I couldn’t help myself. Make Your Creative Dreams Real was eyeing me from the passenger seat. Freshly freed from the bookshelf at the thrift store, it was pleading for my attention. The colourful drawings with its promise of teaching me how to finally make my creative dreams come true were irresistible. The author had plans for “procrastinators, perfectionists, busy people, and people who would really rather sleep all day.” I should have known better. Besides action— doing— everything else is mastrubatory: I learned that from the last psychiatrist, but I never learn. So. Slightly bored and stuck in traffic, I gave in.
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The Apple Watch: Underestimated Tech for Digital Minimalists?
This is a guest post by Matt Jennings from matjen.com.
Over the last few months, I have been testing the Apple Watch as a tool for decreasing my reliance on my iPhone, and so far, it’s been a great success.
You see, as someone who tries to be mindful of my technology use, I’m always tinkering with ways to reduce my usage, without forgoing it entirely.
The problem is not the technology itself, but our use of it.
Our phones are designed in a way that is so addictive that we get sucked into the rabbit hole of social media, shiny apps, and endless web surfing.
By replacing my iPhone primarily with an Apple Watch (or, if not in the Apple eco system- one of these equally useful smartwatches.), I get the most essential functionalities of a smartphone, without the distraction.
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Autoplay: Are you still watching?
We are watching The Office at friends’ house. Once the episode ends, there is a prompt on the screen asking if we want to watch the next episode. If you have been on Netflix or any other streaming platforms, you know these prompts usually pop up after you’ve been watching for a few hours or more. It’s mostly to help save Netflix’s bandwidth. So, why is Netflix already asking if we want to watch another episode? They have autoplay turned off: a simple, yet effective way to resist the attention economy. All media streaming platforms are designed for binge-consumption. The default option is to keep watching, listening, consuming more and more content. Autoplay is one of Silicon Valley’s dirty tricks to keep us hooked on content by default.
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How long is four minutes really?
French press is the superior coffee brewing method: Boil water, add ground coffee to French press, pour water, and a few minutes later you will have delicious liquid caffeine to jolt you into sweet-sweet reality. I let my coffee brew for four minutes. I used to fill that time with scrolling. What can you really do in four minutes anyway? Scroll. Kill time. It’s only four minutes anyway. But you can’t scroll when your phone is a dumb smartphone. Out of desperation, I arrive at a valuable lesson. The best lessons are arrived at. I look at the dishwasher that needs to be emptied. I don’t think there is enough time to empty a full dishwasher while my coffee brews. It only takes four minutes. Not enough time to put the dishes away. Not enough time to reload the dishwasher. Not enough time to put recyclables outside. Not. Enough. Time.
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A day without the internet
It’s a Friday afternoon, and after a very long week I want to completely unwind for the weekend. I consider my options. Go out to eat, grab drinks at a bar, even go for a walk if the weather permits; the usual and all good options but I want something more. Maybe less. I realize it’s been a very long time since I have spent a whole day away from my devices and the internet. I quickly go over a mental checklist of what I have got planned for the weekend. Sunday might not work, I’ve got a virtual podcast meeting, but I can do a device-free Saturday. I don’t commit to the idea just yet but it sounds nice to be able to break up with the internet for a full day; to get away. By the time I regain half-consciousness Saturday morning, I know I’m going to spend the day unplugged. It feels so right. My alarm goes off shortly after and I turn off my phone, turn off my iPad, close my laptop, grab my work laptop bag, and I put it all in a box. I tape it shut. I feel relieved.
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Willpower is for losers
A prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
I know better, but I can’t help myself. I sleep better when I put my phone to bed before I put myself to bed. I sleep even better when I read a book before bed. Yet, every night, I somehow find my phone in hand as I get in bed, and glance at the book I have been meaning to read. I tell myself, tomorrow, I will surely have the willpower to choose the book instead. Tomorrow never comes. Bad habits win over good intentions. Bluebeard’s Egg remains unread, and it’s due at the library in three days. I lose. Willpower is for losers.
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In praise of slow media
Spotify has all the music you’ll ever need.
Apple gives you on-demand, unlimited access to millions of tracks. Netflix provides unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. You can get endless entertainment, live sports, and the shows and movies you love on Hulu. Anywhere. Anytime. We are drunk on endless, non-stop, fast-speed entertainment. I once heard a joke: Before streaming services, it took people ten years to watch Friends. I laughed. It also made me feel kind of sad. I watched Friends in less than a year— more like six months— often watching multiple episodes a day. Binge watching is the norm now. But is entertainment more enjoyable when it requires prolonged anticipation and patience before one can consume it? When it is slow? Slow Media is not about fast consumption but about choosing the ingredients mindfully and preparing them in a concentrated manner. Slow Media can only be consumed with pleasure in focused alertness. Although the good old days of slow media are long gone, I have been self-imposing slow media in my life throughout the years. I put limitations on what media is available to me through alternative options.
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Kill your phone
The smartphone is one of the greatest inventions of our time.
It provides 24/7/365 access to the internet, allowing you to connect with people from all across the globe, get directions to any place, and access vast entertainment options, all the while fitting in the palm of your hand. Unfortunately, the smartphone can also be a bottomless, endless, inexhaustible distraction tool. Technology, the fuel that keeps the attention economy going, is addictive by design. In such economy, our attention is the highest form of currency. And what better way to harvest our attention than to keep us addicted to our screens? In-app advertising alone cash in about $200 billion. If you can get people to check their phone 58 times daily, well, that’s mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money. Good news: It is still possible to fight against the attention economy.
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I will grow up next time
Three weeks ago, I wanted to grow up. A while back, I turned my iPhone into a dumb phon: I had no access to internet browsing or to download apps. I have been using this method over the years to wean myself off of smartphone addiction. It works: Out of sight, out of mind. It feels better too. But a few weeks ago, I thought it was time to grow up and get my smart iPhone back. Everyone else is doing just fine with a fully functioning smartphone, so why not me? Just put the phone down, right? Wrong.
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What do you do instead?
You live.
Saturday. It’s 1 in the morning, cold with light snow covering the ground. We have just returned from a super fun party a bit early, and I’m sober. We bundle up to go for a walk. No, we’re not crazy: I live for challenges, and I need to go on this walk. We walk downtown. As we’re crossing an intersection— cars approaching in the far distance— he turns to me and asks if I want to lie down in the middle of the road. I do, so we do. It’s quiet. Peaceful. I feel the vibration of the cars approaching in the far distance. A very new feeling. We get up a few seconds later. We keep walking.
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time spent offline 