I recently joined a book club designed for leadership building called LeaderBooks. The book selected for March was Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport. Here are a few of my thoughts concerning the book, and my reactions to it.

Our culture is noisy, and a voice of reason in the midst of that noise is needed. Cal Newport strives to be that voice with his book Digital Minimalism. The subtitle seems highly appropriate for the culture we live in: Choosing A Focused Life In A Noisy World.

The premise Newport begins with is that we have been hooked by the digital conglomerates that operate in our world, and we are no longer the user being targeted with need to fulfill. No, we are the product being sold, and our consistent tapping, clicking and swiping is an addictive habit that is designed to keep our attention focused in on the apps we use. Because, the longer we use them, the more money they make.

In response to this, Newport calls for a heavily moderated digital detox. His approach is simple. First, remove all optional digital use from your life for thirty days. After that time, as you allow certain products back in, evaluate just how effective they are at meeting your needs, and if there is a better tool, use it instead. Then, finally, you set the parameters that it can operate under. The digital product no longer has mastery; you do.

Through the book, Newport also gives several practical tactics for achieving these goals. One in particular stood out to me. It’s the practice of embracing Slow Media. This approach is not a radical elimination of all forms of media, just a slow and balanced approach to it. Of course, this is a vastly simplified description of the concept, and I encourage you to read Digital Minimalism to gain a better understanding of it.

The goal is to become more mindful of what we consume, and not just rush through an ever-increasing stream of clickbait and post comments that serve little to no purpose of achieving what we most want out of our digital lives.

Newport’s theories seem pretty drastic, but just like anything else in life, if you can’t control it, then it gains control over you. That cannot be more true of the digital reality we live in at the moment.

You may want to consider reading this book to see how it can impact your own digital life. You might even consider taking some of its practices and applying them to your own life. But even if you don’t, I encourage you to take a hard look at your digital use and take steps to ensure that you remain in control of it.

Question: What level of digital use do you think is a healthy level to maintain? Have you achieved this goal? You can leave a comment by clicking here.