Digital Minimalism: Reclaim Your Attention

Build a calmer relationship with technology.

Your attention is the most valuable resource you have. It’s also under constant assault. Every app on your phone is fighting for a piece of your focus, using sophisticated psychological techniques to capture and hold it.

Digital minimalism is a philosophy that pushes back. It’s about being intentional with technology — using tools that serve you, not ones that exploit you.

The Attention Economy Problem

You are the product.

Every free app and platform makes money by selling your attention to advertisers. The more time you spend scrolling, the more ads you see, the more money they make.

This creates perverse incentives:

Apps are designed to be addictive, not useful
Notifications interrupt rather than inform
Infinite scroll replaces natural stopping points
Algorithms optimize for engagement, not well-being
Metrics track “time spent”, not value delivered

The average person now spends over 7 hours per day on screens. Much of that time isn’t chosen — it’s extracted.

What is Digital Minimalism?

Digital minimalism, a term popularized by Cal Newport, is a philosophy of technology use:

“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.”

It’s not about rejecting technology. It’s about being intentional:

Start with values — What matters to you?
Choose tools deliberately — Does this tool serve your values?
Optimize usage — How can you get maximum benefit with minimum harm?
Accept trade-offs — You can’t do everything, and that’s okay

Core Principles

1. Less is More

More apps, more notifications, more feeds don’t make your life better. They fragment your attention and leave you exhausted. A smaller number of well-chosen tools serves you better.

2. Technology Should Serve You

You should feel in control when using technology, not controlled by it. If an app makes you feel anxious, distracted, or drained, it’s not serving you.

3. Attention is Non-Renewable

You can make more money, but you can’t make more attention. How you spend your focus determines the quality of your life. Guard it carefully.

4. FOMO is a Lie

The fear of missing out is manufactured. Most of what happens on social media has no real impact on your life. Missing it costs you nothing.

5. Solitude is Essential

Your brain needs time without input. Constant consumption leaves no room for reflection, creativity, or genuine rest.

Practical Steps

Audit Your Digital Life

Before changing anything, understand your current relationship with technology:

How much time do you spend on your phone daily?
Which apps consume the most time?
How do you feel after using each app?
Which tools genuinely help you?
Which just consume your attention?

Delete and Declutter

Remove apps that don’t serve your values:

Social media apps you check compulsively
Games that only kill time
News apps that feed anxiety
Any app you can’t explain the value of

You can always add them back if you miss them. (You probably won’t.)

Turn Off Notifications

Most notifications aren’t urgent. They’re interruptions designed to pull you back into an app.

Turn off all notifications except calls and texts from real humans
Check things on your schedule, not the app’s schedule
Batch your checking into specific times

Curate Your Information Diet

Choose your information sources deliberately:

Replace social media with RSS — Follow sources you’ve chosen, without algorithms
Use newsletters sparingly — Subscribe only to ones you read consistently
Seek books over articles — Deep knowledge beats surface-level takes

Create Phone-Free Zones

Designate spaces and times without screens:

Bedrooms
Dining tables
The first and last hour of your day
Family time

Embrace Boredom

The urge to reach for your phone often comes from discomfort with stillness. Practice sitting with nothing to do. Let your mind wander. Rediscover that boredom is the birthplace of creativity.

How RSS Supports Digital Minimalism

RSS is a fundamentally minimalist technology. It aligns perfectly with intentional technology use:

You Choose Your Sources

No algorithm decides what you see. You subscribe to sources you’ve deliberately selected.

Finite by Nature

RSS feeds have an ending. When you’ve read the new content, you’re done. There’s no infinite scroll because there’s no incentive to trap you.

No Account, No Tracking

RSS readers don’t need accounts. There’s no profile, no data collection, no behavioral tracking.

No Ads, No Manipulation

You see the content you came for, without promoted posts or algorithmic interference.

Pull, Not Push

You check your RSS reader when you choose to. It doesn’t interrupt you with notifications.

Electric Pants and Mindful Reading

We built Electric Pants as a minimalist’s RSS reader. Every design decision supports intentional consumption:

“All Caught Up” screen — A deliberate ending that says you’re done
No account required — Download and start using immediately
No tracking — Your reading is your business
Custom folders — Organize feeds into categories that make sense for you
Beautiful, calm design — No visual noise, just content

The Goal Isn’t Less Technology

Digital minimalism isn’t about becoming a Luddite. The goal is a healthier relationship with technology:

Using tools that genuinely improve your life
Feeling in control rather than controlled
Having attention left for things that matter
Experiencing technology as a servant, not a master

Technology is wonderful when it serves human flourishing. The problem is when it exploits human psychology for profit.