I took a vacation from the Internet this weekend. I found that a) I receive a tremendous amount of email that builds up after only two days if I'm not there to weed through it, and b) my weekends seem a lot longer when I'm not sitting on the couch with my laptop.
I didn't get to finish a little project I had been working on, but I've found that I really don't care all that much after all.
mat
Heresey! I used to feel trapped by the Internet--by my email and weblog--and was actually worried about falling behind on both when we went overseas. But those six months made me realize that a) the world isn't going to end if I don't answer all my emails within 24 hours b) innurnet time moves much faster than real time. Blink and an hour is gone. Furthermore, those piles of emails that await you when you come back can be instructive in terms of figuring out which mailing lists are a waste of time, what you should prioritize, etc. And when you go through hundreds of emails at once, it's so much faster than going through them all as they come in.
I take a multi-day break (without really meaning to or thinking about it) every week or two now, and I find that it is in those times that I am the most alive.
monday
january, 24 2005
ropadope
I spent the past weekend watching the three younguns and made a concious effort not to let the laptop get in the way, even during "down times". I still had tons of stuff to get done, but ignored it.
Result? A much better weekend than I imagined and one enormous snowman in the back yard.
monday
january, 31 2005