Digital Minimalism

I am reacting to a book by this title, which I recently listened to. I am not yet ready to do the initial 30-day technology detox recommended at the beginning of the book, but the book still inspires me, and I am taking some actions. I will post from time to time - join me if you are on a similar quest.

1) I uninstalled Facebook on my mobile device. I can still use it on my desktop computer during certain hours, but it has reduced my overall usage.

2) I decided to read Telegram channels I follow only on Saturday mornings. Tomorrow will be the first such morning. So far, I have read a little news on one channel during the week, but I stayed out of the other few channels I follow.

3) I unsubscribed from NerdWallet and plan to unsubscribe from more emails.

4) I spent two days using my phone substantially less and felt calmer and less distracted during those days. Still, I reverted to habitual checking of the phone somewhat, though not to the levels before I started listening to "Digital Minimalism."

PS I realize that it may seem absurd to track the progress of digital minimization online, but I consider this site a quality one, which I intend to continue using, albeit perhaps less frequently, and I think this sub-forum is a perfect place to talk about the difficulties of resisting the encroachment of digital technologies on our precious finite lives.

I have created a GMAIL rule to corral the New York Times breaking news into a label, bypassing the inbox. This way, say on the same day when I read Telegram channels, Saturday, I can scan what has been "breaking news" over the course of the week, and not get distracted several times a day.

I have also created several GMAIL filters auto-deleting messages from some of my credit cards, as I do not need them.

This is just the beginning of setting up filters in GMAIL to reduce distractions and wasted time. I wonder if an AI email cleaner exists that can help with this task.

I have unsubscribed from:

- USPS updates that tell me in the morning which mail would land in my mailbox in the afternoon
- Portland leather
- CITI credit card emails
- Synchrony credit card emails
- hello@allhealthy.com
- hello@betterreport.com
- editor@superage.com
- info@e.mail.washingtonpost.com
- general@airmail.news (I have no idea how I even got subscribed)
- info@ultrasignup.com (bye-bye to the idea that one day, I would participate in long distance events, ha!)
- hello@harbenhouse.com (I get sunscreen and some skincare products from them at a discount, but I do that maybe twice a year, not more, and frequent emails are distracting)
- support@insidetracker.com (more health info I do not need; I realize that if I go to the gym instead of reading yet another health-related article, that would mean doing the right thing)
- jenny@app.migrainebuddy.com


I have also created filters and labels, so that the following

1) newsletter@foundmyfitness.com helpful for the future, but now I do not have time to read it
2) hello@wordsmarts.com - a very cool newsletter about the history of word usage, but now I do not have extra time to read it; maybe one day, and for now I will collect and corral these emails out of sight
3) ranking@concept2.com - from the maker of rowing and skiing ergometers; I do use those at the gym, but not nearly as much as to participate in the challenges. Maybe one day; not ready to unsubscribe yet, but ready to put them out of sight
4) hello@diymfa.com - about writing

It took some time to unsubscribe or filter out the ^, but I am hoping to be less distracted now, each time I open my email. I think it is worth it.

I also looked for, but so far have not found an AI solution that would do the ^ suggestions for unsubscribing or filters for me, with time savings. GMAIL sometimes suggests unsubscribing, but not frequently enough and also seemingly at random.