Have you had a break from technology?

This post is a bi-product of what I like to call a Technology Sabbatical. We are familiar with Sabbaticals, and if we aren’t it basically means you are taking some time apart from whatever you decide.

Wikipedia explains it as a day of rest and worship. While I wasn’t worshipping anything, I was resting from the constant use of technology.

Why would I take a sabbatical from technology when life is suppose to be so much easier with it?

I wrote this post with pen and paper, it is an unusual occurrence and will take x2 as long to write since I will need to transcribe everything onto a ‘word’ document so I can share my experience with you.

What is technology? My definition: anything that needs power to operate. The oxford dictionary: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes especially in an industry; Machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge.

Machines:

Internet, phone, T.V., kindle, Ipod (audiobooks), car, electric toothbrush, Air conditioner, microwave, toaster, let’s sum it up, kitchen appliances, lights, emails, elevator etc.

We have become so dependent on technology, separating from technology becomes a real challenge especially if you aren’t prepared to do so. Imagine an electrical wave hits the city and our electrical grid goes down and everything that’s is battery powered becomes useless. How would we live?

We are innovative beings by nature, we have survived for millions of years according to scientists that have gathered data from fossil forms. Professors Trevors and Saier have concluded in their academic article that we are now in an era of a technological civilization.

We use technology to improve our lives although that same technology has limitations and can create new destructive problems to our environment such as pollution.

Today I am using a lot more sticky notes for things to do when the Sabbath is over. How unsettling is this? Am I making my life more complicated/busy with the use of technology when it is suppose to be doing the opposite? More things to do?

Creating a mere to do list or work related business I suppose is something to take into consideration here and we wont get into it in this post.

We take a break from technology when we go camping in the woods away from any reception area, so not your typical camp grounds that probably have free Wi-Fi. The true test is when you are surrounded by technology and it is right there by the palm of your hand to avoid using it all together, when the beeps, tweets and rings go off.

Resistance.

Does it make me feel good resisting? At the moment when the beeps go of, no. In the back of my mind I keep thinking what if it is someone important? Or something that cannot wait? The good news is the novelty wears off. You forget about your notifications as soon as you are focused on a task.

The Attention Economy.

We hear this all the time. Do we understand what attention economy is? Mark Manson, Gary Vaynerchuck and many others who are great at keeping our attention explain it well, “we are living in times where we have so much information and our attention is becoming far more scarce than any other resource in the developed world.”

“When you earn someone’s attention and keep it, you have won.”

My beliefs and the way to get creative about them:

“No internet, surfing or finding new material.”- no distractions, reinvent the material you already possess.

“No emails, phone, communication or engagement.”-They can wait. Technology serves me, I am not a servant to technology. If it was dire they can reach out to me through other means, by getting creative.

“No T.V., Kindle, Ipod, learning anything new.”- Time to review what I have already learned. This is a part of my routine, only I get to spend more time to do so today. Review is important because retaining things that are important and useful without repetition becomes extremely difficult.

Things you have already learned can bring new insights, upon deliberately reviewing them, you will see things you have missed or have forgotten.

“Am I going to go hungry without a microwave, oven, stove, or fridge?”- I have a confession to make. I used the fridge, I couldn’t resist, and eventually I will need to start turning on lights or I can light candles. However, all the other gadgets I can do without. Sorry no gourmet meals today.

“No car, electric tooth brush, work?”- Living downtown is great because it is very public transit friendly and I get around on my bike everywhere. I used my toothbrush the old fashioned way.

You want to become creative? Eliminate something that you use all the time or do something the opposite of what you normally do, your creativity is bound to kick into high gear to create a solution to your circumstance.

On a side note my next goal is a no talking sabbatical, that should be an interesting one, get the note pad and sharpie ready.

Where would I need to go if I don’t have anyone to communicate with? Not many people love to do the “pop by” which I think will be a topic for another time to understand the why.

“No work?”-Did you catch that in my previous paragraph? There is always work. I am working on organizing, accounting and rereading my client files. There is enough work for me to do for a few weeks without the use of technology.

So how does technology effect society? Is life more complicated with or without technology? First let’s examine the primitive tribes that do not use technology to better understand how society is effected by it.

Living in the Amazon surrounded by individuals who think about the common good of their family. Who are more concerned about the food they will catch and gather than about what their peers might think of their selfie.

They may not be very healthy, since disease is common amongst primitive beings due to the hazardous environment. They may not live long lives since advances in medical technology is not available for them. They are basic and they are living. A sharpened tool can keep a child entertained for weeks if not months.

If you don’t know any better would it really matter?

Of course these are my assumptions and you can choose to believe otherwise.

Living in a developed world, getting accustomed to all the luxury’s in life would you be able to live like this? Not for very long, have you watched the Survival Man? There is no way I could sleep inside a giraffe’s belly or drink my own urine to survive. Could you?

We are doomed.

We have become so dependent on technology that we wouldn’t even know what to do with ourselves if the lights went out and we had to actually interact with each other face to face without having to look something up on google for a couple of days.

Time is on my side.

What I have come to realize is that time moves much slower. How can this be? At this point I think you caught me looking at my digital clock. I do own various mechanical watches that operate with the movement of your hand.

Time moves slow because there are no distractions, especially when everything is silent. No Facebook or text messages to check and respond too. Do you ever find yourself looking at your Facebook feed then an hour later you realize your late to school or an important meeting? While this hasn’t happened to me, I do believe this happens more often than we want to admit to.

One thing that I hate is pushing my beliefs and practices on other’s without them willingly participating/taking a leap. Living with my girlfriend and doing a technology Sabbath is a whole other complicated disruption to my Sabbath.

While I have the board games and paper back books out, I hope that nudge will win her attention, who am I kidding right?

There is a great deal of self reflection going on today.

I think this is what you have been waiting for and so have I, so let me get to the point here. What are the benefits of doing a technology Sabbath?

1. To see if this is possible in our ever demanding society.
2. To see the impact technology has on my life and the people around me.
3. To prepare myself to a time when technology will fail.
4. Regaining my self control from undeniable distractions.
5. Connecting with the person I am closest with as well my two puppies and cat. The paradox here is that I am more connected while being disconnected.
6. Getting creative, finding means without the use of technology.

How we have become so entrenched in technology and for it to get so much more progressed in the future is beyond my comprehension. It is said that technology is exponentially growing every six months. The rate increases even as I am writing this post. People are developing new apps, new computers and new breakthroughs every minute that is ultimately shaping our lives.

Could we not enjoy nature or the company of others without having to chase Pokémon’s?

I have gone without checking emails for 5 days. I have gone 33 days without checking social media. These sound like ridiculous accomplishments. However, when your business is reliant on these things it doesn’t seem ridiculous at all. It is absurd to do so.

Why do I do it? To be in control. We love to be in control. As my friend put it “Incredible change happens in life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.”

Did it change my life doing all these sabbaticals? No. Do I feel more in control of my life? Not really. Did I enjoy doing the sabbaticals? You bet.

This was a test.

You don’t realize how much we are dependent on technology until you go to plug in your air-conditioned or blow dryer. Until you open the fridge or turn on the lights when it’s dark.

Did I pass or fail? I would say for the most part I did good. I could have done better. That is the lesson. We can always do better, never think that this is the best that can be done.

Thank you for reading this unusually long post on this unusual day. To be continued….

Image copyright respectively by wonderfulengineering.com, rudolf-hug-e.blogspot.com, azquotes.com

Hope you enjoyed this post, Read some other ones here Karasingroup.com

Originally published at karasingroup.com on August 3, 2016.