Space and Time - one week of digital minimalism

Meathead Machinations #4

The first week of digital minimalism can be broadly described as one with added “space”.

As mentioned last week, 6 weeks of digital degeneracy had been punctuated by what Cal Newport describes as a “digital declutter”- eliminating the key distracting apps on my phone and setting strict operating procedures for what remained.

Said declutter has left me scratching at my home screen for Hinge and Instagram like a dog with fleas. It’s a strange sensation catching yourself searching for something which is no longer there.

However, beyond the initial urge to scratch my Instagram itches - the diminished distraction provided added space and perspective. Like the prisoners in Plato’s cave, social media had represented the shadows - not reality itself but a low-fidelity proxy for social interaction, validation and perhaps belonging.

In the past week, removing myself from the cave provided a better indication of how those deeply wired urges are primed, strengthened and buttressed over time; filling voids in the reality outside of the cave that are impossible to work out whilst in it.

For example, social media, for many; represents a powerful medium for signalling social status. A veneer for virtue-signalling and status chasing. When crouton’d up in that murkiest of soups, it can be almost impossible not to consider where you stack up in the grand scheme of things. Inevitably, you create rigid moulds for what’s desirable, successful or “worked out”…

With this perspective came a noticing of “core language.” For some time it has been a core narrative that I “hate” my work. A fixed expression of loathing for a role that cannot be changed or ameliorated. A stick to beat myself with and the most salient indication that I was “not there yet.”

But, with the removal of my most compelling distractions (and comparators); the added space enabled me to segregate between the narrative constructed and the reality of the work itself. Unsurprisingly, with presence came efficiency, focus and dare I say it - enjoyment.

Not to say that with presence; time is frozen in the office and I’ll always assume a blissful buddha-like satisfaction in my working life… Inevitably the search for purpose, value, competency and improvement continues... But hopefully, with space and clarity, that would come from a place of self-love and presence rather than attempting to one-up the next guy on social media.