Minimalism is more than just a design aesthetic or aspirational lifestyle for millennials. It’s a mindset, a way of life, and an intentional method of discarding the excess so that what remains is essential and meaningful. As digital nomads continue to chase the light and set up camp in new cities every couple of months, it can be challenging to integrate minimalist principles into your everyday life. The amount of noise produced by social media as well as our own devices makes it difficult to tune out external stimuli and focus on what’s important: ourselves, our relationships, and the personal fulfilment we find in this world. Fortunately, embracing a digital minimalist lifestyle is significantly easier with these tips.
Plan before you purge
Before you go on a technology cleanse or purchase a trendy new planner, sit down and ask yourself why you want to pursue a more minimalistic lifestyle. What do you hope to achieve? What might change if you started to eliminate excess noise from your life? What are your goals? Once you’ve identified your intentions, you can make a plan to achieve them. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of paring down your digital life. To combat this, start simply by setting small goals for yourself. For example, instead of immediately deleting all social media apps from your phone, try removing the apps from your home screen. That way, you aren’t in a constant state of being bombarded by notifications, but you can still access them when you need to.
Cut out the noise
Minimalists often reference the term “garbage in, garbage out.” What this means is that if we bombard our brains with meaningless content, it will produce meaningless thoughts. Our brains simply aren’t wired to handle the endless amount of information available to us at any given moment today. As digital nomads, we are especially susceptible to this. After all, we depend on our devices to stay in touch with friends and family, book our travel, and earn a living. You can start by deleting the apps that generate the majority of the noise in your life. You may have heard that removing social media apps from your phone will help improve your focus, but that might not be the best approach for you. Instead, examine which apps produce the most noise in your life and delete or disable them. You can also try implementing the first strategy above and removing apps from your home screen.
Build a routine
The human brain is remarkably adaptable, but it’s also incredibly lazy. That’s why you often hear advice like, “If you do X, you’ll feel Y.” While this type of language is catchy and memorable, it isn’t particularly helpful. It’s easy to forget the advice and then wonder why it didn’t work. Instead of promising that a certain routine will magically transform your life, focus on creating new routines. Routines don’t have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler the better. You don’t want to create a life that’s so regimented that you’re miserable. Instead, aim to create a few simple routines that are designed to make your life easier and more fulfilling.
Live by your to-do list
A common complaint among digital nomads is that they don’t feel productive. In fact, most of us have a constant internal dialogue about what we should be doing versus what we’re doing. This can be incredibly distracting and lead to feelings of guilt and self-loathing. Instead of letting this happen, try keeping a to-do list. This can be as simple as writing down three tasks that you want to accomplish each day or creating a digital list. Tons of apps will help you keep track of your to-do list, and most are free. Alternatively, you can keep a paper to-do list next to your workspace or put it on your wall so it’s in your face at all times. Whatever you do, don’t let your productivity slip because you feel like you’re not doing enough.
Take care of yourself
Finally, it’s important to remember that minimalism isn’t just about what’s on your phone; it’s about how you are living your life. It’s about the food you’re eating, the amount of sleep you’re getting, the amount of time you’re spending outside, and the people you’re spending time with. If you’re not taking care of yourself, minimalism isn’t going to work. It’s only going to amplify the stress and overwhelm you’re feeling. It’s important to recognize the difference between being busy and being productive. Being busy is a sign that you’re not taking care of yourself, and it’s only going to get worse if you don’t make some changes. Take some time to figure out what’s causing the extra stress in your life and then make a plan to address it.
Don’t rely on technology to feel happiness and joy
Finally, remember that the goal of minimalism isn’t to remove technology from your life. It’s to remove the noise and chaos so you can focus on the things that are important to you. That might include being on social media every day and staying in touch with friends and family around the world. It might be setting aside time to read books, write, or practice meditation. It might be dedicating yourself to side hustle or building a new business. The only way you’ll know is if you start taking a critical look at the way you’re living your life. Once you’ve done that, you can start cutting out the noise and creating a lifestyle that’s more in line with what you want out of life. Minimalism is a journey, and it’s one that never ends. The more you practice it, the easier it gets.
