The winter of my disconnect*

Last December we travelled to Malaysia on holidays with friends.  I decided to disconnect completely from technology, so no phone, iPad, laptop, iPod – nothing.  The only small luxury I allowed myself was my Kindle.  It’s hard to enjoy idle time by a pool without one!

Instead of finding this liberating, I found I had a severe case of technology Tourette’s, as I kept twitching and reaching for my phantom phone.  I survived by pestering my family and friends for information: asking them the time, getting them to check reviews on TripAdvisor, and having them fill me in on the latest weather updates, etc.

It was definitely a memorable summer vacation!  Coming back into life in Melbourne, I have been working on a modified version of this disconnect.  I was even more motivated when I read that 12% of the people use their smartphone in the shower and 10% during sex! Really?

So now the winter of my disconnect involves a very modified Sunday morning  version, where I disconnect totally from technology for a couple of hours or half a day.  I spend time reading or with my family, tending my garden, or relaxing over coffee with friends.  All of these activities have me mono-tasking for once, and giving the one thing I am doing my complete attention.  I still have technology Tourette’s but now it’s more of a twitch.  What about you?  Please comment – I love hearing from you.

 *Blog post title borrowed from the book: The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale, by Susan Maushart.