Scaling Back

Life feels as though it’s moving faster. In our new always-connected world we have the worlds content literally in the palm of our hands. For the last several months my offline conversations generally consist of things are moving into a scary direction. I remember riding my bike 10 miles to the beach to read a book when I was young. Now I’m afraid of my kids walking a few blocks home from school.

We can blame social networks or cellphones for the issues that plague us but the truth is we’re the problem. I can’t remember a single day that I haven’t picked up my cellphone, tablet or laptop. I have unplugged a few times over the years with positive results but I went back to the same ol’ again.

I have been off Facebook for about 3 years, Instagram 2 but I keep Twitter around for now. So I’ve been off most social networks for awhile now but I still find myself wanting to know what’s going on now. It’s almost like a drug.

Starting this weekend I’m going to scale back my internet usage. At 9 pm every night and the weekends I’m going to unplug. I think it’s time to give my brain some room to breath and just do nothing for awhile.

The reason why I’m doing this is primarily two reasons 1. Focus and 2. I want to smell the roses. I’ve had focus problems for awhile. If I have a project I’m really good at starting it and ending it but it’s hard for me to focus on real life. I’ve always been a dreamer with a good imagination but I’ve found that I tend to do something then check my phone, do something else, check my phone again. I want to focus on one thing and stick with it. Smelling the roses is just me getting old. If you’re a parent you’ll understand this. I swear when I blink my kids get older. I want to spend more time on being outside and just enjoying life. I’m not getting any younger so I might as well just appreciate what I have.

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