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Mute notifications can be a little irritating: What if you miss something important? But most people I spoke to said similar things about this concern: People who need to reach you will know how it is, whether it’s via text message or phone call. Your sanity and attention will thank you.
Celebrate the Digital Cleansing January. If you’re feeling ambitious, take a page from my digital rights and democracy reporter colleague Tate Ryan-Mosley. He will celebrate his fourth annual Digital Cleanup January, where he spends four weeks cleaning up every part of his digital life—email, files, security, and phone.
Here’s how it works:
In 1 weekTate “massive clean” of email, unsubscribing from newsletters and other lists that don’t serve it, and mass-deleting emails it never reads. He also spends a day reaching out to people who may have emailed him and to whom he has not yet responded. The new year is a good time to rekindle those connections and allow Tate to start new conversations with people he cares about.
week 2 devoted to file organization: cleaning and putting files where they belong in the cloud, on the desktop, and on any drive. “This is my least favorite week,” Tate says. But in the end you feel like you’ve really accomplished something. Tate’s advice? Organize files by general category, not by date. And treat file organization like real business, because it is. “If I’m waiting for a meeting or take an hour to listen to music and really do it, I do it during breaks at work,” she says.
Three weeks A percentage of Tate’s digital cleanup is devoted to security. It examines every sensitive personal account and generates new unique passwords with the help of password manager LastPass. Tate is also taking advantage of Google this week to get rid of sensitive information circulating on the internet, such as his personal phone number and address. Tate swears by the New York Times guide to fooling yourself. available hereprovides clear instructions on how to keep your private information safe online.
Week 4 The most fun, according to Tate. He’s devoting this week to clearing his phone’s backlog of photos, deleting apps that don’t serve him, and rearranging the home screen. “The nice thing is, I don’t have to be at my desk to do this,” she says. “I might be waiting in line or I might be watching TV.” Tate is also taking the time to turn off notifications this week (see above).
Digital Cleanup for Tate January isn’t necessarily fun. How many resolutions are there? But when the calendar turned February, it had a ton of success. “I feel very good for the rest of the year,” he says. “And I can’t wait to deal with all of this again by December. I love how I felt afterwards.”
Finally, remember that there is a whole world outside of technology. Once upon a time, people didn’t stretch their necks to their phones by applying that special finger gesture that constantly swiped social media. Some read books. Others chatted with those around them or just walked away a bit.
Cal Newport, a professor of computer science at Georgetown University, strongly advocates reengineering your relationship with technology, especially when it’s not really necessary. “When you channel technology into the important things, it helps,” he says. “When you use it as a default distraction from unpleasant thoughts or experiences, it can become a problem.” So put down the phone and feel those emotions even if they are boredom, sadness or anxiety. It can make you feel a little more human again.
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