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This lesson will talk about 5 Principles that we will try to apply to every area of our digital lives. They are general, but we can easily apply them to email, social media, or photos and digital memories.
5 Principles to Simplify Your Digital Life
- Single task with intention. This means doing one task at a time. It is a very difficult thing for a lot of us to do this because we are used to doing multiple tasks at a time. We open multiple tabs or multiple apps at a time. It’s a mode of constantly switching. We have trained our brains to do this over thousands of repetitions. The intention part is very important. Bring the mode of single-minded devotion and focus to a task. Do nothing but the one intentional task.
- Sacred Space. Make everything we do a sacred space. This means that if I email, I will make my email inbox or email composition window a sacred space. I am doing nothing but read and process the email. We create sacred spaces in everything we do. The sacred space is not about religion. It is about the feeling of making something special. It is something that matters.
- Clear. Clearing can have a couple different meanings. We clear the physical desktop so all we have is what is in front of us. It is important for creating the sacred space. It is also clearing the inbox space as well. We look to clear off things from the plate one at a time. If we get to empty, yeah! But we are not going to get attached to it staying empty. It is only temporary. We are trying to clear through as much as we can while we are in that space.
- Have set limits. If I am doing email, I am only doing it for the next 10 minutes. I don’t need to do it for more than that. There is a tremendous power in having limits. If you know you have a small amount of time, you are going to make the most of that time. You wouldn’t fritter it away thinking it is unlimited. A lot of us fritter our lives away thinking they are unlimited. If we know what the limit is, we will treat each day as so much more special. We will stay present and focused in the middle of each day. Limits make things easier to do to get ourselves motivated. Limits also force us to choose. Limiting 3-5 things each day allows us to choose what is the most important.
- Let go. Our email inboxes are overflowing. If we unsubscribe from a bunch of newsletters allows us to have a simpler inbox. Let go by having limits. Closing tabs in our browsers is another way to let go. If you have a bunch of browser tabs open, those are all aspirations. The truth is, it is really hard to stay focused and not be overwhelmed. Make a to-do list or a document that lists everything you need to go through. Closing them is the letting go process.
One Extra Tactic
Create systems of organization. Have a place and time for everything so we don’t have to keep organizing. Have a system to process email, online reading, respond to messages. Create simple, organized systems. This is not really a principle, but a tactic to keep organized.
My system may not work for you but I will give you examples of what a system could be. I am going to ask you to sit through each area and create a formalized system for yourself to practice.