26 June 2020

Another step forward for me, I believe, would be to use my phone and laptops less. Life ain't lived staring at a screen. My days are more often than not spent looking at one screen or another for more than 12 hours. Talk about an unsustainable practice. For the sake of my mental and physical health, I think cutting that time down to approximately ~1-2 hours (excluding work time unfortunately) would be immensely beneficial. Further, that reduction would come at only a marginal impact in productivity and in my relationships. Fear of missing out simply isn't real. Such an opportunity should be pounced on.

Implementing this change will be delicate, however. The world we live in nowadays doesn't lend itself much at all to a life (mostly) disconnected. Calls, texts, and emails must be answered and online tasks completed. In pondering to participate less in an online life, I do not disavow the utility of the communication and productivity platforms that humans have built on or under the Internet. They truly are feats in engineering, even in considering the detriments they've given to the modern human condition. This proposal is only a personal (temporary?) admission of defeat and a declaration that the stress derived from my silicon life has steadily grown, across the years, into a beast that I cannot control and is too much for me.

I readily concede that the aforementioned stress is almost entirely self-derived. I do not do well with impulses, online or otherwise. Who would've guessed? Regardless, this is my problem to solve1 and here represents my resolve to do so. Checking my phone once in the morning and a few times across the afternoon/evening should suffice. All other use cases may be done on a one-time basis. Laptop usage would be limited to movie-watching and projects only. I don't believe that would go over 2 hous a day, unless I watch more than one movie or am deeply invested in a project, both of which are fine by me. Music is the clear exception and I reserve the right to use Spotify as much as needed to keep the groove going and the vibes flowing. Read more and learn that guitar!




[1] among other problems