Well, it’s official. I’ve unplugged. I’m offline. Checked out. Whatever you want to call it. I’ve dropped wifi at home, gone cell-free, and recently installed a corded phone, much to the delight and wonder of my boys. I now live back in 1991. And guess what? I. Love. It.
Why on earth might I be posting about this on Project
Mayhem? Because it’s done wonders for my
writing and reading life, among other things.
I read nine books last month, y’all.
Eight in January. I don’t think
I’ve read that regularly since middle-grade days when I was working toward the library’s
summer-reading prizes. I’m hitting
writing goals on my new project with ease, and I’m much less constrained by all
the external (though well-loved) voices of readers, reviewers, other writers,
blogs, articles, op-ed pieces, forum posts…you get the idea. Creative work is less stressful and rushed,
and when I sit down to write, I no longer battle the siren’s call of Twitter
and that latest Goodreads scandal.
I don’t have to tell you that there are so many voices daily
competing for our attention– on both sides of the laptop screen. I realized that I needed to do something
different after I was glued to my computer in the weeks leading up to my debut
release. My rising stress level
corresponded with my newfound ability to obsess online about my book: how it
was doing, how readers were responding, and could I do more? Fill in the blank with other components of my
life that were becoming inextricably dependent on being online (parenting
blogs, driving directions, recipe ideas, the inevitable Web-MD), and the
internet was becoming very much the invasive all-present stream of chatter so
well-described in M.T. Anderson’s YA novel, FEED.
Around that time I also read an interesting article suggesting that we
have little idea of the mental health implications of constant
connectivity. I realized that I’d only
had internet in my home for about seven years (as opposed to the quarter-of-a-century
that came before), but, even so, I couldn’t imagine life without it.
I don’t want to go all extreme on you. Many elements of being online are great. The instant access to a wealth of
information. The constant connectivity that
makes the life of a writer (and stay-at-home-parent!) seem much less
lonely. Meeting so many fascinating
people who share my interests. You fill
in the blank. There are so many good
things. I love the internet. That was my problem. One of my 2013 New Year’s Resolutions was to
unplug, and I first started with axing wifi at home. But having cell-only internet access just
ended with my spending more time grumbling at the poor Facebook mobile options
and rubbing my neck, which was now permanently cramped from being hunched over
my cell. For me, it was all or nothing,
and I now am living in Luddite paradise.
Think you might want to join me back in the early ‘90s? Some things I’ve learned along the way for
being unplugged and yet still realistically engaging the world as we know it:
Figure out the absolute essentials you need to do online and
schedule time for them. For me, that
means Monday-Friday, I set aside about half-an-hour to read e-mail and respond
to time-sensitive requests. I also use
this time to scan my twitter lists and facebook updates, which I’ve sorted into
a manageable circle of close friends. I
winnowed my blog reading down to two or three (of course, Project Mayhem is
one!) that I read weekly. I block off a
couple of hours on Saturdays to catch up on anything else that I can’t fit into
my internet-speed sessions (like scheduling this blog post). I am lucky enough to have free wifi less than
a mile away (yes, that’s me, checking e-mail in my car in the grocery store
parking lot), and a public library very close to my house.
Consider other ways to remain connected. I subscribe to the daily paper (I love the
ritual of shuffling out in PJs to get it every morning), schedule weekly phone
calls with good friends (which has been wonderful for some relationships that
were stagnating with quick e-mail updates), write letters (gasp!) and actually
use the yellow pages (ha!). I have been
astonished at the space I now have in my evenings, which is great for my family
and friends, and I’m now actually doing a lot of the projects I was before only
pinning.
Let other people know you might be online less. I make it a goal to respond to important business-related
e-mails within 24 hours, but I told other friends that if they needed me
urgently, they should call. Not being
constantly available has been magical.
So has the freedom that comes with the realization that there’s a lot I
don’t actually need to keep up with that before I felt compelled to read,
respond to, or follow.
Enjoy the quiet. Sit
outside more. Multitask less. Eat without a screen in front of you. Respond to the need in front of you rather
than the perceived virtual need. Go for
a walk without an electronic device. Breathe.
Unplugging may not be for everyone, but it’s important to consider
it as a viable option. Challenge
yourself with a day or a week offline.
See what you think. And in one of
your quick speed-internet sessions at the library, come back here and tell me
how it went. I’ll respond in a week or
two. ;)
What say you, Mayhemers? Have you ever unplugged? Do you feel constrained or liberated by
constant online access? How does being
online affect your creativity? Your life
as a reader?
