Unwiring from the plugged-in life

Summers are a great time to relax, enjoy the good weather, and take on projects that we didn’t find time for during the busier parts of the year. One project that I’ve been working on this summer is to gradually unwire myself from my plugged-in life. Now we’re into August, and looking back over the past couple of months, this experiment in unwired living has been a success.

Part of unwiring – but not the only part – has been to spend less time online. This is a difficult one. As a web developer, I necessarily spend a lot of time online. So that time when I have my web developer hat on, I have less control over, but my personal time I do have control of. So that means using the Internet less for personal reasons.

The other parts of unwiring are a combination of using less technology and lifestyle simplification. A big one for me was that I took out an ad in the newspaper and sold my television. I didn’t watch much TV to begin with, but getting rid of it has been a great step. It refocused the orientation of my living room on music and entertaining. I’m also fully back into the wonderful world of two-channel audio, with the key part of that being my turntable.

No more TV & less internet means a couple of things for me. One is that less time sitting on a couch or in a chair is more time spent walking and enjoying nature. Also, I have been doing a lot more reading this summer. I’m an avid reader to begin with, and I’ve never liked how being online and watching television cut into my reading time. So more time for being active and for reading is a positive side effect of these changes I’ve made.

I’ve made other changes – such as getting rid of gadgets and things that I don’t really need. I live a pretty simple lifestyle, but I’m most intellectually focused and at my best on the ascetic end of the spectrum.

It is better to be without, in my view, than to have too much.