This morning I realized I spend most of my time looking at screens. When I'm not looking at my computer, I'm probably checking my phone. When I'm not checking my phone, I could be watching TV. I feel like it's gotten worse since working from home, and with the lockdown. When I'm not looking at my phone for a few minutes I get anxious. It surely doesn't help having a single phone for personal and work-related use. When I'm not receiving emails, I get slack notifications. I could turn it all off, but I would just open each application to check if everything is "okay".
So here's my idea. Tomorrow, I won't be looking at either my phone or my computer. Well, mostly. I'm allowed to check my phone 3 times the whole day, just to make sure nothing urgent came up:
Once in the morning
Once in the afternoon
Once in the evening
And by "checking", it means I can only look at the lockscreen. If anything urgent requires my immidiate attention, then I'll stop the experiment and address it. Otherwise... well, I'll have to find other ways to spend the time. :)
Why am I doing this? I think I owe my brain and eyes some rest. I'm legitimately curious to know if I will be able to enjoy it and not be bored to death. A single day without phone or computer will likely not have crazy effect on me, but maybe it will make me have other ideas, or maybe it will allow me to discover something different. Maybe it will just be bad, but I would at least have a fun story to tell. I might even decide to write about it using good old pen and paper. And with that said, time for me to shut down the computer, and start the experiment!
I have this problem as well, especially the looming anxiety when trying to fall asleep in the evening. I know it’s healthy to get off these screens, and the constant information flow is making me feel erratic and scatterbrained. The issue is I have no idea what to do when not on a computer. I don’t have any non computer related hobbies. Can’t be at the pub all day, after all.
@quilliam The only way out is through, in my experience. But it depends on each persons anxiety level, and our unique capacity to tolerate it for a time. Meaning, the only way I know of to reach the destination you want to visit is to go there even though we don’t feel ready.
It means inevitable anxiety for a period of time while our (nervous?) system makes sense of the new reality.
I say this because I’ve lost time waiting for a “way” or an answer. In the end, just doing it was the way. Good luck. I hope this reads as supportive rather than judgemental or condescending. I’ve no idea what’s right for anybody else.
Ah, I've felt similar things. Meditation helps you snap out of the autopilot that the screens seem to induce.
I like to inhale and recite (with the voice in my head) "Full focus..." exhale... "breath 1"... and count. Then keep counting. By the time you get to 100, you'll be in a different place. It's difficult to keep mindlessly staring at screens when you are forced back into your body like this.
Let us know how you get on. I'm taking steps as well, as its clear these habits and devices can become part of our nervous systems in an externalised way.
I wear a watch so I check my phone less and I'm going to start reading and growing herbs.
This is why I'm finally getting a couple of old mechanical typewriters restored. I want to be able to write without looking at a screen.
This is great. I'm a DVORAK typist so I probably won't find a suitable one for myself. But I plan to get an e-ink monitor like the new Dasung in the future.
Nice. I'm starting to think I'd like to make my study a no-computer zone. Just my typewriter and a little stereo so I can rock out while writing. I wouldn't even bring my phone upstairs.