Creative Reaction

At sundown today (7:06 PM in the Northeast) begins a National Day of Unplugging, adhering to the traditional Jewish Sabbath, and ending at sundown tomorrow.

It’s been a while since I posted about the concept of a Technology Sabbath, so I’m glad to see this.

The National Day of Unplugging is promoted by Sabbath Manifesto, “a creative project designed to slow down lives in an increasingly hectic world.”

Sabbath Manifesto has 10 Principles:

1. Avoid technology.
2. Connect with loved ones.
3. Nurture your health.
4. Get outside.
5. Avoid commerce.
6. Light candles.
7. Drink wine.
8. Eat bread.
9. Find silence.
10. Give back.

Commerce and Technology are valuable tools, though like any tools, they have drawbacks and disadvantages when improperly used. Even if strictly as an experiment, you do not use either for 24 hours, you will be forced to stop and think about your habits. A little perspective is a healthy thing.

This is a perfect follow up to yesterday’s post, Connectivity Sabbath. In it I focused on being able to break from being connected (cell phone, smart phone, e-mail, Chat, etc.) for periods of time, though the post I discussed also had links to articles involving breaks from all forms of technology; essentially any device with a screen.

In each case, the subject had his or her own rules. Ariel Meadow Stallings, who is unplugging one night each week for a year, allows herself the use of a digital camera, her iPod, and incoming phone calls, for example. Noelle Sadler, an American who works at an ad agency in Barcelona, says she will leave town with “the phone, laptop, etc., at home and disconnect. Even my watch sometimes”. Paul Wiggins, also profiled in the article, spends an enormous time in front of a computer as part of his job; assistant editor and web producer for Fairfax Community Newspapers in Sydney, Australia. Yet he goes “completely without computers and his smartphone from the close of business Friday until Monday morning’s commute”.

In another profile, way back in 2001, students at the Christian liberal-arts university Seattle Pacific University, declared a one-week “Technology Sabbath“, “swearing off all things technological so they can concentrate on friendships and faith. About 300 students… volunteered to use technology only for classwork and to spend their free time the old-fashioned way – talking with friends or attending worship services.”

Oddly, my favorite link in the article isn’t even explored. In I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really. author Mark Bittman realized that he was a true technology addict and forced himself to take a 24 hour break. “I eagerly shut it all down on Friday night, then went to bed to read… I woke up nervous, eager for my laptop. That forbidden, I reached for the phone. No, not that either. Send a text message? No. I quickly realized that I was feeling the same way I do when the electricity goes out and, finding one appliance nonfunctional, I go immediately to the next. I was jumpy, twitchy, uneven… I managed. I read the whole paper… I tried to let myself do nothing, which led to a long, MP3-free walk, a nap and some more reading, an actual novel. I drank herb tea… and stared out the window. I tried to allow myself to be less purposeful, not to care what was piling up in my personal cyberspace, and not to think about how busy I was going to be the next morning. I cooked, then went to bed, and read some more.” (Very worthwhile. If you follow one link, let this be the one.)

One of the major points of all this is that we are being mindful of our choices, both at work and at home. We don’t have to use computers for everything; writing and/or sketching by hand use different parts of the brain, which can be useful for any creative process. There are times when e-mail is a good choice and there are times when a phone call or speaking in person is a better choice. And certainly there are times when shutting off the constant droning of CNN or news radio brings instant calm. Be the master of technology. Success depends upon quiet times of reflection.

In this MediaShift post, Mark Glaser explains his methods and motivations for deliberately going off-line for 24 hours once each week. 

More often than not, external forces are at play when we are away from the technologies we are (overly) dependent upon; the theft of a CrackBerry, a power outage, or a natural disaster. As one of the subjects of the post puts it, “the truth is that we don’t want to be disconnected, though we desperately need the break”.

The article profiles both those who purposely disconnect, and those who feel they are unable to do so. Very thought-provoking.

Technology is neither inherently good nor bad; we simply need reminders to keep it’s usage in perspective. There are times where connectivity enhances relationships, and times where connectivity distracts us from focusing on friends and family in our midst. Connectivity allows us to work from home, though it can also bring work into any environment at any hour, leading to workweek creep. 

As business owners and managers the example we set for our co-workers and employees sends a powerful message. We need to show that we have clear boundaries between work life and personal life, while enabling and encouraging our employees to have the same. It’ll do us all some good. (See here and here.)