New Year's Special: "Digital Declutter" Guided Audio Activity

In this guided audio exercise, we lay the foundation for a more mindful relationship with technology and together start reshaping your digital environment in a way that promotes wellbeing, calm and focus every day. 

Do you feel it too?

Constant digital notifications and interruptions, overcrowded email inboxes, or unused apps - our digital everyday life doesn't always make it easy to stay calm and focused. But it doesn't have to be this way! 

Discover a new relationship with your technology for more wellbeing, calm and focus by setting up your digital environment in a way that is right for you and promotes values and goals. Using scientific insights from behavioural and neuroscience, we will together create an environment for more well-being, productivity, and work-life balance in a connected world.

Ideal for anyone who wants to declutter their digital life and develop a more balanced relationship with technology.

Do you want to dive deeper into the topic of 'Digital Wellbeing'?

Then we hope you join our Digital Wellness Challenge! Sign up now and start your year 2024 with more mindful digital habits. 

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this special New Years meditation that we designed especially so you can start the new year with an intentional and clutter-free digital space. 

In this guided audio exercise, we will lay the foundation for a more mindful relationship with technology and together start reshaping your digital environment in a way that promotes wellbeing, calm and focus every day. 

As a digital society, we’re presented with various digital stimuli and distractions at every moment of every day. Notifications, emails and pop ups all vie for our attention and this can easily lead to us feeling overwhelmed or spending our time in a way we didn’t intend to. 

But our digital environment can also support us to be more mindful online and reshaping your digital environment is an essential step to ensuring that you can consciously decide when and how you want to use your digital devices and ultimately, using technology as the amazing tool that it was intended to be. 

Let’s begin by you sitting down in a position that feels comfortable to you and take a few deep breaths in and out. You can place your phone next to you for the time being. Relax your shoulders, rest your hands in your lap or on your legs, and close your eyes. Focus entirely on your breath for now. 

"Breathe in and out. Take a deep breath into your belly, and breathe out slowly through your mouth. 

Allow your mind to settle into this moment, focusing on the rhythm of your breathing. If thoughts arise, acknowledge them without judgment and gently guide your attention back to your breath. In this space, you are free from the demands of the day.

The next few minutes are all about creating space in your life, space in your mind and your day that you ca

To decide what fits into your digital space and what doesn't, take a moment to think about the things that are most meaningful to you. This question can guide you and serve as a compass as you start removing the things from your life that don’t align with your answer. 

What’s important to you? 

By clearly defining what is important to you - your goals and priorities - you know when your technology serves this purpose and when it doesn't. When it distracts you, or when it helps you move towards your goals and is aligned with what’s important to you. 

Take a moment to think about what this looks like to you. Is it family? Or a hobby? Is it focusing on your health? Or working on a business idea…

"Now open your eyes and take your phone into your hand. Spend a few moments to feel its weight. Do you notice its consistency, its temperature and material? Take a look at your phone as if you are seeing it for the first time. What do you notice? What sensations and emotions come up for you in this moment? Try to observe them with compassion and curiosity. 

Today is your opportunity to start fresh and to set your phone up in a way that feels right for you, that serves your unique goals and priorities. 

"Now take a look at your home screen. Do you see apps there that constantly distract you or apps that you only barely use? Delete two of these apps or move them from your main screen. This creates space and clarity. Remember you can always download them again later. 

"Now choose three apps that are most valuable or useful to you. Place these apps on your home screen so that you can easily access them. 

" let’s take a look at your notifications. Do your notifications often lead you to spend your time in a way that you didn’t intend to? Do you choose when you use your digital programs, or do you let the apps decide for you in the form of notifications? Go to your settings. Disable notifications for two apps that are not urgent but which often prevent you from spending your time in a conscious and deliberate way. Perhaps you even want to try turning off all your notifications for today. 

"Let's now move to your photos. Delete five photos that you no longer need - maybe they are duplicate shots or blurry pictures. Remember that less is often more. Are there images that make you especially happy? Favorite them, or maybe even make them your lock screen. That way you will be reminded daily of the things that lift you up and energise you. 

"Digital decluttering is partly about creating a visual environment that leads to more tranquility and focus. But it's also about the information you consume every day and how this information impacts you. Does the information lift you up? Or drain you? Today, you have the opportunity to choose again. 

"Now open your email program. Are there newsletters that you no longer read? This is your chance to make a fresh choice about the type for information you want to consume every day. Are there perhaps newsletters that no longer align with your values and goals?

After you have unsubscribed, take a few moments to delete as many emails as you can that you no longer need. 

Finally, let's look at your social media. How could you design your social media experience to have a positive impact on your day and your wellbeing? Are there accounts you might want to unfollow because their content no longer appeals to you? If you go to your social media more often than you'd like, you can also try removing these apps from your phone for a day or turning off their notifications.

"Now put your phone aside. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths in and out. How does your feel now having taken the first steps to decluttering your digital space? How does it feel to take back control and decide how you use your digital devices and media?

You can perform these little digital decluttering actions at any time. Remember that it is in your hands to shape your environment to be right for you and to support the things that bring you meaning and joy. 

If you enjoyed this guided audio exercise, make sure to subscribe to this podcast where we regularly publish conversations, techniques and ideas for living and working well in the digital age. 

If you want to take this practice further and building better digital habits happens to be one of your new years resolutions, we are organising a live digital wellness challenge this January. You can find more information via the link in the description and I hope you join us. 

I wish you a happy new year and all the best for 2024!