Category: Luddite

Breaking the Technology Ties

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I spend way too much time on my computer. Reading blogs, looking up information, checking email, finding things to do, and other unimportant things. Unfortunately, this is nothing new, since I’ve written about it before.

This idea comes as an extension of the Minimalist Experiment. I’m going to become something of a modern luddite, while simultaneously trying to become more productive. Since I feel that I spend too much time on my computer, the vast majority of it in unimportant, unproductive tasks, it is time to cut out some of my computer time. I have better things to do.

So Here’s the Plan

I’ve got a few things that I want to get done, and a few ideas of how to do them.

    Things to Get Done

  • Write a minimum of one high-quality blog post a week (because I’m doing horribly at keeping any kind of a writing schedule going.)
  • Create a digital resource (ebook) that I can sell.
  • Keep up with my schoolwork and maintain my grades (some of my classes have major online components, so I’ll be using my computer frequently).

    How To Get Them Done
    This could also be called the “Things To Get Rid of List”.

  • Check email only twice a day (instead of keeping gmail open at all times in my browser.)
  • Determine how often I really use Facebook, and if it’s not often enough then delete my Facebook account! If it is useful, then I can at least unfriend all of the people that I don’t talk to.
  • Determine how useful Twitter really is for me, and if it’s not useful, then delete the Twitter account! If it is useful, then at least unfollow the vast majority of the people who I don’t talk to.
  • Ignore my cell phone more. I’m pretty good at this already, but I am still pretty dependent on that gadget that I carry around all day long.
  • Since I don’t have a TV, I don’t struggle with the desire to watch that. I am, however, often tempted to watch some favorite shows online. So I have to ensure that I only watch them once my “to do” tasks are completed.
  • Clean up my computer’s desktop to get rid of the distractions that lurk there.
  • Clean up my actual desktop to get rid of the distractions that lurk there.

    Timeframe
    I’m hesitant to give a definite time restriction in which I want to get these things done. I will be putting them on my todo list each day. This way I will move at least a small step closer each day.

  • Within a week I will have cleaned up my desktop and deleted or pared down my Twitter and Facebook accounts.
  • Within a month I will have written the ebook that I said I would be working on for over a year now.

So there’s my plan. Would anyone like to join me as we take back our time from the technology that is supposed to help us?

Minimizing my Computer

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This post is part of the Minimalist Experiment, in which I am clearing away the clutter so that I can focus on the truly important aspects of my life.

I spend far too much time on the computer. Sometimes I’m being productive: writing blog posts, commenting on other blogs, researching, or doing homework. Often, however, I’m just killing time. I can look back over the day and realize that I’ve spent hours doing nothing productive at all.

I decided to combat this in three different ways.

  1. Organize my computer better
  2. Limit my sessions on the computer
  3. Leave the laptop at home

These three ideas will all help me to spend less time on the computer, time that I can spend on worthwhile parts of my life. I will be able to work on my reading list, spend more time with my wife, and complete some of the projects on my todo list.

Organize my computer better

I’ve talked about this before, but apparently I needed to do it again. I found a new minimalist background to help unclutter my desktop. I discovered that I had let far too many icons creep back onto my desktop, so I created a folder called “desktop clutter” and moved everything into it. Now there are only two icons visibile, the Recycle Bin and the Desktop Clutter. It’s such a relief to have a nice, calm image with only a few distractions!

Limit my sessions on the computer

Part of the reason I spend so much time on the computer is because I check it randomly throughout the day. I sit down “just to check my email,” get distracted, and before I know it I’ve lost an hour. To help stop that, I’m only going to get online three times a day. Once in the morning, once in the evening, and a random time during the day. this should be more than often enough to do email, read all of the feeds in my RSS reader, and check the online comics that I read. Ideally, I want to knock off one of these sessions, so that I only get online twice a day. We’ll see how this week goes, and go from there.

Leave the laptop at home

I don’t like lugging the laptop around all the time. That sucker gets heavy! I started out the school year with it at home, and then started carrying it for one of my classes. Realistically, I don’t need it. Today it’s sitting at home, where it belongs. I am writing this on one of the computers in the school’s library. All of the files that I might need are saved on my thumbdrive.
Without the laptop, my backpack weighs half as much. I am able to carry a smaller bag, so it’s more maneuverable. I’m more likely to pull out my book or sketchpad and do something productive with my time.

This is an area where I will have a hard time. I know that it will be worth it, however, so I’m going to make it work. More time that I can spend with my wife is well worth any inconvenience!

Want vs. Need

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Saw this photo the other day and thought it summed up why I have the “freebie” phone that came with my plan quite nicely.

Sure, I love the idea of having an iPhone (or BlackBerry, or whatever you prefer). But it’s not worth it to me to spend the money on it, much less on the monthly data plan. My phone does everything that I need, and a whole lot more. Other than wanting a new toy, I have no need of a fancier phone. Leo wrote about letting go of desires just the other day. This desire would replace something I already have, so it might not derail the Minimalist Experiment. But it’s also not something that I need, so the money can be spent in a better fashion.

One of these days, I’ll have a touch-screen phone with all the bells and whistles. Until then, my phone works just fine.