The Digital Declutter Log 📳

I take a right turn at the end of the bicycle path onto Pelzgasse on my usual way towards Westbahnhof. "My technology rules aren't strict enough", I think as I feel the smartphone in my pocket.

It's there. Even with all my restrictions in place, its mere presence stresses me out. "Should have swapped it for a dumb phone", I think. I park my bike in front of Westbahnhof and buy a new physical notebook at the local bookstore, in order to log my Digital Declutter for the upcoming 30 days.

Day 1

Everything is as it should be; actually this whole thing comes very easy to me. All except for the non-streaming. That's definitely an adjustment; especially since streaming nowadays also means quality time with my girlfriend. Instead of watching yet another episode of Fresh off the Boat tonight, I switch on the radio. Already on day one, it feels like I have an endless amount of time on my hands and many opportunities to make good use of that time. Adopting the Social Hour again feels exactly right.

What I forgot to include in my technology rules: using technology to do research on my hobbies, such as museums, cinemas and trip planning.

Day 2

Last night, I didn't even need a podcast to sleep through the night—which is rather uncommon for me these days. Again and again I have times where I don't know what to do with all the extra time.

When you take away streaming and playing around mindlessly on your phone, what's there left to do?

Day 3

I feel mindful. As I leave my flat, I see rays of sunshine dancing on the staircase. What sweet a dance! Later, as we go for a hike I see the half moon high up in the sky, disguising itself behind a patch of clouds. I wonder: can't I go on like this forever? I'm happy with all this technology removed from my life.

I can imagine getting a small iPad in the future, with the sole purpose that I can read blogs on it on Saturdays for 1-2 hours (and really no other purpose beyond that—I find this idea truly romantic).

Day 5

My new default is reading. And being bored.

I use the laptop for research: mainly trip planning (as we are about to spend 10 days in the mountains and work there for board and lodge), a potential trip to Portugal for New Year's Eve, museum visits and Wikipedia. I've started with a printer research, but I'm not done. Every once in a while, I write. The Social Hour works well, it's much better to work through messages all at once rather than bit by bit. I miss podcasts, especially while cooking. Instead I listen to the radio.

What I want after the Digital Declutter: reading blogs on a regular basis again and the Social Hour to become the normal way of talking to friends & family digitally.

Day 6

Less distraction and kicking the habit of checking one's phone all the time leads to more focus.

Day 7

Spent the night on the mountain. I didn't give in to the impulse to use my phone at all. But I had to take a few pictures with my phone, just because of this awesome landscape.

As we made our way home—and since I didn't have my laptop with me—I broke my own technology rules and checked my messages during my Social Hour on my phone. Shame on me!

In the evening, my girlfriend Sophia plotted to break another rule of mine and seduce me into streaming something together, but her argument of watching Independence Day 2 (yes, there actually is a sequel) wasn't very convincing.

Day 8

I've been true to the game in the morning. In the afternoon however, I've found out somehow that it was the day of the Nintendo Direct, where they showed gameplay footage of the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. I just had to watch it, so I broke yet another technology rule.

But man, it did feel right.

Day 13

Two things I've realised in the past week:

1. I procrastinate (and snack) a lot—especially when I'm supposed to write applications.
2. It is frightfully boring all the time.

Sophia has started more attempts to make me watch something with her but I've remained steadfast—and endured boredom instead. In the past days, especially in combination with my unemployment depression™, I'm starting to believe that I have zero hobbies, or at least I seem to have forgotten what they once were.

But I'll figure this out! And my stupid procrastination needs to stop!

Day 15

I've given in and watched some YouTube with Sophia tonight. She's been really into marcant recently, a German political YouTuber, who has made it his mission to actually have conversations with people who have a different political stance.

Of course, exactly during the time when I was breaking my rules, two social events could have happened (a dog walk with a dog-walking friend and a bike trip with a bike-tripping friend), but I wouldn't have noticed anyway, since they wrote to me well after my Social Hour that evening (they could have made a phone call, I guess). No matter.

I've thought of some potential new hobbies today: cooking, kung fu, writing with my type writer and learning Chinese. My friend Manu, who's spending a couple of days on our couch, reminded me of more hobbies I obviously have: reading, writing and hiking. Thanks, mate.

Three shower thoughts:

1. I could write about my travels again (why not? Especially during my famous writing blocks).
2. I could start meditating in our little walk-in wardrobe (although a tight space).
3. I could focus on maximal order during depressive phases (my life needs more order and less depression).

Never underestimate the power of shower thoughts.

Day 16

The Digital Declutter is giving my life structure, also when sometimes, it's difficult to be a Digital Minimalist, for example when meeting friends. We were scheduled to have coffee with a friend in the afternoon. Following my Social Hour habit, I ignored my messaging apps during the day, only to realise that our friend told us she was late, but only informed us about this mere minutes before we were meant to meet. That's when the Social Hour failed and I started to wonder, if meeting friends would be an exception to the Social Hour.

A similar situation happened at the post office. I was returning a parcel and had saved the QR code for the returnal on my phone, minutes before I went there. When the scan didn't work immediately, the post office employee asked me to see the original Zalando email (which of course was impossible, because I had previously deleted my Mail app from my phone). The scan worked after a little patience, but I started to wonder if having my Mail app installed as a backup was necessary going forward.

Day 18

This morning I have charged my phone but haven't used it at all afterwards. As we were hiking up to the cabin in which we were about to spend 10 days, my friend Manu kept on asking Sophia whether she had cell phone reception. Whatever for?, I wondered.

Day 19

Thanks to all the novelty of manual labour—cleaning rooms in the morning and doing the dishes in the evening—I've completely forgotten that phones existed.

Day 20

Each of us lies in bed, after a long day in the kitchen; it's 10PM. Manu and Sophia spend the last minutes of their day on their phones (bless them), I write this log entry and am about to read Bill Bryson's book about his travels in Europe.

This Digital Declutter is making me feel so much better. I have regained the perspective, I was lacking only weeks before. I'm looking forward to decluttering more of my digital life (but in this case, a declutter aimed at more organisation). I suppose more organisation in my digital life combined with rules on how to use technology without losing myself is what I want this year.

Unfortunately, I can't find any rest here on the cabin, so listening to podcasts is how I try to fall asleep. Back in Vienna, I only relied on podcasts, whenever I thought myself into a dead end. I tried to think about something else, but it just wouldn't work out.

Here on the cabin, I believe I can't find rest because I have to work a late shift, which usually only ends at 9PM or 10PM. It's hard for me to shut down afterwards.

Day 21

I've successfully ignored my phone all day. Why do I even own one? Not even when we went our little hike to Burgeralm, I took it with me.

My phone isn't on my mind lately, also when it's a little sad that I'm not even using it to take pictures of the beautiful landscape.

Day 23

Music's making a comeback. During another sleepless night, I was in the mood to listen to Obongjayar and good old Tomorrow Comes Today by the Gorillaz.

Then I just opened up Spotify and streamed music for hours. I've missed music so much! When I did a 5 hour hike that day, I've listened to lots of music. Also, I've been taking photos, because I couldn't resist the beauty of the mountains any longer.

At night, I tried listening to music to fall asleep and I started to make a dishwasher DJ playlist—exactly, the one that everyone in the kitchen had been waiting for.

Day 24

Listened to amazing music while cleaning the rooms in my morning shift, and debuted the dishwasher playlist in my afternoon shift in the kitchen (with great success). I've also been singing along, which hasn't happened in a while. I've missed music; how can I not have considered it, when I defined my technology rules?

Day 26

I want to listen to so much music, even if again I'm breaking my technology rule here. How to consume music going forward has been on my mind for months now. Is music streaming via Spotify (or maybe a smaller tech streamer) the way to go? Or is it finally time to pick up a record player (I'd definitely want the debut Gorillaz album as an LP)?

Day 30

I'm looking forward to streaming video and playing video games again (oh, how I've missed them too). But I'm dead set on Digital Minimalism in the future.

Going forward

It's close to midnight, when I sit on the public bus that's taking me to my childhood home. My Digital Declutter ended well over a week ago. There's a balding guy sitting on the seat to the right of me, who clearly had too much to drink.

Next to me is a young guy in a camouflage army suit, playing on his phone. Most people are. After all, that's the default of passing time on public transport in the 21st century. I on the other hand, have no phone in my hand. Occasionally, I glance at the screen that's announcing the stops and in between shows the news and promote products and events of the area. Whoever isn't infatuated with their smartphone screen has the option to look at this external screen, because there always needs to be a screen nowadays.

I think about my phone and how I've stripped it off all its appeal. It's a tool, and that's wonderful. I get lost in thought, in ideas, sometimes in childhood memories; I think what driving the bus was like before the smartphone era.

And then I think: man, what a weird time to be a Digital Minimalist.