between your analog and digital worlds. I can say this because I've tried

[00:05:39] a digital minimalism approach several times and failed. Digital maximalism won't allow you to focus.

[00:05:47] Day-to-day, digital maximalism means constant notifications and configuring everything, like

[00:05:54] all the time, and having an app for everything. Starting a fast? Wait, first you have to open up

[00:05:59] your app and start your timer. Going on a road trip? Stop, first we have to get a selfie so I

[00:06:05] can post it to my IG stories. Finally have some heads down time? Oh, five emails just came in, let

[00:06:11] me check those first. Your digital life will rule your existence. You may not even notice it for a

[00:06:17] while. But digital maximalism is also not a sustainable solution because it will lead you

[00:06:23] down a path of not really doing and not being present. No bueno. Again, I can say this because

[00:06:30] I've been here several times. Digital simplicity is both sustainable and flow inducing. Digital

[00:06:39] simplicity allows you to use the simplest solution that works for you. You'll be able to use your tech

[00:06:44] and be in control of it, using certain devices for focus and productivity, automating notifications so

[00:06:51] you have smart focus times, keeping a digital planner and actually using it, using a time tracker

[00:06:57] to stay on task, using a simple note-taking app like Apple Notes as your second brain so you can

[00:07:02] focus better, keeping your bookmarks and tasks in a simple centralized location like Todoist,

[00:07:09] and maintaining a digital journaling habit. And spoil alert, adopting digital simplicity as a

[00:07:15] lifestyle feels really good. And because you have focused states set up and you aren't wasting time

[00:07:21] designing your dashboard for the end time, you'll be able to just get down to work and stay in your

[00:07:26] state of deep work until your Pomodoro goes off or your next focus block begins. What digital

[00:07:33] simplicity is logistically? Logistics is the organization and implementation of a system.

[00:07:41] It's the bigger picture when compared to your day-to-day, and it's your general approach or

[00:07:45] philosophy towards technology. Digital minimalism plus logistics. With digital minimalism you end

[00:07:54] up stripping away everything in favor of a utilitarian approach. This usually ends up

[00:07:59] meaning you go to extremes and delete social media apps, do 30-day tech cleanses, turn off your wi-fi

[00:08:06] to do deep work, lock yourself away in a remote mountain cabin, generally favor disconnect over

[00:08:12] intentional use, and check email once per week. This may work for you if your life's work doesn't

[00:08:17] depend on the internet for income, self-improvement, connection, and the like, but in this modern world

[00:08:24] digital minimalism is too extreme. Digital maximalism plus logistics. Logistically, when you

[00:08:31] think about where you might be with digital maximalism now, you're overwhelmed by your devices

[00:08:37] and have a Pavlovian response to every single ping and toast notification you receive. You feel like

[00:08:43] you need to respond to every email, text, phone call, work message, tweet, and DM right away.

[00:08:51] With digital maximalism, your time isn't spent intentionally. Your days always feel busy,

[00:08:58] but you're not doing any meaningful work. Continue down a path of digital maximalism

[00:09:03] and you'll be in a constant state of stress and burnout. You're training your brain to

[00:09:08] respond to quick dopamine hits instead of teaching it to do deep work for bigger chunks of time.

[00:09:15] Digital simplicity plus logistics. Digital simplicity, on the other hand, is all about

[00:09:21] finding the sides of the diamond that work for you. Yes, I said diamond, because in tech there

[00:09:27] are never just two sides of the coin. It really is a multitude of facets and ways of working that

[00:09:32] could be the best solution for you. With digital simplicity, you can prioritize your tasks and put

[00:09:39] the big rocks first. Keep your mind clear because your digital life is simplified and streamlined,

[00:09:45] and carve out time for your most important projects. Digital simplicity is the answer.

[00:09:52] In this tech-forward world, it doesn't work for us to bury our nose in the sand and pretend like

[00:09:57] tech doesn't exist. If we go from one extreme of digital maximalism and overwhelm to digital

[00:10:03] minimalism and deprivation, we'll end up in waves of feast or famine. Digital simplicity

[00:10:10] is the most sustainable solution in these modern times. You just listened to the post titled

[00:10:20] Digital Simplicity Defined in Three Ways Emotionally, Practically, and Logistically by

[00:10:26] Jenny Lee of HelloBrio.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Thank you to Jenny.

[00:10:32] I don't necessarily advise against removing digital clutter or doing a digital sabbatical,

[00:10:39] as long as you're understanding that it is almost certainly just a test or experiment and you can

[00:10:45] learn from it. Because like most ends of the spectrum, it's unsustainable, just like Jenny

[00:10:51] talked about. Her answer is something more in the middle, which is generally what I would recommend

[00:10:57] because being consistent with a more of a middle ground approach, that's going to take you a lot

[00:11:02] farther than inconsistency with extremism. And that applies to most things in life in my experience,

[00:11:09] from diets and exercise to work, minimalism, and more. So thank you again to Jenny for the

[00:11:16] reminder and the article. Thank you for being here, it really means a lot. I'll be curating

[00:11:21] articles for you here again tomorrow, so have a great rest of your day and start to your week,

[00:11:25] and I'll see you in the Tuesday show where your optimal life awaits.