I just finished the Digital Minimalism audiobook on the way into work this morning (I'm listening to audiobooks much more than I'm reading these days), and really liked one of the final sentences. The author, Cal Newport, said that with technology overtaking most of our lives, the ultimate goal should be for you to say confidently, "because of technology, I'm a better human being than I ever was before."
That's a strong statement! Especially given the massive amounts of time I and many others spend surfing the web, streaming pointless Youtube videos, and scrolling through social media (Cal said that the average Facebook user spends 50 minutes a day on social media sites). Does this make me a better human being? Not likely!
The book references a lot of different ideas for more effectively using technology, from removing social media apps from our phones to becoming incredibly disciplined and intentional about the way we use technology to even going on a 30-day technology purge to help you understand why exactly you need it at all (I feel the shakes coming on already).
As a writer, I have tried to move a bit more towards pen and paper, constantly bringing a small notebook with me wherever I go. But the notebook is pretty much blank as I still find myself gravitating towards typing my stories in Google Docs or a Gmail note, both of which I can access on either my phone or computer, allowing me to continue on with a story or blog post wherever I am.
But can't I also do that with a notebook, as long as I remember to bring that with me? Maybe I'm just making excuses to avoid pulling myself away from the all-too-alluring glow of my computer and phone screens.
If I'm not willing to move over to a notebook just yet, maybe I can take Cal's advice and be more disciplined while I'm writing by turning off wifi so that I'm not tempted to spend my entire “creativity time” reading some BS article about why the Phillies have no realistic shot at making the playoffs (I disagree!). And then if I'm at a place where I need to research something, save the story so I can access it elsewhere, or am finally ready to share the story with the world, I can go ahead and turn that wifi back on. And then I might just be able to say that because of technology, I'm a better human being than I ever was before. Maybe…