27 April 2012

Simple Living Tip: Spend Less TIme Online

This post is written by contributing author Anabel Bouza.

So much of our lives take place online! Mine definitely does and personally, I enjoy it. After all, a well connected desktop is nothing short of a magical portal open to the world.  This is pretty tantalizing; the addictive clicking, flash reading, and networking - and the fact that everybody else is doing it - keep us charmed, making it hard to justify staying away. 

Illustration by Anabel Bouza

I recently went without Internet for a few weeks. Sure, I was looking forward to some good old web silence (usually it means a lot gets done!), yet this break turned out to be more productive and nourishing than I had anticipated. It was liberating. I came out with a sense of renewed self-awareness, and a clearer mind.

However, this didn't come without having to identify some very real withdrawal symptoms first. 

You know the feeling: the old scattered brain keeps suggesting that you look up random bits of capricious, pointless information; it sends you down random rabbit holes until you no longer remember what you were looking for to begin with. The result? All focus, shattered. The day's creative energy, eroded. 

I was a little surprised to discover that my routine of checking multiple inboxes & message boards, darting from one regular site to the next, and unnecessarily repeating the procedure shortly after, had actually become a well-learned physical pattern, almost like a dance. 

Illustration by Anabel Bouza

Without the online clatter (of which we're aware, even when not participating) my inner dialogue was able to better travel across the Alps of my brain. Once I made peace with not being able to traipse in-and-out of the web at my heart's compulsion, I was effectively forced to see my own threads of thought to their end.  

From now on, as an experiment, I've decided to cut down all online access to only three days a week. It will hurt a little, at first, but I'm very curious to see what this shift will yield.

Much has been said about the possibility that spending excessive time online may, in fact, be altering our brains' chemistry —rewiring us. We're the first generation to sustain social lives online as well as in the real world. In a way, we're pioneers of a much unexplored frontier, with its own rules, dangers. 

Think about it... it's pretty exhilarating!

The long-term effects of this reckless "pioneering" of ours are not fully understood, so the answer to questions like "How much is too much?" will differ from one person to the next. 

The noble task of exploring these limits belongs to us, individually.


Anabel Bouza insists there's powerful magic in the action of creating something out of a vague vision, a chill of inspiration. She is an illustrator with a passion for nature, paper manipulation, and pointing her camera at things.

Her appreciation for simplicity dates back to a former life in Cuba - her strange homeland - where she refined the ability to see the alternative uses of common objects, and the enchanting side of things. She's often found blogging as
Weird Amiga, hard at work in her sunny studio, or staring at things as if looking at them for the first time. Her tiny family is comprised of her husband & a turtle; they're new to the city of Chicago, and they love it. Connect to Anabel via facebook and twitter.



21 comments:

  1. great post!
    I'm an ex internet addict. I'm not addicted anymore, on the contrary actually - I had too much and now I only want to spend as little time on computer as possible. this is one of the reasons why I'm in a serious blogging crisis: I can't bring myself to sit in front of the laptop for a longer time!
    it's also transforming my friendships. friends are constantly asking me if I'm alright cause I'm not nonstop on the chat anymore.

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    1. Isn't it amazing how the foundation of relationships/friendships has changed? For example, I meet many people to whom if you're not their Facebook friend, you're not friend at all. This leaves me with just a few friendship alternatives because I don't actually believe in Facebook as a platform for friendships.

      Anabel is very right when she says that we are the first generation to sustain social lives online as well as in the real world. There is much work to be done exploring this promised land...

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    2. Even blogging can become a drag once you've reached that point of aversion! I've been there myself a few times.
      The smart rationing of the time we spend online is bound to yield more enjoyable moments in front of the computer: quality time.

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    3. yes, there is much work to be done. I'm still struggling with rationing of the time myself - I just can't figure it out. but we can only learn trough trial and error. :)

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  2. Online addiction is definitely a factor in my life. I have cut down the groups I belong to, but still find myself doing the loop dance. I want to spend my time doing more productive things, and have been slowly weaning myself from pointless computer wanderings. Thanks for the post.

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    1. Thank you for commenting, FabricFascination. If I may share my experience, I would say that 2 years ago I decided I don't want to waste my time playing games or other pointless activities online. I suddenly thought that while other people use the time to learn and grow I am only staying in one place, which I hated. The result? Learning to knit, selling what I knit, starting this blog and having the possibility to interact with so many people! It is just a matter of decision!

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    2. Sonya, I can't imagine you playing games online! :D but I've been there too. if you ask me now, I could never go back to that kind of life. it's just too boring and I feel much better about myself now.

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    3. Ah Maša, it is the desire to get to the end of the game with all my 3 lives intact that I am now employing in blogging... But you are right, it is plain boring and a real waste of time.

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  3. Great post! Every time a new way to " connect" online comes out, I cringe!
    with facebook, blogging, email, pinterest, twitter, google circles, what am I forgetting?
    I am however a devoted blogger, I love it! I love the social networking and the sharing of ideas with like-minded people...Its' been a new creative pathway for me which has helped me grow in many ways! But, that is where I draw the line. I do have a personal facebook, pinterest and a facebook for my blog... Most of my online time is spent on my blog, writing for MaryJanesFarm, Kanelstrand, a few weekly updates to my facebook and email. I try to spend less than three hours a day online... whether it be in one sitting or spread out... I tend to get a lot more done this way. Great food for thought! Thank you!

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    1. Yes, Debbie, that is just the way I feel too! There is nothing so inspiring and motivating than connecting to like-minded people through blogging. I wish I could limit myself to three hours though...

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    2. Well, today I'm over three for sure! LOL!
      But it was a writing day too...have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for all the wonderful content on your blog!
      Deb

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  4. Hi Sonya, This is very timely, as I just decided this week to spend less time online. Yes, I do have to get online daily to run my shop, but I am cutting down on the nonstop browsing, facebooking, and checking of emails. Warm weather is here and I want to spend more time outside enjoying nature and the real world.
    Hugs,
    Laura

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  5. I gave up TV for Lent and that was interesting, I wasn't bothered at first but by the last couple of weeks I missed lying on the sofa with Steve at the end of the day to watch a film. Since I started watching it again I watch a lot less and pretty much record things I would normally watch so I can skip adverts/ parts that don't interest me. I haven't tried cutting out the net but I might try to reduce it to a few days a week.Rx

    http://sandersonsmithstory.blogspot.co.uk/

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  6. Fantastic illustrations, Anabel! And a great post too. I catch myself sometimes stuck in a loop of checking the same sites over and over, going round and round for hours until hunger or something else stops me. I'm thinking of setting a timer and shutting down the computer when it goes off no matter what I'm in the middle of. Otherwise, you can be chasing rabbits all night! Also, Sonya, I'm not on facebook either. Once I told a twitter pal that, and they responded with a gasp and, "Do you even exist?" Hahaha. Funny, but also very telling, I think. :)

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    1. It's such a little ritual, isn't!? Scarily compulsive.
      I tried rationing my time with timers, then realized I only feel really invigorated after being offline for at least a full day.
      I'm considering disconnecting my modem during those days to make it even more of a "task" to go online, less of an option.

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    2. Oh, the timer! I've employed a timer for a few months. While it definitely shows when I should at least get up and walk a little, I just snooze it and promise to get up a bit later... to no effect.

      One step I am determined to take as of today is to find a program that will automatically turn my computer off at 12:00 pm, so I can at least go to bed at "normal hours".

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  7. Great post - I really see the benefits of taking internet/technology 'fasts'. The rest of the world can make it so difficult though - I am currently on the job hunt, and I have to keep rechecking my email to see if places have responded (well... I guess I could just check it in the morning and at night... I am a little anxious). Good things to think about! Question: that first image with the girl cutting her hair is so amazing! Is that the whole image or is there more to it?

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    1. Sarah, I totally understand you anxiousness and cannot see myself patiently waiting for morning or evening to check the email when I know I am expecting any kind of news. But indeed, in the ordinary situation we can use a bit more sunshine and dirt under those shoes, just to get the blood going and the vitamin D producing :)

      That illustration is gorgeous, isn't it? I raved today for the 100th time about how cleverly it is connected to the content of the article. Did you notice how the beautiful side of the girl's hair is flourishing and is bursting with fresh nature signs while the other one, that she is trying to trim is entangled. Anabel is a genius!

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    2. Good luck with your job hunt, Sarah! :)
      An internet "fast" here and then feels great... I'm not completely divorced from the internet myself. Instead, I've decided to structure my time online around my existing posting schedule (3 times a week, for me). If I didn't have that clear outline, I would have to burden myself with planning my internet sessions based on more arbitrary events...

      I do feel that turning your back on the internet is almost criminal; it goes against long years of technological development that made such tool (toy, to some) possible. It is pretty incredible, after all!

      To answer your question: the image is shown in its entirety. I enjoyed coming up with it and rendered with particular love —so glad you guys like it!

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  8. I take breaks every now and then. Usually not for quite as long and I do check email so I can send out files that people ordered but I usually keep it at that. It is nice to do that once in a while.

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  9. Fabulous post Anabel! I absolutely love your illustrations!

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