Taking time off…line
Used to be, I was thrilled to be able to go online. About 15 years ago, I was deeply grateful to those advanced spirits among my acquaintance who permitted me to browse this new bookstore Amazon for a half-hour, and when I was at the university library, I loved looking up that amazing list of Jane Austen sequels I had discovered quite by accident. When I started at my new workplace, unlimited internet access was a major boon. A short time later I got my own internet access at home, and if I’m honest, there were times during which I was close to being seriously addicted.
Somehow, this has changed. Nowadays, it is the height of luxury and decadence for me to take a day (or even two!) off my computer. Not looking in at either AAR (sorry, folks!) or Amazon. Not going to a single news-site. Not even turning it on to check my mails. Nothing. Nada. Nichts.
I only indulge in this now and then. During the week, many of my colleagues and trainees whom I mentor contact me by mail, and I’d consider it rude not to react fairly quickly. I have gotten into the habit of catching the news online rather than on TV, and I do want my daily dosage of news. And really, I love browing the internet, going to favorite sites and rounding off the session with a game of Minesweeper.
But when I am exhausted, or busy with preparing for something entirely unrelated to cyberspace, like a dinner party, or when it’s just the first day of the holidays, just walking by that machine that has become so very important for so many facets of my life, and keeping it unplugged, makes me feel happy and grounded and a bit more independent, a bit less available. So I indulge. And feel like I’m on vacation.
Are there times for you during which you keep your computer off on purpose?
-Rike Horstmann
—Ellen AAR wrote: I usually go on a retreat to a Benedictine monastery a couple of times a year.—
I envy you that experience. When I was younger, my friend and I would do occasional weekend retreats at a convent near the Cathedral in Detroit. They were quiet and reflective times and would certainly come in handy now in these technology-filled days.
I usually go on a retreat to a Benedictine monastery a couple of times a year. The monastery is wonderful and the rooms are comfortable as can be, but there’s no TV, no radio, no phones (unless you bring your own) and you have to bring your own laptop if you want internet. I don’t.
It’s bliss. I actually feel re-charged after spending a weekend there. Also, for the past year, I have made the weekends an e-mail free time. I do log on in the morning and check the news but that’s it. Weekends are for other things.
It’s been nearly a year since my laptop was stolen. At first I went through severe withdrawal while saving for a replacement. After a couple of months, though, I realized how much more time I had to do s things like actually visiting with friends, getting chores and errands done, getting my garden back into shape, etc. Since I am on a computer with internet access for 10-12 hours a day at work, I decided to not buy another laptop, at least for now. So I visit my favorite sites on my breaks and at lunch time. I don’t even have access on my cell phone. For me, this works. I save time and money for more important things and rarely miss the constant connection.
Yes and no. Sunday is Easter and I’ll have the whole family over for dinner and, no, I won’t check the computer. But then again, I have my iPhone which is never far from my side — even during family time.
Sadly, I really never take a break from email. Surfing the web, yes, but I am, alas, always connected.
Sundays are internet-free zones for me! Not for religious reasons, just family and reading and relaxing. Gardening. Outdoors.
I do try, when I’m on a serious deadline, to keep the online thing to a minimum because its a distraction, but… it’s also a great tool, enabling me to fill in researched details right away, instead of researching later, and the online dictionaries are fabulous!
—Rike wrote: Are there times for you during which you keep your computer off on purpose?—
How about when I’m in a place where there is no Internet access? Just kidding. I’m probably just this side of being an addict with the computer. I love the connection. But as with you, I find that when I’m unable to connect for any reason, that lull is wonderful. I also have found that not much has been missed in that absence. I wish I purposely kept it off during the day. I got to that point with the TV years ago; I’m sure that will also happen with the computer eventually.