As a self-proclaimed lover of all things digital, I am the first to boast the benefits of being connected and all the great things that it has brought to my life…like these lovely ladies:
However, I’ll also admit that far too often I find myself staring at screens for the majority of my day and by the time 3 p.m. rolls around, the last thing I want to do is keep staring at the soul-sucking screen in my cube, or go home and get back on the computer to work, pay bills, watch TV, blog, whatever. On top of my own screen and connectivity overkill, Chicken Face has been known to try and steal my phone, proclaim I have an Internet addiction, and admonish me for not being in the moment and instead locking myself in Internet seclusion.
I’ve been feeling this way for a while and when I stumbled upon this New York Times article, The Joy of Quiet, it was affirmed: I need to do something about my screen intoxication.
But how does that happen when the thing I am trying to purge is the thing that I love so much, let alone the thing that my career is built around?! Am I going to stop working, stop blogging, stop Tweeting, stop Facebooking, stop Instagraming, stop watching my favorite shows, stop reading my Kindle? Absolutely not. Instead, I want to devise a new “screen solution.” Here are the some of the steps I’m going to try and put in place to ensure that I still feed my addiction, but will also ensure that I’m living in the moment, enjoying real face-to-face time with people around me, and of course, living adventurously:
- If I’m going to be connected, make it count. My professional career is built around being online and social connectivity, so I can’t escape that, nor would I want to because it’s what I love. So during the work day is a wash, but when I come home, no more aimlessly perusing the Internet. I can blog, check out Google Reader, post my Facebook photo of the day and do regular housekeeping (bills, photo uploads, etc.), but beyond that, I’m going to vow to spend time training, taking Lola on a walk, cleaning, whatever. Just don’t be mindless with my time.
- Take breaks. Speaking of work, far too often I’ll go 10 straight hours without getting off the Internet unless it’s for food or a bathroom break. I think this is the culprit of my 3 p.m. meltdowns. Thus, I’m vowing to try and take (gasp!) actual lunch breaks. Go outside, see what non-artificial light (a.k.a. the sun) feels like, and just clear my head. The nice break will leave me recharged for part two of the workday.
- Eat at the table. Chicken Face and I like TV, plain and simple. We love it so much that our DVR, couch and living room table (with a side of iPhone goodness) have replaced an actual dinner, at an actual table, with an actual conversation. No more! I want to have dinner at the table, just the three of us (yes, I’m counting Lola) and simply eat and talk as often as we can. What a novel idea.
- Reclaim the weekend. I won’t make any foolish claims about not going online during the weekend – that’s just crazy talk. But instead, I want to live in the real world and live adventurously. Maybe I’ll “forget” my phone when we go out somewhere. I’m usually quieter on Twitter and other microblogging platforms over the weekend and I think I’ll keep it this way.
- Blog with purpose. One of the things I won’t give up is blogging. I love it for more reasons than I will go into now, but sometimes I almost feel guilty, like all I’m doing is talking about myself. That too is another debate that I won’t open up at the moment, but I want to ensure that none of my blog posts are the equivalent of “junk miles” and that they provide some sort of value to myself or to those who read it. This is where I’d love your help, what would you like to see more of/less of on Twenty-Six & Then Some? I would love to hear your opinion!
So there it is folks, a few steps that I hope to take this year to help myself live adventurously and in the moment. Do you think you suffer for screen/connectivity overload? What do you do to manage it?
Happy Running!
I’ve been struggling with finding the balance with screen time and real life. I work in Marketing and much of my day is spent online, connecting with people, sending emails etc. I too need to start taking real lunch breaks and real dinner breaks and step away from the screen!
My brother just posted to his Facebook wall, “I realized that some days my fingers do more talking than my mouth.” Isn’t that the truth!
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I’ve recently been suffering from this – I think the biggest help has been taking breaks to get away from it. Because of work I’m tied to my computer/phone 24-7 but I need to learn that the world won’t end if I step away for 30 minutes. sigh. good luck!
Reducing screen time is so hard. I actually don’t mind your personal stories on your blog. I like reading about other people working out and their life. It makes me feel like I’m not alone. Sort of like reading an autobiography. It’s also inspiring
Love this post.
I def. struggle with screen addiction as well. One of my friends I met through blogging started being more proactive about curing her addiction by canceling her home internet. She goes to coffee shops or stays just a little bit later at work to do her blogging and such. She’s notes that at first that it was hard, but now she loves it— as she blogs/uses social networking much more efficiently. She now uses her time at home to paint, be more creative and spend more meaningful time with her hubby.
I am totally not on that page yet, but it is something worth thinking about.
Be sure to keep us updated on how your doing with curing your “screen” addiction. =)
What!? Sit at a real table and eat dinner and actually talk to each other!? Unheard of.. the hubs and I are in constant battle – we live in a nice closed off non-open concept house where you cannot see or hear the TV in the kitchen and I love sitting at the table and eating together when we can and he just looks at the table and I know what he’s thinking… can’t we just eat on the couch.. there’s good and bad to both. But I definitely think our generation is way over stimulated by the internet/tv. looking forward to hearing how your time away goes! =) I find that since I’m newer to blogging and actually being semi-consistent I don’t find myself thinking these thoughts too often – but since I’m very consistently inconsistent I also find myself disappearing for days at a time which is good for my thoughts =)
For a while my home computer was crapped out and I didn’t have cable or a smart phone. It was GLORIOUS. Even now I try to disconnect completely after work. It really does help!
Amen. I try to ditch my phone as often as I can. Over vacation my iPhone was locked in the hotel locker. I also bought a nano for working out (indoors or out) instead of hauling around my iPhone which likely distracts me. Lastly, if my work-load permits, I try to turn off my work email on the weekends. This keeps me from checking my mail client incessantly.
One time I was so over my digital life, I deleted my FB app. GASP! 🙂
I like how you call it “screen overload” and not just internet overload. Such good points. If I’m not staring at my work computer or laptop it’s the TV, my iPhone, my eReader or my Garmin. The only TRUE non-screen time I get is the 2-3 times a week I’m in a yoga class or when I’m cooking dinner, and even then I’m often still looking at a recipe online.
Great post.
Oh and I really like all your training updates on the blog so don’t stop with any of those! 😉
I have a HUGE internet addiction (and the same dinner issues as you) so I’m loving these tips! Last month I felt this compulsion to post every day and I ended up feeling like the content sucked, so this month I made a pack with myself to only blog when I really have something to say. If it’s a few days in between, so be it!
I do I do I do!! We need to eat at a table too!!! I like the actual LUNCH BREAK idea too…brilliant.
Eating at the table….I wonder if that idea would fly at my house? I definitely have this same struggle. Good luck! I love pics of Lola and training posts! 🙂
May I just say I am sooo relieved that we are not the only ones who eat all of our meals in front of the TV on the couch?! I like the idea of making a concerted effort to dine at the table… but that would require me to stop using it as a storage surface for all of our tri/running/miscelleneous gear. Hmmm….
My mom says we are all always in front of some screen and she hates competing with screens!
I find forgetting to charge my phone and letting it die is a really good way to not use it. That would probably be harder to do if I had the kind of phone that’s “fun.” As for what to blog about, I would say yourself! Everybody with a blog writes about themselves. That’s the way it works! I find reading about someone’s life (especially when it’s personal and honest) WAY more interesting than generic info. I clearly like the way you do it cause I’m still here reading. 🙂
I love your focus on connectivity and making it count! I feel refreshed after work walking my dog and not logging back on. I think I will adopt some of these foci too!
Sometimes I feel guilty because I’m NOT on twitter or FB as much as everyone else! Duh, that’s so backwards! 🙂
I really enjoy reading about you…in a very non stalkerish way! Keep the Ironman training info coming, as that is definitely something on my bucket list as well! I also often find myself wanting to just sit at home and watch tv, but when I am forced out by friends, I always do end up being happy I went out! So, posts about fun/interesting extracurricular activities are also welcome!! I also like your posts that include info about cool products/apps!! Basically…keep doing what you’re doing!! Thanks for giving me a mini escape from work!!