You've heard it before: people complaining about not having time because it's being wasted on the computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone. These modern conveniences of communication were supposed to afford us more time to live life while making working more efficient. From the looks of the social medial explosion around us there seems to be less time in a day than more. But is it really "free time" if we are still virtually connected and participating in that connection at any given moment? The fact that you are reading this blog can offer proof of that. So I wonder: have social media streams replaced real life streams of consciousness?
Though business today may be moving toward a four-day workweek, I feel as if I am still waiting for the seven-day workweek to end! I am communicating on one sort of screen or another with more to remember and think about. In essence, most of the people I view in my travels are also communicating more with the web than the flesh and blood people in front of them. They'd rather take a photo of a tree they think might entertain someone, than to take the time to sit by that tree and take in nature with all of the senses. So many people seem to be missing the enjoyment of the moments of actual living.
Computers afford us a lot, and social media has its pluses and minuses, but what the Internet can't truly replicate is the spirit when all our senses are engaged and we are participating in life outside the screen.
That's what's missing. That's why there's less time for living.
Here's how to use social media and create a balance so that you enjoy the moments of living more fully.
1. Start your day in a non-computer way by choosing a walk, meditation, handwriting in a journal or exercise. The point is to not start your day in front of a screen.
2. Take three breaks a day and refrain from checking email or social media and focus on an activity or something that has actual social contact.
3. Take photos of your activity but don't share those moments until a special time that you have set aside just for posting.
4. Most importantly: carve out time just for social media and the answering of email.
The above suggestions are merely guideposts for you to use to formulate a routine that encourages non-computer activity so you can balance your computer life with the activity you enjoy on the web.
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