UNPLUG
Sometimes in order to get meaningful answers, we need to ask a lot of questions.
Answer Yes or No to the following:
Do you spend more than a glance looking at your smartphone within the first hour of rising?
Are you on your phone or computer while eating meals, despite not eating alone?
Are you on a computer for multiple hours a day (by choice not by profession)?
Do you have to have the TV on or a show streaming in the background, whether you’re actively watching it or not?
Do you find yourself reaching for your phone at every opportunity to check news, social media, messages, email?
Do you rely on your phone/computer for all of your information and schedule management?
Is the majority of your communication conducted through texting or the Internet rather than voice-to-voice or face-to-face?
Do you sleep with your phone in or near your bed?
Do you take your phone into the bathroom with you?
I don’t know about you, but I’m old enough to remember when there was no such thing as a cordless phone let alone an answering machine, cable TV, or personal computers. If I’ve outed myself as a geezer, I’m happy to own it.
Back in the day, there was typically only one phone in the house and it was attached to a wall so you could only go as far as the chord would allow. If you called someone and the phone just kept ringing, it was either because they weren’t home or couldn’t answer. If they weren’t there to grab the phone, the recipient of that call had no way of knowing who called, when they called or that they called at all. If the phone was in use or it was left “off the hook”, it gave an unrelenting busy signal. If you wanted to get a message to someone, you had to wait until they could answer the phone, for the mail to be delivered, or see them in person to relay it. Passing notes (handwritten, of course) in class was effective, so long as the teacher didn’t catch you or the wrong person didn’t intercept it.
Television programs aired one time on what was likely the only set in the house, at a precise time and on a designated day. If you missed it and wanted to see that show again, you had to wait to see if it was repeated in the off-season, also at a prescribed time and on a predetermined day. There was no way to download it, let alone “tape” it. There were three stations, five if you were lucky and had good signal.
The general public got their news and information from the newspaper, delivered in the morning, the local radio station in the afternoon, and the TV’s nightly news tied it all together. The rest was shared through conversations with friends and family and at social gatherings.
We used the Dewey decimal system in the library. It worked hand in hand with encyclopedias and microfiche. The process of researching was an immersive experience that went beyond looking up a topic. It involved getting to a library, looking up the books, carrying them to your table or checking them out only to have to carry them home and back again, then pouring through each one. Don't even get me started on taking hand-written notes. If you think it sounds dreadful, it was actually fulfilling. Have you ever studied in a hushed library yet felt the buzz of collective enlightenment? Did you know every book has a unique smell?
Going to work or school meant leaving your home and physically relocating yourself in another place. Coming home meant leaving either where it was (most of the time). It was a tangible distancing, a change of scenery.
To many, this way of life sounds unbelievable, un-livable. But to others who had a taste of this simpler time, especially in hindsight, it is remembered with great fondness. If you want to get a good idea of what life was like, instead of looking it up on the Internet, why not ask someone born before 1980? There are many more examples than what I’ve shared here.
Don’t get me wrong; advancements in technology have been, in many ways, positive. But is it beneficial to our health, wellbeing, and relationships to be plugged in all the time? Are we really better off having a constant barrage of information and sensory input? What would it hurt to distance yourself, even for a bit?
I challenge you to give up any extraneous use of technology, to step away. It doesn't have to cost a dime or vacation days and you don't even have to leave your home. This simply means anything that isn’t required by your profession or in order to stay afloat (like paying bills). I know, for some it sounds like a tall order. But if you try one thing at a time, you will gain momentum with each step and eventually achieve success. Along the way, note any positive experiences that occur, such as less stress, improved relationships, contentment, and new found past times.
Here are 15 ways to get you started:
Go back to using an old fashioned alarm clock and leave your phone in another room during the night. Use the same designated phone spot for meal and family time.
Use your phone for basic functions only, saving apps and social media for your computer.
Make a list of things you want to look up on the Internet and set aside a specific amount of time (use a timer) once a day or week to do pleasure shopping, research, or scrolling. Strive to finish before the timer dings.
Stop giving out your email and text number.
Promote a phone tree for relaying messages.
Only check the news 2-3 times a day (max) and keep it brief, using a reliable source with a condensed feed.
Go to the library and check out a book then stay there for a spell and read it.
Get together with a resident expert to learn more about a subject of interest.
Write a “thinking of you” note just because, or send a card to extend sympathy or congratulations.
Hold polite hours for all outgoing texts and phone calls (9p-9a is a good rule of thumb) and impose your own set of boundaries for when others can contact you.
Wait five minutes to return non-urgent messages. Next time, wait ten.
Consolidate odds and ends things you’d normally text throughout the day and save them up for one phone call. Drafting a (hand written) list will help you remember and keep you on point if time is of concern.
Listen to music or play an instrument instead of turning on the TV.
Block off a day or two out of each week (e.g.: Saturday and Sunday), and do not use technology for anything but basic communication (like a phone call or quick text to say “I’m on my way”).
Join a national incentive program like National Day of Unplugging or Screen-Free Week and invite some friends to join you in the challenge. Just be sure to have a mini-party at the end to celebrate reaching your goal!
So what will you do with all the extra time? First of all, you will be surprised how quickly the newly available time back-fills with other tasks. Maybe you start with cleaning out that one junk drawer you keep procrastinating about. Soon you will be taking a walk with a friend or tuning up your guitar to strum a few songs. Before long, you will hunger for and work toward more time away from technology and your life (and health) will be better for it.
One last question to ask yourself: What if the best way to recharge was simply to unplug?
Logging off,
Marie Stumphauzer, FNTP
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@ can stock photo
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