Hard disk spring cleaning: On being present and living more (Results of a Digital Sabbatical)

It seems that the less I spend my time on the web, the more I can enjoy and learn when I find myself surfing it again. What’s amazing about it, is that whenever I check my inbox, I happen to find inspiring articles written by Leo Babauta or Everett Bogue which make me think a lot. Recently, Leo published an article entitled Decluttering as Zen meditation.

Usually, when I spend lots of time connected, I find myself hesitating in taking action. And the result is that I waste lots of time fiddling at the desk, ending my day without getting anything done. If this is the same scenario in which you constantly find yourself, read on.

As you probably know, I have been having some digital sabbaticals lately (not in the strict sense of the term, but something lighter, because my goal is to disconnect whenever I need to focus on a task!) and there are some technical info I would love to let you know.

Results of a digital sabbatical

I noticed that unplugging from the web keeps me free from the need of fiddling around. I have no distractions. That is why, feeling really focused and motivated on doing some “digital spring cleaning”, last week I decided to start a new decluttering session on my backup hard disk. As you know, I only keep my files stored in a single hard disk. I dumped useless files, junk and old projects logs and.. in 3 days of scanning, I deleted 21GB (!) of hard disk clutter.

21GB of totally useless junk and stuff I have kept in my life for no purpose. After reading Everett Bogue’s latest interview, it makes sense to delete old junk forever. What the hell are you gonna do with that? What were these 21GB made of? Hi-res photos, lots of pictures, wallpapers, music I don’t like anymore (or haven’t heard in such a long time), stuff I am not interested in anymore.

After the deletion of those 21GB, something is clearer in my mind;

  • the old myself is gone forever, and I’m glad it is. 

  • deleting the past gives me the power to enrich and create a new present. 

  • This is what presence is all about: being present. Right here and now. 

And well, to me, this is what digital feng shui is all about