Disconnect
As another year managed to slip past us in a blink, I find myself yet again tabulating all that I didnt get to. That in it of itself isnt necessarily a bad thing, but when you start to think of the reasons why you didnt get to it is where that becomes a bit depressing. Some stuff I wanted to do didnt happen for completely legitimate reasons or because I ended up doing other things that Im glad that happened in 2010.
To some extent, I accept what I didnt get to as roll over for this year as I just didnt have time. But, there were a lot of things that could have happened if only I had done two things: actually planned events in advance, and used my time more wisely. Saying you want to accomplish something means nothing until you put events in motion for them to occur, and of course that requires time set aside to do so.
Its the second point that I feel needs the most immediate and utmost attention if I wish to accomplish any goals, and which is to say I need to better utilize my time. While I dont intend to schedule every little task in my day-to-day life, I think I need to approach my idle time questioning how I can better use it. I think its fair to say there is some mental wellness is letting your idle time be untaxed with an agenda or task and exist for the sake of taking a break to do nothing. I think Ive fallen into a place where that time is being used to accelerate an unproductive activity that is pushing beyond idle time and taking away from other time allotments in my life. That activity is none other than time spent on the internet.
Sure, this is something pretty common with lots of people, but for myself Im starting to find this to be detrimental given that a majority of my time spent online isnt yielding any benefit to my goals. This isnt to imply that I need to constantly read only news or educating myself, as I feel the social aspects can be rewarding in keeping up with individuals. But as with most things its fine in moderation.
Like a mouse tapping the pedal for a food pellet, Im embarrassed to admit my dirty little addiction is hitting the refresh button. Ive managed to get into the habit of needing to know whats going on right now with Twitter, Facebook, blog feeds, instant messenger and emails by checking constantly and setting up automated notifications. Then I would find myself skimming the same things I saw five minutes ago only to take up time till I refreshed again with more updates. While Ive ponder the thought of being slightly insane, Ive pragmatically determined it to be nothing more than an undisciplined, undesirable habit.
The single problem here is the larger phenomena that many have fallen into in the last decade: being constantly connected. What started with always needing to carry your mobile phone or leaving instant messenger running on the off chance someone needed to reach you immediately, its spun into constantly check email, checking whos online right now, who checked in where, who tweeted, or posted pictures on Facebook. I never thought that would be me, but thinking about the last year and all the little things I didnt get done in those spare 20 or 30 minutes I had really does illustrate the reality of the situation, and add up.
Exacerbating the issue is something I cant escape as I get older. In recent years, Ive found it increasingly difficult to block out distractions and concentrate when something requires a great deal of attention. I find it amusing that when I was a teenager, my mother would often question how I could do homework or read with music blaring. She was working on her masters degree at the time and I remember her explaining that she needed silence in order to concentrate. Nowadays, I cant even have a simple IM conversation without muting the TV or pausing music to concentrate on what Im typing. Im not terribly concerned since Ive accepted that Im just getting older, but also I need to accept that I have to make accommodations if I really want to get things done.
That being said, the solution is really just forcing myself to be more disconnected at times and not feel that its necessary to be continuously updated. Interesting enough, there is a repressed feeling of relief when I turn my phone off in a theater that I need to embrace more as opposed to the anxiety of needing to be reached. For me, I think it would be more beneficial to consolidate my internet social catch up to only certain times of the day. I think I can derive the same amount of social fulfillment in concentrated/limited times. Its a matter of setting up my own boundaries and remembering that there are other beneficial goals that will bring equal, if not greater satisfaction by accomplishing such.
Its both amusing and depressing that Ive come to this point as an adult, who I though was capable of monitoring compulsive activities and achieving his goals, that Im accepting that I need to go on a connection diet in order to have fulfillment in other facets of my life.
Perhaps Im preaching to the converted about this, but its one of those things that I denied was me. I suppose as they say, the first step is admitting.
To some extent, I accept what I didnt get to as roll over for this year as I just didnt have time. But, there were a lot of things that could have happened if only I had done two things: actually planned events in advance, and used my time more wisely. Saying you want to accomplish something means nothing until you put events in motion for them to occur, and of course that requires time set aside to do so.
Its the second point that I feel needs the most immediate and utmost attention if I wish to accomplish any goals, and which is to say I need to better utilize my time. While I dont intend to schedule every little task in my day-to-day life, I think I need to approach my idle time questioning how I can better use it. I think its fair to say there is some mental wellness is letting your idle time be untaxed with an agenda or task and exist for the sake of taking a break to do nothing. I think Ive fallen into a place where that time is being used to accelerate an unproductive activity that is pushing beyond idle time and taking away from other time allotments in my life. That activity is none other than time spent on the internet.
Sure, this is something pretty common with lots of people, but for myself Im starting to find this to be detrimental given that a majority of my time spent online isnt yielding any benefit to my goals. This isnt to imply that I need to constantly read only news or educating myself, as I feel the social aspects can be rewarding in keeping up with individuals. But as with most things its fine in moderation.
Like a mouse tapping the pedal for a food pellet, Im embarrassed to admit my dirty little addiction is hitting the refresh button. Ive managed to get into the habit of needing to know whats going on right now with Twitter, Facebook, blog feeds, instant messenger and emails by checking constantly and setting up automated notifications. Then I would find myself skimming the same things I saw five minutes ago only to take up time till I refreshed again with more updates. While Ive ponder the thought of being slightly insane, Ive pragmatically determined it to be nothing more than an undisciplined, undesirable habit.
The single problem here is the larger phenomena that many have fallen into in the last decade: being constantly connected. What started with always needing to carry your mobile phone or leaving instant messenger running on the off chance someone needed to reach you immediately, its spun into constantly check email, checking whos online right now, who checked in where, who tweeted, or posted pictures on Facebook. I never thought that would be me, but thinking about the last year and all the little things I didnt get done in those spare 20 or 30 minutes I had really does illustrate the reality of the situation, and add up.
Exacerbating the issue is something I cant escape as I get older. In recent years, Ive found it increasingly difficult to block out distractions and concentrate when something requires a great deal of attention. I find it amusing that when I was a teenager, my mother would often question how I could do homework or read with music blaring. She was working on her masters degree at the time and I remember her explaining that she needed silence in order to concentrate. Nowadays, I cant even have a simple IM conversation without muting the TV or pausing music to concentrate on what Im typing. Im not terribly concerned since Ive accepted that Im just getting older, but also I need to accept that I have to make accommodations if I really want to get things done.
That being said, the solution is really just forcing myself to be more disconnected at times and not feel that its necessary to be continuously updated. Interesting enough, there is a repressed feeling of relief when I turn my phone off in a theater that I need to embrace more as opposed to the anxiety of needing to be reached. For me, I think it would be more beneficial to consolidate my internet social catch up to only certain times of the day. I think I can derive the same amount of social fulfillment in concentrated/limited times. Its a matter of setting up my own boundaries and remembering that there are other beneficial goals that will bring equal, if not greater satisfaction by accomplishing such.
Its both amusing and depressing that Ive come to this point as an adult, who I though was capable of monitoring compulsive activities and achieving his goals, that Im accepting that I need to go on a connection diet in order to have fulfillment in other facets of my life.
Perhaps Im preaching to the converted about this, but its one of those things that I denied was me. I suppose as they say, the first step is admitting.