Ian M Rountree

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On Setting Priorities

November 16, 2010 by Ian 4 Comments

Recognizers in Lego - FlickrWe are so very digital lately.

Accessible everywhere, communicating ubiquitously, never shutting down, never stopping, always moving forward. We’re letting people in, engaging broader audiences, stretching Dunbar’s number to its very finite limits. We’re trading old tradition for new efficiency.

Is this a good idea?

Where did Sunday breakfast go? Sausages, scrambled eggs and fresh orange juice. Where are we hiding the time that used to be set aside for family dinner at the table? You know (I hope) – the time when everyone decompressed, together, shared their day’s experiences, and planned the week going forward?

I miss that. Don’t you?

I actually had a family breakfast this Sunday morning, for the first time in months. Sausages, scrambled eggs, mandarin oranges. An hour of sitting, quietly, decompressing with my family. At the table. With no electronics on.

It’s going to happen more often here – and I’d suggest you do the same.

Find some time to get offline, and put some perspective on your time – it’s not difficult, and I’d argue it’s part of doing better work. Supporting yourself physically, emotionally – and doing the same for your family and immediate community – is far closer to the base of Mazlo’s hierarchy of needs than writing your blog. I know, it’s blasphemy for some of you, but I’m serious.

How do we start? Here are a few ways:

  • Play with your family. Just you and a spouse? Pick a sport. Got kids? What do they like to do? Do it too. Got parents? Apply same as kids.
  • Re-learn handwriting. There’s power in paper journaling, and lots of people know it. Not a journal-maker? How about writing drafts on paper? Or developing non-digital creative tools like mind maps (there are some great tools out there to help with mind mapping) and so on?
  • Do something new. Whip up a batch of cookies from a new recipe. Organize your book shelves with the solemn intent of selling some dusty tomes. Anything, no matter how pedestrian – if you’ve never done it, try it once.

Go! Now! What are you waiting for?

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