We live in a 24/7 connected, always-on world. Our ubiquitous smart phone whistles, burps, farts, or chimes, seeking to secure our attention. Just as we were getting used to the fast pace of e-mail, along came texts, to which we are expected to reply within seconds. And if this intrusion into our personal lives isn’t bad enough, far too often we are electronically tethered to our employer or business, either of which constantly craves us.
And what do we do to relax? Play video games? Watch TV or YouTube? How about virtual reality glasses? And whatever happened to actual reality anyway? I recently read an article — the source of which escapes me — which opined that within the next couple of decades, with virtual reality, more sex will occur between human and machine than human and human. But that may be a topic for another article, and probably another website . . .
Try this. For a 24-hour period — and probably on a day that you typically have off from work or business, such as Sunday — remove digital interaction from your life. This is going to be tough. No e-mail. No texts. No Facebook. No YouTube. And let’s make it harder: no TV, no radio, no computer, tablet or phone at all. Pretend you live in the 1800s. Allow electric lights and appliances, but anything that communicates with you other than printed words on a page or the voice of another actual in-the-flesh human being, should be prohibited.
What to do instead? Take a walk. Swim. Enjoy nature. Converse with your spouse (shockingly, the average couple spends only a few minutes a day in actual conversation). Play with your kids. Play with your dog. Meditate. Pray. Play golf. Play music, but only that which you create on your own instrument. Strum a guitar and sing. Sit down with a duet partner and play some Beethoven.
Sometimes the mere act of clearing the clutter of our digital world helps us refocus in many ways. Artists have found that this can unclog creative blocks. We can also solve analytical problems for which our brains have been too busy processing other sources of information to focus properly.
And yes — I am asking you to ignore even this awesome website and the accompanying Facebook page — but only for those 24 hours. Because I believe that when you return one day hence, you will find yourself refreshed, productive and creative!