Going analog in a digital world

A simpler approach

Getting Excited About Miracles (and Life) Again

Hi there,

I’m enjoying starting my morning with a coffee and a book, going on long walks, and cooking intuitively— using my senses, not a recipe. The result is less time spent online! The best part? I hardly miss it.

Five things to share:

1. There is a prevailing ideal in the digital wellness realm that one should give up the digital all together. Quit social media. Quit the Internet. Quit your smartphone. Yet, such drastic measures for life-tech balance aren’t always realistic nor desirable for everyone; nor does it need to be so extreme. I'm going analog in a digital world without sacrificing the convenience, ease, and connection the digital world provides me.

2. In Shop class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford— a philosopher who quit his office job as a think tank director to open a motorcycle repair shop and enjoy the psychological value of working with our hands— the feeling of taking a broken machine, struggling with it, and then eventually enjoying a tangible indication that he had succeeded provided him with a sense of accomplishment that he struggled to replicate at his previous office job.

3. Return to analog - how to break the digital leash is a 13-minute TED Talk by Ernest Barbaric. Stepping away from compulsive digital distraction by going analog allows us to reconnect with ourselves and those around us. Three simple practices: Dedicate, connect, and create.

4. A quote I want to share with you:

   Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.
   — Maya Angelou

   What is your adventure?

5. Is your GPS scrambling your brain? Our over-reliance on technology might be altering our brains in ways we are only beginning to understand.

That is all for this week!

Thank you for reading, and please 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