The Need to Unplug

Hello. My name is Robert and I have an addiction. I love technology. Although I don't check Facebook and Twitter as much as someone in my family does (I won't go down alone dear), I do admit that there's a glorious sense of anticipation every time my phone buzzes, telling me that someone somewhere has something really important to say to me via email or text message.

There. I've cleared my conscience. Now what?

I recently heard an interview with Scott Belsky, in which he said that looking at your smartphone has the same effect as cocaine. It relieves anxiety and makes you feel in control. Now I've never tried cocaine, but I have a feeling that whoever came up with that fact is probably right on the money.

Technology has such a grip on our society. We have to acknowledge this before we ever hope to break free. In that same interview Belsky says that we have to ruthlessly pursue windows of non-stimulation. He says that true creativity will only happen when we are able to unplug from technology, because that is the only place where true and deep thinking can occur.

Where this really hits home for me is with my kids. Adam is already addicted to my phone, or more specifically, he's addicted to a game on my phone about ticked off birds. Getting him to go in his room and play is so difficult. His objection: That's boring! One of the solutions that Mandy and I have been talking about is starting a new tradition in our home, where 1 or 2 days of the week are designated tech-free days. That means no Backyardigans, Angry Birds, or Wii, but it also means no Facebook, email, or Modern Family. Instead, we will use our time to play games, take walks, read books, and, in the case of the boys and I, wrestle. This is what the home is supposed to be anyway, right?

I've been reading a book that Mandy got at Mom Congress. It's called Hamlet's Blackberry, by William Powers. In one of the chapters he quotes from Henry David Thoreau's Walden:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived...I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.

I love those words. It's what I want for my family. It's also what I want for me. I'm making some changes when it comes to technology. Here are three things I'm going to begin doing that I know will help me during my hours at work.

1. I am going to designate 3-5 times during the day when I check email. The rest of the time my gmail will not be up. And I'm going to disable the push feature on my iPhone. No more buzzes when I get an email.
2. I'm going to stop checking email right before I go to bed and right after I get up. I've realized that nothing good comes from that.
3. My most productive times are in the morning. For some crazy reason I've been waking up around 5:30 every morning. At first it frustrated me, but now I've realized that it's a good thing. I'm going to begin doing any creative work (reading, writing, thinking) in the mornings, and I am going to begin scheduling meetings and appointments for the afternoon.

I know that some of these changes, whether it's for me or my family, are going to be easier than others (I imagine that Micah is going to throw things when he hears how it affects him). And I know that just as with any addiction, there will be times when I'm weak. But I believe that change is possible. I have a feeling that we are going to one day look back on the decade when instant communication became a reality, and realize that it wasn't the best thing for us.

Some Links

Here are some good articles and blog posts I've read over the last few weeks.

Trade as One founder Nathan George writes about our spending habits here. Great quote: "The gospel calls us to live simply, to give generously and to buy ethically. When the church begins to see the other 98% of its people's incomes as capable of being engaged in the gospel, things get really exciting."

Mark Batterson writes about the importance of job satisfaction for team morale. He writes, "If the job satisfaction number is high (on their annual survey), then just about everything else will take care of itself because the motivation is there. If you love what you do, then you're going to have a 95% better chance of doing it well. If your satisfaction level is low, then your performance will inevitably suffer."

There is a 20-part series going on at The Simple Dollar on David Allen's latest book, Making It All Work. In the 14th entry he deals with the need to determine primary areas of focus. These could deal with work, family, hobbies, spirituality, health, etc. These are the things that are most important to you. At the end of the week, then, you can see how you've spent your time (and I would add money), and you will quickly determine what areas are being neglected and where balance is needed.

Seth Godin on where ideas come from. My favorite: "Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them."

Scary Times Ahead?

I don't feel good today. I have that darn cold that has been going around. I'm lying in bed, but I don't want to sleep, and I have a lot of work to do. So I'm catching up on some reading online. I've focused my reading on the economic crisis that is affecting not only our country, but the whole world. I don't believe that this is the end of the world, but I do believe that it is a very big deal. I've felt for awhile that the decisions that are being made throughout our country may not affect me, but they will definitely affect my children and grandchildren, primarily in negative ways. However, in light of the events of the last month or so, I am beginning to believe that our way of life here in America may soon be severely challenged.

I don't think anyone needs to be reminded of the challenges we face: foreclosures, job losses, shrinking retirement accounts, rising healthcare costs, overextended living and record debt, shrinking oil production and rising costs, rising food costs, etc. What does it mean for us as followers of Jesus? Or, as Francis Schaeffer put it, "How then should we live?"

As scary as this time is, I'm also encouraged. There is hope. It doesn't take one long in their study of church history to learn that the church has thrived most when she could depend on God alone. What happens when our resources begin to vanish? Perhaps it's an opportunity for us to think creatively, to imagine new ways of living, and to redefine what it means to have the good life. Perhaps it's an opportunity for the church to speak prophetically during this time of change.

TED Conference

My friend Joe has a great You Tube video on his blog of Ken Robinson speaking at the TED Conference. Lots of funny things from this fellow, but he also said three or four things that I just had to pause the video and think about. Watch it here.

National Community Church

I just heard about these guys. They are a church in Washington D.C., and are one of the most innovative churches I've come across in a long time. They are a multi-site church that meets in movie theaters throughout the city. I heard about them through the most recent Catalyst podcast. (By the way, I have to plug them again. If you haven't subcribed to this podcast you should. Here's the link to their podcast).

Here are a few of their values:

• Expect the unexpected
• Irrelevance is irreverence
• Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it
• Playing it safe is risky
• Everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable
• Everything is an experiment
• You cannot out give God
• Maturity does not equal conformity
• It's never too late to be who you might have been

Here's the pastor's (Mark Batterson) blog, and here's a link to their site.