Leadership-life Fit: Digital Minimalism

Cal Newport, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and author of Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, encourages us to consider thoughtfully what technology tools to use, for what purposes, and under what conditions.

These six tips can support you in experiencing a quality leadership-life fit.

1. Let go of FOMO. Missing out is not negative. No need to keep clicking and accessing apps in the pursuit of the next best thing. There are an infinite number of activities, so choose those you value and enjoy most and maximize this value.
2. Identify the “principles that you as a human find most important — the foundation on which you hope to build a good life. Then, you can use these principles as a more effective filter by asking the following question of a given activity: will this add significant value to something I find to be significantly important to my life?”
3. Reduce the number of things you do online to experience a significant calming effect. “...clicking and scrolling creates a background hum of anxiety.”
4. Give and use your attention deliberately. Social media drains your cognitive and emotional energy AND it’s engineered to be as addictive as possible.
5. Spend time alone. Solitude encourages your ability to clarify hard problems, to regulate your emotions, to build moral courage, and to strengthen relationships.
6. Engage in more offline activities. The best activities are often physical (something you can touch), creative (challenges your mind) and social (done collectively with friends).

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