What? And Give All This Up?

todaysdesk

I discovered a great blog today through this awesome post: Input Deprivation Week: Forcing Action by Killing Information Addictions

Because he says he’s addicted to information, Kyle is issuing the following challenge.

I’m challenging myself and you to do an information reset. Below are the rules:
For one week:

No reading books.
No reading blogs.
No reading newspapers.
No going on Facebook (even just to post).
No watching TV (shows, sports, news, anything).
No watching movies.
No listening to talk radio.
No going on Reddit.
No going on Twitter.
No information input – only output!

I get the dangers of distraction. Even as I’m writing this, I have seven tabs open in Google Chrome, my wife and son are on their laptops, the dog is nearby, I smell dinner cooking, I’m playing piano and guitar hymns on Spotify, my Daytimer is open (yes, I’m ancient that way), I have a “to do” list that only includes the stuff I want to do today, not what has to get done.

And I haven’t even mentioned the stuff I want to read. I missed a review deadline yesterday because I haven’t finished the book.

I get the concept of distractions.

But with clients who expect me to actually produce work and the fact that I curently write for an additional 4-5 websites, some that pay more than others.

I just can’t completely disconnect.

Can I do better? Can I set a schedule to check email instead of watching Gmail tick off how many unopened missives there are in my inbox? Can I cut down on the times I check email? Yes.

Will I? That remains to be seen.

I know that for Lent, a lot of people give up things like Facebook or games, or television. But I’m not sure that’s really sacrifice and fasting.

I’ll admit, I need the connectivity.

So, instead of unplugging, I need to do a better job of managing my time and identifying priorities.

Here’s some irony. Part of the meeting I was in this past week was a train the trainer session on how to do a session on time management.

Oh, and while Kyle is challenging us to unplug…I just subscribed to the blog.

1 comment

    • Kyle on February 23, 2013 at 10:37 pm

    Hey Michael! Thanks for the blog-love! Your 365 beliefs are awesome.You’ve got so much going on I’m honored to have caught your eye at all. It’s all about pushing the limits. I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to go with this little input, but it’s taught me an amazing amount about how I use different types of media at different times in different moods.

    Awesome to see Wally over here, too! It’s weird how small the world can get – even on the Internet!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.