Bookshelf|Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World; Authored by Cal Newport

“Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo oftechnology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digitalpursuits that do, and don’t, bring value to your life.”–Ezra Klein, Vox

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough.Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It’s the keyto living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.

   

In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling authorof Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has alreadyimproved countless lives.

Digital minimalists are all around us. They’re the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations without furtive glances at their phones. They can get lost in a good book, a woodworking project, or a leisurely morning run.

They can have fun with friends and family without the obsessive urge to document the experience. They stay informed about the news of the day, but don’t feel overwhelmed by it. They don’t experience “fear of missing out” because they already know which activities provide them meaning and satisfaction.

Now, Newport gives us a name for this quiet movement, andmakes a persuasive case for its urgency in our tech-saturated world. Commonsense tips, like turning off notifications, or occasional rituals likeobserving a digital sabbath, don’t go far enough in helping us take backcontrol of our technological lives, and attempts to unplug completely arecomplicated by the demands of family, friends and work. What we need instead isa thoughtful method to decide what tools to use, for what purposes, and underwhat conditions.

Drawing on a diverse array of real-life examples, from Amish farmers to harried parents to Silicon Valley programmers, Newport identifies the common practices of digital minimalists and the ideas that underpin them.

He shows how digital minimalists are rethinking their relationship to social media, rediscovering the pleasures of the offline world, and reconnecting with their inner selves through regular periods of solitude. He then shares strategies for integrating these practices into your life, starting with a thirty-day “digital declutter” process that has already helped thousands feel less overwhelmed and more in control.

Technology is intrinsically neither good nor bad. The key isusing it to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you. Thisbook shows the way.

About the AUTHOR:

Cal Newport is an Associate Professor of computer science at Georgetown University and the author of six books, including Deep Work and So Good They Can’t Ignore You.

You won’t find him on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, but you can often find him at home with his family in Washington, DC, or writing essays for his popular website calnewport.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

seventeen − fifteen =