10 things
From time spent rummaging through the archive
Hi there,
I’ve been rummaging through the archives and finding some gems from a couple years prior. When I wrote these, I had no idea how good it was about to get. I almost gave up, caved in, back to the digital noise. Can you trust better things are yet to come? Even better, and I know you understand,
“What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ten things to share:
I asked a psychiatrist what advice he has for getting as close to better mental well-being as possible, and the answer might shock you: Make every effort to live as close to who you are as possible.
Temptation bundling is combining an activity you enjoy with something you dread, for example, meeting with your annoying relative (dread) at your favourite restaurant (joy). Temptation bundling also works for enticing ourselves to do tasks we otherwise dread: Working out (dread) while listening to your favourite playlist (joy). Why not take the digital (dread/joy) to the park or the beach or the balcony (joy/dread)? After all, the demons hate it when you go outside, demons hate fresh air.
One of our time's great sociological questions is why we filled downtime back up with work, and the reason is it's better than alcoholism. In: Randi Zuckerberg Thinks We Should Untangle Our Wired Lives.
All the advice you need for digital well-being can be summarized in one sentence: Find meaningful activities to enjoy offline. More time spent offline equals less time spent online.
A challenge for you: Turn autoplay off on all your streaming services, including YouTube, for a week. See if it makes a difference in how much content you consume. You can always turn it back on.
Kill your phone: Escaping smartphone addiction
When those in-between moments we rush to fill with the digital noise become available, time starts to feel infinite. The morning feels longer, the afternoon drags on, and evenings go on evermore slowly. Suddenly, time is apparent— In your face. It passes painfully slowly, laughs at you victoriously: Notice me now, you hear time say.
I recently bought an analog alarm clock in a desperate attempt to fix my sleep schedule. "Did it wake you up?" I asked innocently. "It woke the neighbours up," he responded. I was happy it worked. I no longer have an excuse to bring my phone to bed.
Laugh or log off!!!! A mantra for time spent online.
Bonus:
No matter where you go/
You are what you are, player
P.s.
That’s all for this week!
Thank you for reading, and share with anyone you think may benefit.
time spent offline is now a monthly analog publication you can get delivered straight to your mailbox with 20 ideas every month.
Until next time,
Mehret