I’m pretty much writing this post for my future self. Just like other areas, our digital lives need a good scrub and purge every once and a while. I used to put up with a lot more noise in my email Inbox and my social media accounts, especially Facebook.

A funny thing happened on my journey towards a more minimalist life: I don’t have as much patience for noise anymore. Not just in my house or my car, anywhere.

Now I try to flee cluttered (with physical, visual, and emotional litter) places to find quiet, or I drown out noisy spots with things I do care about. In short, I don’t feel I should have to “put up with” annoying messages, things that make me feel anxious or guilty or uncomfortable for no reason, or just shiny stuff that distracts me for a moment and pulls me away from more important things.

These “important” things may not necessarily be that serious or even driving my life or my business in some way. It just means they are intentional things I want to do/see/read and I enjoy them.

We all have to deal with unavoidable discomfort and hard choices. So why force ourselves to confront a million little – possibly stressful – things every day when we don’t have to?

Of course I don’t apply this same impatience and ruthlessness to every single corner of my life. When I’m at the park with friends and our kids, hanging out with people I love, enjoying an activity, or working hard on a project, I don’t let the little things get to me. If I don’t have time to do the dishes or clear off the counter before writing an important email, I’ll let it go. For the time being, that is.

On Facebook, you will see ads and sponsored posts from companies you didn’t ask to see. They will take up space where you wish you could see a friend or author or news outlet that you actually want to hear from. Unfortunately there’s no way on Facebook to completely streamline your newsfeed and eliminate all distractions and advertisements. However, you can greatly cut back on unwanted content in a few steps and with a few minutes of work. You might even find that the advertisements you see are more relevant because they often look to your interests and other pages you like to target your account.

Note: This process might take a few minutes longer than a few minutes, but give it as much time as you can or break the task into smaller chunks if you’re feeling overwhelmed. It will be worth it in the end.

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