False economy What’s in it for me? Understand what makes the

Undergoing a digital declutter begins with a 
thirty-day break, followed by a critical 
reintroduction of certain tools.
If the principles of digital minimalism sound 
good, then the way to begin is to undergo thirty 
days of digital declutter. It’s important to 
recognize that this isn’t a digital detox period 
since a detox implies that you’ll return to your 
regular habits afterward. This period is about 
stopping what you’ve been doing in order to 
consider a new way forward.
With this in mind, for thirty days, plan on cutting 
all non-essential technology from your life. This 
means anything that you don’t absolutely need 
to keep working and functioning on a day-to-day 
basis.
At first, you might feel down when you realize 
how many addictive habits you’ve developed. 
But most of the people in Newport’s 1,600-
person experiment reported that they soon 
forgot about their smartphone or whatever app 
they would reflexively open up. When identifying 
what is and isn’t essential, don’t confuse 
convenience for necessity. You may think you’ll 
irreparably damage a relationship if you quit 
Facebook. But you might find that without social 
media you’ll actually strengthen the relationship 
by calling the person, meeting them and 
speaking more often.
The other task during this period is to look within 
and understand what’s really important to you. 
What are your interests, the things you value in 
life and enjoy doing outside of the world wide 
web? This is important because the next step is 
about finding something that will fill the void 
created by the absence of social media and new 
technology.
After these thirty days, a carefully thought-out 
reintroduction period begins. This involves 
asking yourself three questions about any 
technology you’re considering keeping in your 
life. The first question is: Does this technology 
support something I deeply value? If so, move 
on to the second question: Is it the best way to 
support this value?
Instagram may support the value of staying in 
touch with faraway relatives, but calling them on 
Skype every Sunday may be the far more 
meaningful way to do this. In fact, most people 
find that social media does not pass this 
screening process.
But if something does pass the first two 
questions, it’s time for the final question: How 
can I use this tool in a way that maximizes its 
benefit and minimizes the harm it causes? A 
digital minimalist doesn’t just use or not use 
something. If they use Twitter, they probably 
don’t use it on their phone. They use it once or 
twice a week and only follow meaningful people 
they couldn’t otherwise connect with.