How we start our days is how we spend our days

And, "how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

love is everywhere

Hi there,

Life is meaning(ful)(less). Either way, what a relief!

Five things to share:

1. I paid attention and realized something yesterday: How I start my days is how I spend my days. The offline world is slower in contrast to the online world. If you’re reading a book, let’s say, you’re just reading a book. If you're on your phone, or laptop, there is a million things you could be doing; check social media, read the news, listen to music, send a text, watch a video— Phew! This means when we start our days online, we are bombarded with high speed digital noise and clutter that set the tone for the rest of the day. The whole day can end up feeling rushed, noisy, and cluttered too. In contrast, when we start the days offline at a slower pace, whether that’s for an hour without checking devices or taking our commute offline, there is a slowness that spills into the rest of the day.

2. I’m slowly getting through a few (good) books at the moment: Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions, In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed, Animal Farm, and thinking of giving audio books a try again with Brave New World. See a pattern? As Austin Kleon put it eloquently, it turns out the end of the world is slow and boring.

3. Announcing at the beginning that his main goal of this talk is for you to go out and smash your smart phone, Nicholas Carr tells the audience exactly What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, and it’s not pretty.

4. A quote I want to share with you:

   How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
   — Annie Dillard

   But you already knew that.

5. Someone wrote kind words about me on the Internet so I must share it with you, but also it’s pretty damn good. Disordered longings and the abyss: Reflecting on "demonizing the tools" and liturgies. Love can be devotion: what are you devoting your time and attention to? After all, we are what we love. For more, check out the archive, and subscribe if you like what you read.

That’s 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