Your Courageous Life

reconnecting to life before the internet

Do you remember what life was like, before the internet?

I don’t.

I find that realization just a bit astonishing.

Don’t worry–I’m not preparing to swerve in the direction of sensationalism, trying to scare you with statements about how our society is becoming disconnected and technology is to blame.

Startling admission: While I seriously endeavour to practice compassion and non-judgement, someone’s manifesto on how technology is everyone’s downfall, and they’re unplugging, and if you don’t unplug, too, you’re a victim of it–you’re a sheep!–and how they have a line on life that you don’t, and the hipster tone of how they’re so much cooler than you because, you know, they’ve rebelled against it all, they do their own thing, they’re so unique…those sorts of blog posts sort of kind of a little bit annoy the shit out of me.

So, let’s be clear. I don’t want to tell anyone what to do.

I am just very honestly curious about this: What does life feel like, without the internet?

And this: What does life feel like, if I get the kind of break from work that also involves a break from emails?

 

Confession: I’ve been overwhelmed.

I haven’t been overwhelmed by actual work, though! (Truth be told, coaching clients and writing rarely feels like “work”!).

I’ve been overwhelmed by trying to mentally keep things straight–what I’ve agreed to do, when it’s due, where the email is that tells me what I’m responding to, whether or not I just send an email off or if I have to login to a system to upload a file…and so many places for contact! There’s my regular email account. My personal email account. My phone. Text messages. Facebook, and Facebook messages. Then there’s Twitter. Google +. Pinterest.

The madness is that the more systems I set up for managing all of that, the more I see that a few months later, there’s a need for me to…set up more systems.

(Note: Whomever comes up with some kind of way to streamline all existing social media *private messaging* backends into just ONE PLACE and charge, say $9.99 a month for that, is probably going to make millions–I tell you, MILLIONS. Since I have no interest in the effort required for setting up something like that, please feel free to take the idea and run with it).

Instead of distilling, streamlining, and simplifying, I see that the setting up of more systems just creates more room for the animal to grow.

I don’t attach a lot of drama to this “problem.” I know that many business owners can feel overwhelmed, and I think that there are ways that I can step back from the over-work and overwhelm and the seeming obligation of being constantly available.

 

Trying Something New

So, I’m going to try something out: I’m going to take a digital break. This is the first way that I’m going to step back from everything–I’m stepping back with the aim of getting perspective. (Then I’m going to come back and tell all of you about it.)

From December 15th-January 15th, I’m going to endeavour to back away from email, social media, all of it. I say “endeavour” because I know that since I run a business, it’s possible that some kind of emergency will arise.

The only thing I will be using is my phone. The only time I will use the internet is if I absolutely need to, like if I need to get directions or an address. I’m pre-scheduling social media updates using HootSuite. I’m putting an auto-responder on my email accounts so that people know how to get ahold of me in an absolute emergency.

This presents an interesting and somewhat daunting/precarious question for someone who makes a living, online. The fear is, of course, that there will be no one there thirty days later, or that an important email will be missed.

This is a realistic fear; it could happen.

It’s also one I’m willing to…feel. Then dive in, anyway. Then see what transforms.

It seems to me that as a business owner–or with anyone else that I do in my life–that if I’m living from a place of fear, I’m not really living.

Also, I’m enormously inspired by what designer Stefan Sagmeister shares, here:

 

 

 

What I’ll be Reconnecting With

Reading paper–books!–not computer screens.

Playing piano.

Getting back into studying Italian. (I went to dinner the other night at a local place owned by an Italian man, and couldn’t believe how much I had forgotten!).

Taking long walks.

Yoga.

Meditation.

Coffee with friends.

Cooking–real cooking, rather than heating up soup.

These are all things that I’ve fallen away from putting into my life on a consistent basis. I want to remember what life was like before the internet, and part of that means reconnecting with all the things that have contributed to a sense of feeling whole that came long before computers became a part of daily life.

 

Strategies

With distance, comes perspective.

When I return here, I’m going to share all that I’ve learned–what was hard, what was surprisingly easy, and what insights I’ve had. Whether or not that turns into a full-fledged downloadable guide or simply a series of blog posts or e-letter updates remains to be seen. I will say that it will be totally free and that my e-letter subscribers will get first dibs.

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