If you want to reduce your screen time on WhatsApp like a minimalist then it's safe to say that your task just got easy.
We will look at why we need digital minimalism for WhatsApp, how we achieve it and how we monitor progress for it.
Why do we need digital minimalism for WhatsApp?
Over the last few years, WhatsApp has gone significant changes. In its early stages, it used to have the following:
- Personal chat.
- Group conversations.
And currently, we are at a stage where WhatsApp has multiple features and most of them are distractive:
- WhatsApp Stories
- Channels
- Communities
- Stickers
- Video/audio calls
- Promotional messages
- OTPs and other crucial info for services you use.
That's a lot going on with WhatsApp and as a user it can be really a pain to deal with.
WhatsApp does not need to dictate your phone activity
In most countries, WhatsApp is the primary mode of communication for personal conversations, work, paying bills, getting updates, etc.
Given its explosive nature, it is likely you get the most notifications from WhatsApp. This takes away your focus and you then end up worrying or overthinking about random tasks rather than putting your energy into some much needed deep work.
Most WhatsApp notifications are trash
Messages you get on WhatsApp do not require your immediate attention. I have seen people with 500+ unread chats spanning various groups, personal texts, work updates, promotional images, etc.
If you allow WhatsApp to show you everything it can, then it is going to overload you with options and you cannot focus on anything.
How to use WhatsApp like a minimalist
To reduce screen time on WhatsApp and use the app like a minimalist we will first need to convince ourselves of two things:
- We cannot turn off all notifications for WhatsApp if it's our primary source of communication.
- If we turn on scheduled notifications where you receive messages each hour, you might miss important messages that require urgent attention.
So, how do we get started?
Archive WhatsApp conversations that are unnecessary
Archive all conversations on WhatsApp that are unnecessary or those you haven't interacted with in ages.
There's an option to make sure that archived chats stay archived even if the contact texts you.
This will probably take an hour so be patient with it.
Keep the following chats unarchived:
- Closest family members or roommates aka people you share spaces with.
- A partner, husband or wife.
- Work related groups, especially the most important to your functioning (I don't like WhatsApp groups for work honestly but can't help it if the company deems that it gets the work done).
When you archive most of your messages on WhatsApp, you will have various concerns about communication or missing out on important texts. We need to solve that soon and yes we will come to it.
But before that...
Clear unwanted chats and media
From your archived chats, clear messages and media that might take up unnecessary space. In WhatsApp settings, you can check storage and delete files individually starting from the biggest file sizes.
WhatsApp can slow down if you have loads of chats and media in your device; this can affect another thing that we will come to later.
Prioritise chats on WhatsApp like a minimalist
This is the most important step. Communicating with certain folks and groups will happen at certain time periods. Therefore, it makes sense to prioritise your chats like a minimalist on WhatsApp.
- If I am meeting a friend, I unarchive their chat before I leave so that I can get updates on their whereabouts. Once home, I will archive that conversation again.
- I play football with a community called Kasa Kai Mumbai. They have multiple groups for multiple games across various turfs in Mumbai. I archive the group associated with the turf I will be playing at 2 hours before the game to get all updates and archive it again after the game ends.
- When it comes to messages from brands, I will unarchive chats from MakeMyTrip, IndiGo, Redbus, etc when I am travelling so I can get updates quickly on my ticket statuses.
This sounds selfish and self centred but honestly it's the best way to not get distracted by a flurry of WhatsApp messages coming your way daily.
Mute forever, forget forever.
Once you decide to mute a chat on WhatsApp, you can keep it to be muted forever. This is good to not receive notifications in the notifications centre.
Sometimes I just know a friend who will send 10 lines of texts for what can be a single sentence or paragraph. I don't want to see my phone ping 10 times for that garbage. I see it when I want to and that is when I open the app.
You can also configure WhatsApp to not receive phone calls from unwanted numbers; I wish they could also mute notifications from when a random person tags you on the group.
WhatsApp Web App for better minimalism
With WhatsApp Web or its standalone app, you can easily use WhatsApp like a minimalist.
It ties in well with my idea that bigger screens lead to better productivity.
You can see main chats and respond to what's important and check archived chats once you have free time.
It's a simple cycle that works ever so well.
The reason I asked you to clear chats and media on WhatsApp's mobile app is because WhatsApp Web and its app work better when the chats are light.
It will be fast by a small margin and that's enough to quickly check on archived chats.
I will usually three swipe between WhatsApp and Safari to see archived chats if something important is happening. Makes life easy.
I am Anthony, a minimalist generalist working on minimalism and its applications across various aspects of life and business. Subscribe to my newsletter here.
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