Posted
by Joel Mathis
October 22, 2007 at 4:46 p.m.
Silent Sunday
Remember the old "Calgon, take me away!" commercials? Usually, they'd depict some harried mother beset by crying children, a miscooked meal and other domestic problems all converging to drive her a little nuts. (Unseen, the husband, who was probably chilling out in his easy chair during this time.)Sometimes, the Internet makes me feel like that.Don't get me wrong: I love the Internet, and these days it's the reason I have a job. I love being able to see the New York Times, Washington Post and L.A. Times every day, I love being able to listen to Seattle radio, and I love how the information online makes it a lot easier to do certain reporting chores.But it's also really easy to piddle.I find that somewhere in the midst of scanning 600 or more headlines from my RSS feed every day, checking ESPN.com, checking my e-mail, looking at Facebook ... well, it becomes a self-perpetuating thing that never ends, and which ends killing my attention span in the process. And sometimes I need it to end.So Sunday I left the computer at the office. And while I was imperfect -- I ended up doing some doodads on my wife's computer at home -- it wasn't until late in the day. I spent the rest of the day taking a stroll, listening to music and reading. It was slower, there was nothing multitaskey about it, and I loved it.And when I returned to my computer in earnest this morning, everything I'd skipped for a day was still waiting for me. But I think my mind was a little better prepared to take it on.
Comments
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chewyfally (Falestine Afani Ruzik) says…
Lately, I've been so busy at work, that when I come home, I do the same thing. The only electronic thing I touch is maybe a video game. And if I'm lucky enough to leave everything alone all night, it's all waiting for me in the morning, just like you described.
manofleisure (anonymous) says…
Joel,
I can't help but chuckle at the very meta-irony of the entire post - a blog about unplugging.
Best,
MOL
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Don't think I hadn't already thought that, MOL.
It's about finding balance, though -- not embracing Luddism and unplugging entirely, but recognizing that both types of living can have something for us.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
I take every weekend off. My husband and kids are home, so the internet is the last thing on my mind.
BUT, twice I have taken an entire week off, once for the reasons you stated and once because the entire world seemed to be falling apart (I learned, via the internet, of two different friends going through divorces, another friend in a long term relationship breaking -up, read a news story about a rape victim who was unjustifiably arrested, and was told about a Fred Phelps-ish music video all in one day) and I just needed to focus on the part of the planet I can actually have some impact on.
DOTDOT (anonymous) says…
What.
CafeSiren (anonymous) says…
I spend too much time on the internets -- some work, some piddling. Somehow, I always end up looking up to the clock on my computer, only to realize it's after midnight, and 5 hours have blown by. Yes, that's right: I said five hours. And that's pretty routine for me.
But, to alleviate this, I suggest a quick peek at the "Hipster PDA": http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/i...