devsimsek's Blog

Hey there! It’s me again (4th time in last 7 days). Let me tell you something funny – as developers, we’re literally surrounded by tech 24/7, yet somehow we’re still adding MORE digital stuff to our lives. The irony, right? After finding myself with 47 browser tabs open while simultaneously getting pinged on 5 different apps, I realized something had to change.

What Digital Minimalism Means for Someone Who Codes for a Living

For us devs, digital minimalism isn’t about throwing our laptops out the window (though I’ve been tempted). It’s about being intentional with the tech we use instead of mindlessly accumulating digital junk. Since I literally make my living building digital things, I can’t exactly go live in a cabin in the woods, but I CAN be smarter about what I let into my digital life.

Why I Needed This in My Life (And You Probably Do Too)

Being a developer in 2025 is wild. Since I started coding back in 2009, the number of tools, platforms, and distractions has exploded:

• I’ve got Jetbrains, Neovim, and who knows how many other editors installed
• My phone buzzes with GitHub notifications every 5 minutes
• My browser has so many tabs open it just shows tiny little dots

Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so. When you’re trying to focus on that tricky algorithm but your brain is being pulled in 50 directions, something’s gotta give.

What Changed When I Embraced Digital Minimalism

Once I started cutting back on the digital noise:

• I could actually focus long enough to solve complex problems (what a concept!)
• My code got cleaner because I wasn’t constantly context-switching
• I stopped feeling that weird tech anxiety where you’re always afraid you’re missing something
• I actually had time to work on my personal projects
• My commit messages started making sense again

My Personal Digital Detox Process (Totally Stole This From Marie Kondo)

Here’s what worked for me – maybe it’ll work for you too:

1. The Great App Purge

I went through every single development tool on my machine and asked: “Have I used this in the last 3 months?” If not, it got deleted. Turns out I had SDKs installed for languages I hadn’t touched since 2018. Oops.

2. Browser Tab Bankruptcy

I declared browser tab bankruptcy. Yes, it hurt. Yes, I was convinced I needed all 78 StackOverflow tabs. No, I didn’t actually need them. Now I use a browser extension that closes tabs after 3 days of inactivity, and honestly, I’ve never once missed what’s gone.

3. Notification Guillotine

I turned off ALL notifications except from actual humans who need my immediate attention. GitHub can wait. Twitter can definitely wait. That newsletter about the hot new JavaScript framework? It can burn in notification hell.

4. The Terminal Life

As a Neovim devotee, I’ve leaned harder into terminal-based tools. There’s something beautifully minimal about a clean terminal interface. No ads, no distractions, just you and your code. Plus it makes me feel like a hacker from the 90s, which is always a bonus.

My Actual Digital Minimalism Setup

Here’s what my minimalist dev setup looks like now:

Essential Tools Only:

• Editor: Neovim (with very specific plugins I actually use (also zed))
• Terminal: Kitty
• Browser: DuckDuckGo browser with no extensions (except password manager)
• Communication: One messaging platform for work, one for personal
• Task Management: A simple markdown-based to-do system (On obsidian)

My New Digital Rules:

1. One project, one window: No more trying to work on 5 different codebases simultaneously
2. Airplane mode programming: 2 hours of completely disconnected coding time daily
3. No new tools without a 7-day waiting period: Prevents shiny object syndrome
4. Digital Sabbath: One day a week with zero coding or tech (it hurts, but in a good way)
5. Time-blocking: Specific times for coding, communication, and learning – no overlap

The Hard Truth about Digital Minimalism for Devs

Let’s be honest – this isn’t easy when your whole career revolves around technology. I’ve had to accept that:

• I will miss some trending GitHub repos
• I won’t know about every new framework
• Sometimes I’ll be the last to hear about a cool new tool
• Some people will think I’m weird for not being constantly available

But you know what? My code is better. My projects actually get finished now. And I don’t wake up at 3 AM thinking about unresolved GitHub issues.

Getting Started (Without Losing Your Mind)

If you’re looking at your 25 desktop icons with panic, start small:

1. Delete one unnecessary dev tool this week
2. Turn off notifications for your least important app
3. Try 30 minutes of distraction-free coding time
4. Close half your browser tabs (I believe in you!)
5. Unsubscribe from one technical newsletter you never read anyway

The key is progress, not perfection. I still fall off the wagon sometimes and end up with 30 tabs about some obscure Rust feature I’m trying to understand. The difference is now I catch myself and clean it up instead of letting it become my new normal.

The Real Benefit? Mental Bandwidth

The biggest change isn’t in my digital spaces – it’s in my head. I actually have mental bandwidth again. Ideas come easier. Problem-solving feels smoother. I’m not constantly mentally juggling 50 different threads of information.

For someone who’s been coding since 2009, it’s like rediscovering why I fell in love with programming in the first place. It’s not about the tools or keeping up with every new thing – it’s about the joy of building and solving problems.

So, what digital clutter are you going to cut first? Let me know – I’m genuinely curious how other devs are handling the constant influx of tech noise. Hit me up @devsimsek or drop a comment below!

P.S. If you’re wondering if I wrote this article while having only one browser tab open… well, let’s just say I’m still a work in progress. Baby steps, right?