And honestly, I really need one. I've recently fallen into the trap of reading comments on social media and it has not been good for my mental health. Yes, I know I should be using social media as a tool. But sometimes I cannot resist viewing a specific post and it goes downhill from there. So, yes I need a reset.

The main reason for this post though, apart from telling you that I'll be offline for a bit and not writing blog posts, is to invite anyone who reads this to give the Digital Declutter exercise a try. Take a break from living life online and start your own Digital Declutter.

You can follow this link for an explanation of what a Digital Declutter is, as well as what rules I'll be following for my own Digital Declutter.

Last year, I kinda went through a Digital Declutter without a specific focus in mind. For this year, I'm going to focus on reading more books.

Anyway, I hope you guys decide to give it a try. If you have any questions regarding this, you can find ways to contact me on this page, but sending an email is the best option.

Peace be with you and see y'all online on Easter Sunday.

Tags: #DigitalDeclutter #DigitalMinimalism #Lent

How I use my Bullet Journal — a great practical guide to using a bullet journal.

#InterestingReads #BulletJournal

An idea: instead of just keeping old blog posts lying around, why not print them and turn them into a self published book? Then you can store them in a bookshelf at home.

This idea was somewhat inspired by this post by Kin Lane.

#Blogging

God never gives you a dream that matches your budget. He's not checking your bank account, he's checking your faith. ~ Mark Walhberg

#Quotes #Spirituality

Selective Ignorance is when you pick and choose what you want to focus on or what you want to learn, instead of taking in everything that's available out there. You want to consider doing this, because we don't have time to learn everything. So, you have to be selective. It is as Ness says, a form of intentional knowledge.

Source: Selective ignorance: cultivating intentional knowledge in a chaotic world

^ This is also a great way to help avoid information overload.

#AvoidingInformationOverload #DigitalMinimalism

One of the best things I've learned a few years ago: I don’t need to have an opinion on everything. There are things that are beyond my control and it’s pointless to wallow in them. Having an opinion on everything is like paying attention to something that didn’t ask for your attention.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRFQkXanEd5/?utmmedium=copylink

#DigitalMinimalism

https://john.do/today/ — seems to be was good advice for starting/restarting a blog. Unfortunately navigating to that page seems to elicit some warnings on the browser, so browse at your own risk.

Anyway, my takeaway from this was: Writing is all about putting down your imperfect thoughts and ideas into paper. This allows you to reflect on your thoughts and ideas, and then go from there.

#Blogging #Writing

Series: #JournalEntry Tags: #InterestingReads #BulletJournal #Blogging #Quotes #Spirituality #AvoidingInformationOverload #DigitalMinimalism #Writing

So, I'm starting to realize that the smartphone in and of itself is not the cause of distraction. Rather, it is just another form of distraction. Distraction has always been with us. It just takes on different forms as human civilization advances.

The problem was/is distraction itself. The solution was/still seems to be the same — to set up an environment that is, as much as possible, devoid of distractions, so that you can do your best work.

Tags: #Reflection #DigitalMinimalism #Distraction #SmartphoneAddiction

Follow this link for an explanation of what a Digital Declutter is, as well as what rules I'll be following for my own Digital Declutter.

I hope you guys decide to give it a try. If you have any questions regarding this, you can find ways to contact me on this page, but sending an email is the best option.

Peace be with you and see y'all online on Easter Sunday.

Tags: #DigitalDeclutter #DigitalMinimalism #Lent

This is a list of rules that will guide me during my Digital Declutter phase.

Changelog:

• The only change I've made for Version 3.01, is removing restrictions for Crunchy Roll when viewing something with my family, especially my kids who've shown an interest in anime.
• The notable rule additions/changes I've made for Version 3.0 are removing restrictions when doing an activity with other people. For instance, playing video games and streaming videos are no longer restricted if I'm doing the activity with my family.

What is a Digital Declutter?

A Digital Declutter is an exercise I read about in Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism book. It's almost like a Digital Detox or a Digital Sabbath. The main differences are that you do it for at least 30 days, and that you are replacing addictive digital activities with analog activities. For instance, instead of browsing social media at night, you read books, or learn a new craft like cooking, or you learn how to play a musical instrument like the guitar, etc...

The easiest way to understand it is to look at the rules listed below. But of course you don't have to follow the same rules I made for myself. You can create your own set of rules and do it at your own time. My main motivation for sharing these rules online, was to invite people to give the Digital Declutter exercise a try. If you have any questions regarding this, you can find ways to contact me on this page, but sending an email is the best option.

Messaging Apps:

• Text Messages/iMessage: Allowed
• Facebook Messenger: Allowed, but can only check it once a day.
• Microsoft Teams: Allowed (needed for work)
• Everything else: Not allowed

Emails:

• Mobile Phone Apps:
  • Outlook: Allowed (needed for work) but can only be used during daytime, except on support calls.
  • Yahoomail: Allowed (needed for two factor authentication) but can only be used during daytime.
  • Protonmail: Not allowed
• On PC: Allowed
• On Tablet: Not allowed

Web Browsing:

• Mobile Phone Apps:
  • Safari: Not allowed, except for when I really NEED to lookup something and for going through already open tabs.
• On PC: Allowed (but see further restrictions below)
• On Tablet: Not allowed, except for when I really NEED to lookup something.

Reading Blogs/Journals/Websites:

• Mobile Phone:
  • Safari: Not allowed, except for going through already open tabs.
  • Feedly: Allowed
  • Are.na: Allowed
• On PC: Allowed but only limited to educational/career topics, like those on software development and productivity/self-improvement.
  • Jalopnik: Not allowed
  • Speedhunters: Not allowed
  • The Truth About Cars: Not allowed
  • Read.write.as: Not allowed
  • Micro.blog: Not allowed.
  • ESPN: Not allowed
  • News sites: Not allowed
  • Articles/posts from Are.na and Feedly: Allowed
• On Tablet: Not allowed

Posting to Blogs/Journals:

• No blogging allowed.

Reading/Educational Apps:

• iBooks: Allowed
• Kindle: Allowed
• Audible: Allowed

Social Media Apps and Websites:

• No social media use allowed.

Video Games:

• Mobile Phone Games: Not allowed
• Xbox: Allowed at night for a max of 1 hour of play time during weekdays when playing by myself. Allowed with frequent breaks on weekends when playing by myself.
  • An exception here is if I'm playing a game with my kids and/or wife, then there is no restriction.
• PC Games: Same restrictions as Xbox.

Video Streaming Apps:

• Netflix: Allowed during weekdays for at most 2 episodes or 1 documentary/movie when viewing by myself. Allowed on weekends with less restrictions when viewing by myself.
  • An exception here is if I'm viewing something with my kids and/or wife, then there is no restriction.
• Crunchyroll: Not allowed, except if I'm viewing something with my kids and/or wife, then there is no restriction.
• YouTube: Only allowed for viewing educational content.
• Pluralsight: Allowed

Music Apps:

• Spotify: Allowed
• Pandora: Allowed

Misc Apps:

• Weather App: Allowed
• Apple Notes: Allowed, except when I have a pocket notebook on me.
• OneNote: Allowed, except when I have a pocket notebook on me.
• Obsidian: Allowed to work on my notes.

General Rules:

• Apps or services that are categorized or used as tools will be allowed, like the Calculator, Calendar and other such apps.
• Apps or services that have infinite pools, ie. apps with infinite news feeds, will not be allowed.

Tags: #DigitalDeclutter #DigitalMinimalism

If you are a parent of young kids and you are concerned about how distracted you are around them, then you will find a lot to relate to in this podcast.

Takeaways

As mentioned above, the whole podcast was a little over 2 hours long. Here are some of my takeaways from watching it. Note that most of these are not direct quotes. I tried to capture the idea as best as I can, but I would suggest watching the podcast to get the context and fully appreciate them.

When Matt, the podcast host, mentioned that he no longer gives out his phone number to everyone, and that he now only corresponds with people through email, which he can only do so with a laptop that stays at his office, John Lentz said this (not a direct quote):

What is more loving, giving 10% of your all to everyone? Or giving 80-100% of your all to the people you love?

You have to pick and choose who you want to be able to reach out to you 24/7. By opening yourself up to be interrupted by anyone, you stretch yourself out too thin. And so you can only give so much of your best to people.

By going the email route for correspondence, you actually give yourself time to disconnect. You're no longer expected to reply right away. Now the expectation is, you'll get to their message when you check your emails. You'll get to it when you get to it. People will need to learn to wait for a response, which can be hard in today's world of instant messaging.

Children are like arrows. It's our job to pull the string, point them hopefully in the right direction, then release and let go. ~ Chris Kaspar

A very good analogy of what it means to be a parent.

Most parents usually have a plan on how to introduce kids to the subject of money. We usually go about it slowly. And the lessons progress over time, going through a number of years until we deem them responsible enough to handle money. Why don't we have the same plan for the technology that we hand out to our kids?

Most parents, including me, will allow their kids to use an iPhone or an iPad and call it a day. I see now how that is reckless. We have to teach kids how to handle technology, just like how we teach them to handle money.

We use tech to escape God, but simultaneously, God uses tech to protect and reach out to us. ~ Chris Kaspar

They (your kids) will only be here for a short time. My wife is a gift to me and she will only be here for a short time. I will only be here for a short time. ~ John Lentz

That's a great reminder of what we are losing, when we spend our days distracted with social media or the phone in our hands — we are losing time with our loved ones.

Lastly, an interesting explanation of why the company is named “Techless”. I previously thought it meant “less technology”, which equates to “techless”, makes sense, right?

But actually, the company name alludes to what John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” With regards to the company name, it means “God must increase, technology must decrease.” It's a very paradoxical name for a technology company.

Tags: #Bookmarks #DigitalMinimalism #Parenthood #Parenting #SmartphoneAddiction #Spirituality

Prior to the purge that happened today, I had over 140 items in that list. I was like, “Enough is enough.” There's no way I could have read through all those links, plus read my books, while I kept adding more items every week or so. I needed a better way to manage the items going into my to-read list. I also needed a better way to determine if an item deserved to stay in my to-read list.

So today, I decided to come up with some criteria to determine when to add items to my to-read list, as well as when to remove items off my to-read list. The criteria are based off this excellent read from Nat Eliason — most of which I've already extracted and listed in here. These then are the questions I came up with, that would serve as filters for my to-read list going forward:

• Does this fall into a category I'm interested in?
• Does this answer a question that's already been answered?
• Does this answer a question I have right now?
• Is this going to help with something I'm working on now or in the near future?
• Does this help grow my philosophical knowledge or does it entertain me?

When I applied the questions listed above, to each item in my to-read list, I went from having 140+ items in there, to just 31 items. That's a good chunk of items that got filtered out.

Now to be clear, I didn't simply delete all the other items on the list. There were a lot that I wanted to keep, but based on my answers to the questions listed above, these were of low priority to me or barely passed those filters. So, those items I moved into a Reading List Backlog. In the unlikely event that I run out of items to read in my to-read list, I will start pulling items from my backlog.

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's another list to maintain. But hold on, this new list has a specific rule: The only items that can be added to it, are items that are already in my to-read list. That should keep it from turning into another unwieldy list in the future. Also, I can apply the same set of questions to each item in my backlog, to permanently delete links I will most likely never get to. And like I said above, it is unlikely that I'll ever run out of items in my to-read list. So I'm not too worried about this backlog taking up my time.

So, there you go. A set of questions that serves as a criteria for managing my to-read list. Just sharing this in case it might be of help to someone else. Thanks for reading and peace be with you all.

Tags: #AvoidingInformationOverload #DigitalMinimalism

If you don't know what a Digital Declutter is, it is an exercise I read about in Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism book. It's almost like a Digital Detox or a Digital Sabbath. The main differences are that you do it for at least 30 days, and that you are replacing addictive digital activities with analog activities. For instance, instead of browsing social media at night, you read books, or learn a new craft like cooking, or learning to play a musical instrument like the guitar, etc...

I suppose the easiest way to understand it is to look at the Digital Declutter rules I'll be using to guide me this year. I'm using the same rules from last year. The main highlights are that in addition to not using social media at all, there will be no blogging done as well.

Of course you don't have to follow the same rules I made for myself. You can create your own set of rules and do it at your own time. My main motivation for this post was to invite people to give Digital Declutter a try. If you have any questions regarding this, you can find ways to contact me on this page, but sending an email is the best option.

Have fun going offline, I know I will. Peace be with you and see y'all online on Easter Sunday.

Tags: #DigitalMinimalism #DigitalDeclutter #Lent

Link: Fighting Infomania: Why 80% of Your Reading is a Waste of Time | Nat Eliason

Below are my takeaways from reading this.

Focus on consuming information that you know you need right now

Trying to consume everything to learn something, is not the best use of time. It is better to consume information that you know you need right now. Consuming information that you might need in the future, in other words reading just in case you will need it, is a waste of time.

Avoid the noise

Conventional wisdom says that you should follow what people in your industry are talking about tactics-wise, but it’s just noise. You should have the strategy and tactics that you’re working on, and then you should execute on them. Constantly listening to and checking what other people are doing doesn’t help you stay focused–it just makes you question yourself.

This is true. And while the author was talking about his job as far as context goes, I see this being applicable to a lot of things in life. It is applicable to blogging, to parenting, to dieting, etc... Not to say that checking up on what the current trend is wrong per se, but ultimately you need to think through and decide what you want to do on your own. Constantly checking up on what others in the industry are doing, saying or thinking, will only make you question yourself everyday.

Stop following sites or blogs that publish content everyday

The Problem of Frequency

As a general rule, the more frequently a site publishes about tactics (marketing, personal finance, weight loss, etc.), the less you should listen to it.

No topic is sufficiently complex that you need new information on executing on it every day. Getting in shape requires doing a few very simple things every day for months, not finding a new 13 minute 6 step workout every day so you can have a butt like today’s hot celebrity.

The author does make an exception for sources of information that time and time again, produces high quality content. However normally, these sources of information don't publish content very often. Meaning, if you follow a site or blog or person who publishes new posts every day, then the content probably isn't all that high quality.

Prioritize timeless content over something new

We have a fascination with consuming new articles, new blog posts, new videos, etc... But we should really be taking into account the Lindy rule when deciding what information to consume. Applying this rule means you prioritize timeless content over something new. The idea being, timeless content that you read now, will still be applicable for years to come. On the other hand, new articles haven't proven themselves yet to be a source of timeless knowledge or information.

Focus on Just In Time Learning

In school, we develop the habit of consuming information just in case. That’s how we are taught anyways. We attend classes on various topics with the whole idea of making us as ready as possible for the real world once we graduate. However once you get a real job, you'll find that you don't need to use everything that you learned in school. Most of the time, you have to focus on very specific topics that you need to master to make progress at work. That's where the idea of just in time learning comes into play. You focus only on information that helps you right here and now. You ignore the rest of the “just in case” information that you think might be handy, but are not relevant to your current situation.

Rule for avoiding information overload

1 Rule to Fight Infomania

If it doesn’t answer a specific question you’re currently asking, cover philosophical knowledge, or entertain you, then don’t read it.

If you are trying to avoid information overload like me, this might be the only rule you need to follow, or at the least, one of the fundamental rules to follow.

Only dig through blogs and websites when you have a question

Only dig through blogs and websites when you have a question. You're basically in research mode during that time, which is the mode you want to be in to answer the question you have. But otherwise, ignore or unfollow blogs, websites, newspapers, channels, or other sources of information that only serve to clog up your feed during the day.

Stop consuming information from the internet once your question has been answered

And lastly... You should stop consuming information from the internet once your question has been answered and you have an idea of what you need to do going forward.

Tags: #Bookmarks #DigitalMinimalism #Productivity

Why? Why are we doing all this? Why do we feel the need to do all this? Does anybody else think that's not normal? I've been asking myself those questions for months now.

There's lots of advice on what to do to take control of your data online. For instance, you should have all your blog posts and photos under your domain name, so you keep control of them. And if you're not concerned about that, there's lots of advice on what platform is the best for photo-blogging, long-form blogging, micro-blogging, etc... There's all sorts of advice regarding the best ways to manage your data online. But no one seems to be asking the question, why?

Why do we need to post photos of our lives online? Why do we need to document everything that's happened to us? Why do we need to have all of this data online?

In an age where we are more connected than ever through the internet, why is it that we feel more alone, especially when we are offline? In an age where we can add hundreds of people to our friends list, why is it that we feel like we don't exist if we're not posting online?

Is it because we feel like we are missing out on everything happening online? Is it because of FOMO? Is that why we keep posting status updates, keep sharing photos, keep writing blog posts?

Or is it because we feel like we don't exist if we don't see a piece of ourselves online? Is it because we feel like we don't exist if no one comments or likes our posts online?

“Hey, hey, look over here, I've uploaded a new photo, I've shared a new blog post, I've got a new Instagram story, I'm playing a new video game, etc... I'm still alive. Talk to me.”

I say that, because I believe that's one of the reasons driving this constant need to share online — to remind other people that we exist.

At least that's the case for me. Is it the same for you?

I still can't wrap my head around it. The internet has allowed us to connect with more people than we could ever be connected with, on a personal level. And yet, we feel more isolated than ever before.

And I think that highlights another issue. Our basic human need for social connection is not getting fulfilled. Not with the way we live our lives nowadays.

Because it's so easy to connect with other people online, that's what we end up doing. But I can't help but feel like, that's why it's not enough. The online connections and interactions we engage in, are not as fulfilling or satisfying, as the personal interactions that used to be a staple of our everyday lives.

Of course the pandemic is not helping things right now. But we have been living this way before the pandemic. It's not like this is only a problem now.

No matter how many photos we upload, how many status updates we make, how many blog posts we share, there's still something missing. We're still constantly checking that feed. We're still waiting for those likes to come in. We're still waiting for the confirmation that let's us know, that other people know we're still alive.

On the flip side, all you need is just one game of Settlers of Catan with family and friends. The resulting satisfaction from that social interaction is... immeasurable.

I've been thinking about how the older generation lived. With no smartphones in their pockets, they didn't have portable cameras to bring with them when they ventured out into the real world. It also means that even if they brought a camera with them, there was no way to instantly share a photo afterwards. And even when they got home, there was no social media app or website waiting for them to upload all the photos they took that day. So, I'm thinking that they most likely didn't have these constant urges to share everything online.

To be able to go out, do things and live life without feeling the urge to share everything online — how liberating must that have been? I would love to be able to experience that — to not even have the urge to share online a beautiful photo that I just took. To not even have the urge to share the really good song that I'm listening to right now. To not even have the urge to write a blog post about the crazy thing that happened to me or to the world today.

However, knowing what I know now, it seems impossible to go back to that naive way of living.

I believe that the technologies in the world that we live in today, has altered the way we think about life. And more importantly, it has altered what it means to be alive. It is not enough now to know you're alive. You also have to prove it to the rest of the world too — because otherwise, it feels like you don't exist.

Tags: #Reflection #DigitalMinimalism #Blogging #SocialMedia