Not the most original of titles, I know. Much web space and many high-word-count articles (not to mention books, magazines, TV shows, and podcasts) has been devoted to the idea of eliminating, or at least decreasing, the influence that technology has over our daily lives. This post is just a short little self-note about my situation.
I already consider myself to be fairly "technology-light," aside from having to be on the computer most of the day for my job. My smartphone use is limited to about 2 hours a day, mostly concentrated between 7:30pm and 9:30pm, as Mrs. and I relax on the couch once the kids are asleep. Other than that, use is limited to any texting/calling that I need to attend to during the day, checking weather. In other words, sporadic, necessary use. TV is limited to a couple hours at night as well.
Still, I feel like I can do better. So lately, instead of scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit each night, I've pulled out my watercolors and paper. I've always loved painting, and last year I had started to make a concerted effort to improve my skills, making decent progress until the pandemic upended everything and snapped me out of new habits just as they were being formed. So now I paint in front of the TV for a hour or so, then go on my phone for 30-45 mins. My next step is to swap out that final bit of phone time and pull out my Kindle to read one of the many books on my to-read list (yes I know, Kindle, technology, but it's still reading).
I'll see how it works out. I'll still need to go on my phone for at least some amount of time each day, if only to catch up on the latest local and national news. I don't watch TV news or read many news websites, so it's really the only way I stay up on current events (I'm still searching for the best way to consume news that doesn't involve sensationalism, bias, selective reporting, etc, but that's a story for another post.
That's all for now. Remember to stay mindful!
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