Changes to information can be confusing: What if you miss something important? But many who have spoken to me have said the same thing in this regard: People who need to know you need to know how to do it, whether by phone or by phone. Your mental health and your curiosity will thank you.
Enjoy Online Cleaning January. If you are interested, take a page from my friend Tate Ryan-Mosley, a journalist for digital freedom and democracy. She will be celebrating the fourth edition of Digital Cleanup January, where she offers four weeks to clean up every aspect of her digital life: emails, files, security, and phone.
Here is how it works:
Mu Week 1, Dad does a lot of “cleaning” of his email, not writing unsolicited mail and other unsolicited notes as well as many deleted emails that he has not read. He also spends one day reaching out to people who may have e-mailed him and have not responded. New Year is a good time to refresh those links and let Dad start hanging out with the people he loves.
Week 2 is provided to the file system: clean the files in the cloud, computer, and any drives and place them where they are. “It’s a week I don’t like very much,” Dad says. “But in the end, you feel like you’ve really accomplished something.” Dad’s Advice? Do not organize files based on the date, but the entire group. And treat the file system as a real work, because it is. “I have to take some time off from work if I can wait for the meeting, or spend an hour listening to music and doing it,” he says.
Week 3 Tate’s digital purification is given to security. It transcends every sensitive personal information and creates new unique passwords with the help of LastPass password manager. Dad is also using this week for Google itself to remove confidential information, such as his phone number and address, which could be floating on the Internet. Dad swears to The New York Times available here, which provides clear instructions on how to store your personal information online.
Week 4 he is the most interesting, according to Tate. She spends this week cleaning up the remnants of her phone, removing apps that don’t support her, and remodeling the home screen. He said: “I am just happy to be at my desk to do that. “I could sit and wait in line or watch TV.” Dad also takes time this week to turn off his notifications (see above).
For Dad, Digital Cleanup January is not really fun. How many sentences? But when the calendar turns to February, you have found tons. “I’m so happy all year long,” she said. “And by December, I can’t wait to fix everything. I like the way I feel afterward. ”
Finally, remember that there is a world outside of technology. In the past, people did not raise their necks on their phones, and I did a lot of TV browsing. Some read books. Some were just hanging out with their neighbors, or they just had a little chat.
Cal Newport, a professor of computer science at the University of Georgetown, strongly urges you to change your relationship with technology, especially if it is not necessary. “When you apply technology to important things, it becomes useful,” he says. “When you use it as a constant distraction from unpleasant thoughts or events, it can be a problem.” So put the phone down and listen to those thoughts, even if they are tired, sad, or anxious. It can make you feel like a human being.