[Music] i recently read digital minimalism by cal newport digital minimalism is a philosophy for technology use rooted in your deepest values every app on a digital minimalist phone is used to enhance one of their core values for example a kindle reading app enhances their core value of learning a note-taking app enhances their core value of creating by improving their ability to capture ideas and write impromptu essays and a single messaging app like whatsapp replaces all other messaging and social media apps because that digital minimalist deems whatsapp to be the best app for sharing photos and staying connected with family abroad if we use food as an analogy using only the technology that enhances values is like only eating whole foods rich in nutrients and avoiding all junk food a digital minimalist makes a concerted effort to ensure that they are not consuming junk in their digital diet like social media apps mindless games and other apps primarily used to alleviate boredom so what are your deepest values and is every app on your phone and every website shortcut in your browser enhance those values if you don't filter your technology use through your values you will clutter your life with distracting technology and destroy your ability to concentrate when your life is cluttered with digital devices part of your mind is constantly wondering what's happening on those devices what new shows are recommended on netflix what's happening on my social media feed what's the price of my stocks today and what new messages do i have in my inbox if you do find some mental bandwidth to focus on your work eventually the dings rings and pings from your devices will fracture your attention and make it harder and harder to concentrate no matter what field you work in your ability to concentrate is a superpower losing that ability is like steph curry losing his ability to shoot a three-point shot or a major league pitcher in baseball losing his ability to throw a fastball without concentration you can't perform your best and you can't produce work that moves the needle and changes the trajectory of your career therefore it's imperative you reduce your attachment to devices and declutter your digital life so you can recover and sustain your ability to concentrate start this process by taking the following three-week device detachment challenge week one spend an hour a day alone without your devices all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone blaze pascal your challenge for a week is to be away from your phone or other media devices for an hour a day that means no text no phone calls no news and no podcasts during your hour of solitude go for a long walk or bike ride alone or practice a hobby without your phone computer or tv nearby think of your hour of solitude as time in which you store up your productive power just like a dam can generate hydropower by interrupting the flow of water in a river you can produce productive power and strengthen your ability to concentrate by interrupting social input and being alone with your thoughts if you doubt the productive power of being alone with your thoughts go in your office right now shut the door turn your phone off and do nothing but sit there and think or do a task you've been avoiding for weeks after a few minutes of device deprivation and solitude you'll probably start generating ideas and actually want to get to work on that dreaded task to get started with your week one challenge create a solitude plan establish where you will go for an hour to find solitude and what time of day you will go there week two stop using devices during downtime it's hard to declutter our digital lives because most of us use devices during downtime to de-stress during my downtime after a long day of work i lay on the couch and watch youtube or play speed chess on my phone but i find that this digital downtime is never as enjoyable as i think it will be and i never feel energized or fully relaxed afterward this got me thinking is spending time on my devices the best way to enjoy my downtime author cal newport has studied the best way to optimize downtime or what he refers to as leisure time after extensive research newport discovered three leisure lessons leisure lesson number one demanding activity is more restorative than passive consumption by expanding energy you gain energy it's like the old entrepreneurial adage you have to spend money to make money lesson number two using skills to produce valuable things in the physical world is more stimulating and rejuvenating than spending time in the digital world and lesson three real world structured social interactions are more enjoyable and rewarding than social interactions on devices use these three lessons to craft your week two device detachment plan write down at least two demanding activities might be exercising or learning a new hobby two skill based activities that produce things in the physical world like cooking or gardening and two structured social activities like playing board games with family or having coffee with a friend you can do instead of consuming content or playing games on your devices odds are you'll find that these replacement activities are far more restorative and enjoyable than your old digital downtime activities week three be an anti-texter if you're like most people your friends and family have trained you to stop what you're doing and respond to their text immediately it's as if you have an obligation to be on call when their next text arrives over the last decade texting has largely replaced real conversation but as many people are finding texting doesn't form strong social bonds and a social life sustained by texting isn't as rich as a social life sustained by frequent face-to-face conversations and over the phone conversations therefore stop being on call for the next text and start strengthening relationships by taking the following anti-texting challenge first turn off all text notifications so texts don't appear on your home screen of your smartphone second select three times a day you will respond to text during the day if someone gets mad that you didn't get back to them quicker say i only check my text a few times a day if something urgent comes up call me and lastly when someone texts you a question that could lead to a text chain call them if you have a long commute use your drive time to call someone who has recently texted you author cal newport says you could be the one person in their life who actually talks to them on a regular basis forming a deeper more nuanced relationship than any number of exclamation points and bitmap emojis can provide in the end after taking the three-week device detachment challenge you will start to feel in control of your devices instead of feeling like your devices have control over you the three week device detachment challenge will give you the mental space to assess which technology enhances your deepest values and which is merely a means to escape boredom with this fresh perspective on your technology use you can start decluttering your digital life and strengthen your ability to concentrate so you can do more deep meaningful work that was the core message that i gathered from digital minimalism by cal newport this book is essential reading in an age of constant distraction i highly recommend it if you would like a one-page pdf summary of insights that i gathered from this book just click the link below and i'll be happy to email it to you if you already subscribe to the free productivity game email newsletter this pdf is sitting in your inbox if you like this video please share it and as always thanks for watching and have yourself a productive week