Do we have too many gadgets in our life? I ponder this question as I sit in the living room on a Friday night with my husband. We are both watching TV, playing on our smart phones, and here and there insert a conversation. Are we committed to any of the three items we are attempting to do? I start to think…..is this the way I relax and unwind after a long week of work? I know that is my attempt, to relax in the company of my husband. But am I?
In today’s society we are very dependent on our gadgets. I was at a conference recently where I saw (and may I add that I was one of them) people multi-tasking between a smart phone, and a few of us had two, laptop, and listening to the speaker (HELLO….this is why we are all here). What did I get out of that conference? I think I learned a few things, I mean it was a three-day conference. However, did I learn everything that they intended for me to learn.
So how do we find a balance between the convenience of the technology, and the human touch that is at the core of human nature? I do not have a solution for this yet. My only offering of advice is to let go, unplug, maybe even schedule the time throughout the week when all the technology is turned off.
For many years I had a routine of waking up at 5 am to work out before my day really started. But low and behold, when I brought in a convenience of a laptop – meaning I no longer had to sit in my office at the computer, I turned to this person who watches TV, catches up on work, and ooops, don’t go to sleep until wee hours of the night. How easy it is for me to lose the track of time. So recently I set my “smart-phone” alarm to go off at 10 pm. And every night when that alarm goes off, I turn off my laptop, and say good night.
Amazingly I have been waking up more refreshed and actually getting to the gym. Now, it has not been long since I started doing this, but I think this is a great start.
