Erik
I'm a fan of Cal's work. His books Digital Minimalism and Deep Work pushed me toward making changes that have positively changed my life, at work and at home. I listen to his Deep Questions podcast and it is also great. But I can't help but think that this book is a repackaging of his podcast. It also doesn't feel as deep and well-worth the time as his other books. It was really short, it didn't go super deep into the topic like he has done in previous books, and it could have been a blog post. One of the pivotal stories in this book about the singer/songwriter Jewel was completely spoiled for me on his podcast MONTHS before I read the book.
Unless you find it on sale, skip it.
Listen to his podcast.
Digital Minimalism
A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.
This is a direct quote from the book itself, and what Cal means when he uses the term "Digital Minimalism".
Cal expands on this idea of Digital Minimalism with mindfulness practices, exercises for a 30-day social media cleanse (removing yourself from it long enough to see if it is really bringing you value), and examples of what it looks like to balance technology, services, social media, your life in the real-world, and the slot-machine design that keeps us coming back to notification after notification day after day.
One takeaway I had from this book that really spoke to me is to live in the real-world, MOST of the time. This isn't new information, this isn't even a "hot-take", but it is something I have forgotten, because I have been slowly boiled in the hot water of technological progress, and was taught to just accept the new and vibrant app, ever since I was a Junior High student on AIM and LiveJournal.
I more and more find myself feeling that pull and tug of people I am with and people who are far away wanting my time and attention, and on top of that, I have added multiple social media accounts, videos, YouTube, the newest show from a streaming service (or 10), and it all has become way too much.
Cal doesn't just say "social media bad", he talks about how in some instances, depending on your job, or where you live in the world, you might gain something positive from social media. But he isn't afraid to talk about the bad and the ugly. How everything is designed to steal your attention, how we as people are losing our ability to focus and concentrate, and how ultimately that isn't a good thing!
Before reading this book, I went away from social media on a whim for a "break". And to be honest, I won't be returning... After reading this book, I have also pulled away from any form of online news, and replaced it with slower journalism, and I have started to leave my phone behind in various different situations. Because I don't need it all the time.
This book was a great read and I really enjoyed it. It snapped me out of just accepting the tech around me and has really forced me to think about what I have, how I use it, and if it is really, truly bringing me value. As a minimalist, I do this with physical items and objects, so why wouldn't I do this with apps, services and other various tech?
This book is about knowledge work, and nurturing your ability to focus within the context of the knowledge work framework. The problems that Cal addresses in this book are all too familiar to me and my own experience in the Corporate landscape. Email, Slack, endless meetings, department heads that block any sort of productive work for their own purposes, etc. Cal brings the problems to light, allows you to put your own problems in the place of his, and to then do the work of finding solutions to these issues the best way you can, in the situation you find yourself in.
This book has brought me back to a place of awareness.
If you want to do the things you want to do, then find a way to do them. If it is a priority to you, you will figure out how.
I'm glad I found this book when I did and that I read it.
It was a great reminder to me, to focus on work when at work, and life when I'm outside of work.
And never letting the two intertwine.
Finished in a day, what else can I say? Fantastic translation. I haven't approached Beowulf since school, and back then I was just reading it to write a report. I remember wrestling through it, feeling myself unable to focus... this book was the direct opposite of that.
Loved it! Absolutely loved it. Love the translation. It has now made me want to come back to the original, and also compare to other versions.
