Digital Minimalism By Cal Newport (Summary And Review)

Cal Newport is the author of “Digital Minimalism” and several other bestselling books about productivity and work culture. He is also a computer science professor at Georgetown University and has written for publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Newport’s work focuses on the intersection of technology and society, and he advocates for a more intentional and mindful approach to our use of digital tools.

Bullet Summary: Key Takeaways From This Book

Digital devices and software are designed to keep users hooked and addicted.
Unintentional overuse of technology can lead to a waste of time and a lack of productivity.
The philosophy of digital minimalism involves finding your values and using digital tools that support them.
Hacks to manage digital consumption may work for a short while, but they are not sustainable solutions.
A central philosophy for using digital devices is necessary to navigate the multitude of tips and tricks found on social media.
Taking a 30-day digital declutter challenge can help minimize and optimize the use of digital tools.
Spending too much time on social media can lead to a false sense of community and isolation.
The replacement of digital habits with challenging and fun activities can lead to a sense of accomplishment and productivity.
Technology can silently take away your ability to be in solitude for an extended period of time.

Digital Minimalism Summary

Today, almost all of us are addicted and constantly glued to our smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Ultimately, we feel overwhelmed and powerless against addictive apps and social media as they rob us of our time, attention, and even money.

But hey, the good news is that there’s a solution.

By embracing the philosophy of digital minimalism, we can consciously use technology and align our digital usage with our core values.

In this book summary, we’ll dig into how tech companies keep us totally hooked. We’ll also explore some cool ways to limit our digital consumption and take back our precious time, attention, and lives from digital devices.

Alrighty, so without further ado, let’s get started!

Lesson #1: Technological devices and softwares are designed with extreme care to keep you hooked onto them.

It is not a coincidence that these days, everyone is using their smartphones more than necessary.

We might think that we are being productive by watching screens all the time, however we all know inside our hearts that we can only focus for a limited time.

Additional read: Learn why multitasking kills productivity.

Once we start feeling bored, we begin seeking dopamine hits while using these devices.

And you know what? Tech companies are aware of this behavior of ours.

Isn’t this scary?

Millions of people on the planet are simply wasting their lives just watching screens and spending more time in virtual world instead of real world.

Look, companies have benefit doing this.

The more they make you spend time watching their curated feed on social media, the more they can sell your attention in the form of advertisement to other companies who want to sell their products.

Yes, your attention is way more valuable than you think.

Most tech companies don’t care if you become lazy or waste your time.

If you don’t value your time, nobody does — well obviously, unless it benefits them in some form.

Technology these days in no less than a drug addiction if you think about it.

Eventually, they promise you dopamine hits, or in other words, when you use the technology, you feel good.

The more you feel good by doing something, the more you repeat that behavior.

Isn’t it a clever form of manipulation?

Think about it.

Today, we think it’s normal to overuse our smartphones because everybody else around us is doing the same.

In other words, we have social approval.

When a behavior gets social approval, most people don’t put too much thinking before repeating that same behavior. They just naturally start doing it without realizing.

Moreover, gone are the days, when people would meet physically with each other. Today, people just post stories and share reels to connect.

Look, social media is fine when there is a distance barrier. But today, people delude themselves thinking they have so many friends on social media.

In reality, for any friendship or relationship to last, the two people must meet each other in the physical world.

Not only technology has destroyed many friendships, it has also taken your freedom of choice.

Wondering how?

Let me explain.

When you are watching your curated feed, you are letting the algorithm decide where you will spend your time.

You are not choosing.

You always sacrifice your freedom of choice without even realizing.

Remember, you could spend that same time doing other work. But since you are not mentally strong, you let your dopamine control your behavior, and let the algorithms decide what you will be doing in the next hour.

Tech companies collect data about you.

And they know all your digital habits.

The question is:

Are you aware of your own digital habits?

And the biggest question of all: What can we deal with the negative consequences of using technology?

Let’s find out in the upcoming lessons.

Lesson #2: Using extreme hacks to manage your digital consumption may work for a short while; however, it is not a sustainable solution.

Many people today are aware of both the negative and positive consequences of using digital tools.

However, without a central philosophy for using digital devices, it can be overwhelming to navigate the multitude of tips and tricks found on social media that claim to increase productivity.

For instance, most advice consists of turning your notification or blocking or uninstalling certain apps.

All these tips are fine.

But for those people who lack purpose in life, no amount of tricks is going to help.

You may uninstall that certain app where you waste time, but if you have no priorities in life, sooner or later, you’ll find yourself using that app again.

In other words, to control our use of these digital tools, we need to take the help of philosophy. Without philosophy, hacks are useless or may work for a short time.

In the book, the author discusses the philosophy of digital minimalism.

According to this philosophy, you first need to find your values.

Then you need to see which digital tools support you and which destroy your productivity.

After that, you have to declutter your devices by removing all the unnecessary apps or softwares.

The reason this is so practical is that we can’t completely avoid digital tools.

They have now become part of our daily lives.

By minimizing and optimizing the use of digital tools, we can ensure that we are not distracted all the time and focusing on our goals.

While doing all this, you have to be very honest with yourself.

You may make excuses for yourself, such as “I can’t live without this app or website because all my friends are there,” but in reality, all you are doing is wasting your time on that app.

Ask yourself, “Is that app really contributing anything to my life?”

Only using this kind of questioning can you become more productive while using digital tools.

After all, digital tools are supposed to make us more productive, right?

If you can avoid becoming addicted to them, you can achieve great things using them.

In fact, using them correctly can give you a feeling of empowerment.

Taking control of your life leads to a natural sense of control and freedom, which is one of the best feelings.

Lesson #3: Learn how to declutter your digital space and free your mind.

The problem is that our use of technology has become habitual.

Habits are difficult to change if you don’t have an alternative habit to replace them with.

At a subconscious level, we all understand that we need to take a technological detox. However, since the use of gadgets has become a habit, it requires willpower to refrain from using them.

You can start by giving yourself a 30-Day Digital Declutter Challenge.

To be successful in that, you need to first understand why and when you use your digital devices.

Most people use digital tools based on how they are feeling.

If they feel bored, they start scrolling social media, consuming random content that the algorithm starts to show them.

This is a big problem.

Every time you act on the basis of your feelings, you let your habits take control of your actions.

And remember, digital devices or any app or website is designed in such a way that you become habitual of using it.

Therefore, you must be very clear about which of them are optional.

Not all social media apps or websites are compulsory.

You really don’t need to watch all those latest movies or play those popular video games.

Those are “Optional.”

Never ever confuse “optional” with “necessary” while using technology.

The reason we forget this is that technology is so convenient. It brings a certain level of comfort to our lives.

It’s easier to watch a movie compared to going outside and running a few kilometers.

You need to disconnect yourself from using certain technologies to gain your time back.

Most people fail simply because they are not clear in their minds. So naturally, they pick what seems easy at the moment.

Taking this 30 Days Declutter Challenge will make you more conscious about the choices you are making everyday while using technology.

If you need some motivation to do this, simply imagine how many other amazing things you can do if you simply stop wasting your time watching random videos on internet. Imagine if you stop playing those games, you get more time to win the real-life game.

Once you can see it clearly, what you want in life based on your values, you won’t even need motivation.

Change your digital habits and see the difference.

Lesson #4: By minimizing your digital time, you get to spend time in solitude.

Usually, when we talk about digital minimalism, we hope to become more productive by reducing the time spent using technology and using it for accomplishing other important tasks.

But there is another aspect that we often miss.

It’s a lack of solitude.

Yes, technology unnecessarily keeps you busy.

Even when you’re sitting with a smartphone in your hand all alone in your room, you are not really alone.

You are constantly having thoughts about things you are consuming through your smartphone.

In other words, you are not in solitude.

Technology silently takes away your ability to be in solitude for a longer duration of time.

You may wonder why being in solitude is such a big deal.

Being in solitude helps you understand your thoughts.

It helps you become more creative.

All successful people spend some time in solitude to calm themselves and think clearly.

Great thinkers and introverts prefer fewer quality friends, as it helps them find time in solitude. The higher the number of your friends, the more time you have to spend.

You might not believe this, but many people who work with technology spend a lot of time away from technology. While the consumer waste a lot of their time using that same technology.

The creators of the technology make money using the time and attention of consumers.

These days, people are constantly consuming content while doing work. They all listen to music and podcasts while doing some work, thinking they are being productive. However, they don’t realize that by doing this type of multitasking, they are training themselves to remain distracted.

Just think about it.

If you can’t walk a few minutes without music or scrolling smartphone, you have a concentration problem.

And concentration is like a muscle, the more you train it, the stronger it gets.

Do yourself a favor.

Don’t deprive yourself of solitude. It’s crucial for your wellbeing.

Ask any wise man, and he will tell you the importance of solitude.

Learn to sit quietly in solitude for a few minutes.

Lesson #5: Paradoxically, social media can make you feel more isolated.

You might find it strange, but the more time you spend commenting, posting, and chatting online, the less time you have for communicating in the real world.

It’s not uncommon for people to feel less confident and lonely in social situations when their entire day is spent seeing their screens.

Isn’t it surprising? Isn’t social media supposed to make us feel more connected.

Yes, sure internet technology has made it very easy to communicate and has eliminated distance barriers, but in the end it’s not human. It’s just a technology to make our life convenient.

Such virtual interactions can never win over meaningful offline interactions.

Moreover, spending more time chatting with friends limits how much we talk offline. There is hardly anything left to discuss when you have chatted for hours the previous day.

Social and technology isn’t evil here.

It’s just technology, which can make our life easier.

The problem is people today are spending way more time on their devices than they need to and way less time talking to people in real life.

And when this happens, it’s natural that many people don’t feel deep psychological connection with their peers.

Social media gives us a fake sense that we have a bigger circle who is invested in our life, but in reality, very few people care.

Your circle is smaller than you think.

Most people who are watching your story won’t like to spend time with you in real life.

In fact, all the posts you are commenting on and liking on, it’s adding zero value to your life. Those people don’t even know about you.

Still, you get a fake sense of community there — thanks to social media.

Next time, you feel like you are a part of a big group, just think about this and ask yourself “Do these people really care about me? Do they even know me? Who are these people?”

Also, don’t keep texting to your friends all the time. If you wish to talk to them, just try to meet them offline. This will make your connection stronger.

This doesn’t mean that texting is bad. Again, it’s just a way of communication.

We must know which form of communication is best in different situations.

For instance, it’s there is very little to say and something is urgent, you can text them with a purpose. But if you have to discuss something interesting, try calling them or schedule a meeting.

Remember, we all have a natural desire to build connections with other people.

Most people do it incorrectly.

They focus on the number of people in their circle with weak bonding. They try to maximize the number of their connections. But forget the quality of people they allow in their inner circle.

On the flip side, intelligent individuals tend to keep their inner circle small and surround themselves with high-quality individuals with whom they share a strong connection. This is also one of the keys to feeling happier.

Ultimately, you don’t owe anything to other people. If anybody isn’t interested in meeting you and talking to you, don’t bother about them.

You don’t need to force weak connections with people just because you have a natural desire to form connections with others.

Lesson #6: Replace your digital habits with other challenging and fun activities.

Now that you realize that you need to follow the philosophy of digital minimalism, you need to find all the activities you’ll be doing in your leisure time.

Most people waste their leisure time by going back to digital devices.

We already know what most people do when they have nothing to do, right?

Very few people do challenging stuff in their free time.

That’s why, their digital habits determine their actions.

If you don’t have some other habit to replace with, you are more likely to do the same.

Brainstorm all the things you can do in your leisure time.

Wondering what you can do?

Here are a few things you can try:

You can read books. (or book summaries)
You can learn a new skill.
You can join an offline community.
You can exercise.
You can write a song.

And so much more…

Remember, you have to keep things easy in the beginning.

Habits develop quickly if they are easy to do.

But at the same time, you have to keep them a bit challenging.

This is because when you successfully overcome a challenge, you experience a sense of accomplishment and strive to replicate that feeling in the future.

Also, if a new activity has nothing challenging in it, it will be boring.

Please note that on the first day of trying to replace your digital habit, you may feel a bit uneasy.

You have to stay hard there.

That’s why it’s better to choose something you already enjoy doing for the first few days.

Once you start seeing the benefits of minimizing your digital time, you’ll enjoy the process more.

After all, who doesn’t enjoy having their freedom and time back?

Conclusion

The discussion surrounding digital minimalism can often make it seem like technology is inherently evil. However, if you are mindful about how much time you spend using technology, it can actually be a life saver and make your life easier.

It’s only when you succumb to the urge of constantly using technology out of scarcity that you fall into the trap of tech companies whose only agenda is to maximize profit at the expense of your time and attention.

By balancing our time offline and online, we can make the better use of technology.

With all that said, the challenge is real because the growth of technology is only going to become faster. And it’d be amusing to see how people would adapt and deal with the future technology.

It’d be interesting to know what new challenges we will be facing with the technology.

There are differing opinions on the impact of technology on humans. While some believe it will be harmful, others view it as a positive force. Ultimately, only time will tell which perspective is correct.

More Books Like Digital Minimalism

Here are some other books you might find interesting:

More Books by Cal Newport

Here are other books written by the same author:

Digital Minimalism Review

This book can be a good starting point for beginners who are embarking on a journey towards digital minimalism and developing better digital habits. However, if you have already read James Clear’s Atomic Habits, you may not find much value in it.

This is not to say that the book is bad; it’s just that most of the advice given is already available on Google. Only the philosophy part is somewhat new. I believe that including philosophy is beneficial because tips alone are not effective in the long run.

Should you read this book? Yes, it’s worth trying at least once. However, it’s important to note that not all readers have enjoyed it. Many readers on Goodreads have expressed dissatisfaction with the book.

Ultimately, the book provides many tips on how to cope with the intrusion of technology.