Miss the Good Old Days? Here Are 10 Ways to Simplify Your Technology-Driven Life

Part of minimizing your distractions is cutting them at their roots: notifications. By turning off push notifications, you can be deliberate about when you check your email, social media apps, and text messages. This way, you're able to stay present instead of gravitating towards your phone like Pavlov's dog every time you get an alert!

You can definitely KonMari a lot more than just your room. Declutter your phone by getting rid of apps that you don't need on a day-to-day basis. Stripping down to the absolute essential programs will make your phone feel more purposeful as a device, as opposed to being a vortex of unlimited distractions.

Instead of scrambling to make plans every so often over dozens of texts, commit to a specific time and location each week or month to hang out with your friends, whether it's for a happy hour event, book club, or fitness class. Having a routine will minimize those unwieldy group chats and motivate you to hang out consistently with your pals offline.

Constantly checking your inbox on an app can lead to haphazard responses or drag you down a rabbit hole of doing more work when you may have mentally checked out. To take it easy on yourself, respond to your emails on your computer rather than working on the go with your phone.

After you spend all day staring at a computer, it's tempting to go home and veg out in front of a TV or phone screen. While you don't need to prohibit yourself from catching up on your favourite show, it's good to carve out a few hours a day where you're not looking at a screen. Use that time instead to read a book or pick up a fun hobby!

Many people can't do their jobs without a computer screen. But if you need to type up your work, it may help to put your thoughts on paper before opening up a document. Working analog in the brainstorming stage can help you think through your ideas freely and clearly.

Having a handwritten approach can also help you stay organised offline. Investing in a nice planner or committing to bullet journaling helps you be productive even without your computer or a phone at hand.

A landline can be handy during emergencies and great for minimizing your hectic digital life. Having a landline that is for the sole purpose of making calls may encourage you to pick up the phone and call your loved ones more often instead of buzzing away through texts or chats.

Using a productivity extension such as StayFocusd limits how much time you can spend on sites such as social media so that you can maximise your online time. You'll be done with your work sooner and have more time to do things off the computer!