Seeing Red

What do you do when you see the dashboard lights?  Ignore them?  Panic?  Pull over right away?  Call your mechanic?  

The other week we had a doozy of a light pop up- the red silhouette of a person with an airbag on its lap.  The message was that the airbag system was malfunctioning.  Oy vey.

I am so sick and tired of red signs and symbols.  First you get all the red circles on your phone- ding, another text message or email.  It is bad enough that the circles are there but in addition to the circle there is the number of unanswered/unopened emails or messages boldly displayed in the middle.  Then there is the blinking light on the answering machine.  Or the power failure for the stove or the dash board light.  Once again reminding you that something is amiss.   

I think the red on the dashboard pushed me over the edge. Enough of these sights and sounds. They all seem to taunt me with the idea that I am not keeping up, doing what I need to do and that I am grossly falling behind.  I feel like I am back in grade school and there is no possibly way I could keep running much less finish the Presidential Fitness Award. I feel that panic that try as I might, my body isn't processing and doing things quickly enough and there is a pack of fitter, more organized, and better individuals out there. 

Just last week my cell phone informed me that I was in danger of running out of storage.   I realized, once again that I was not keeping up with my email or photo management.  

What is a person to do?

I am ready to take a much needed break from technology.  Of course that would greatly affect my writing and my profession.  Many people have jobs where they have to use technology.  There are few options.  Technology is wonderful and in some ways, can make life easier and safer. 

I was discussing this frustration with my family the other night over dinner.  My ever practical son looked at me and wondered what was the big deal. Why couldn't I just see technology as a tool and so then choose when I wanted to use it? 

Touche.  Words that I have said and words that are true but just forgotten when one gets caught up with technology.  I don't have to respond or act right away (unless that dashboard light is screaming that you stop, get out of the car and walk away).  I need to remember that I am in charge of the technology, not the other way around. By definition a tool is a "means to an end" and "may apply to anything necessary to perform a task".  

My nephew has an interesting blog.  Click here to read it.    Over the past week or so, he has had some postings about social media- pros and cons.  I liked his guest writer's opinion about it- looking at technology in the context of addiction, what is feasible and what is not. 

I am going to try and be intentional (that word that I love) in being the one in control of technology rather than the other way around.  Here are some of my ideas: 

• I am trying to stick to a schedule of only checking email a couple of times a day.
• When I do look at emails I will try to respond immediately- either answer it then or delete it. Similar to the old management idea of only touching a piece of mail once- answer, file it or get rid of it. 
• I will take some time each week to organize my electronic files:  move pictures to folders; save (in a folder labeled so I can find) or delete documents.
• I need to put my phone away (nearby but not right on my desk) so that I am not distracted checking messages when I need to be concentrating on work.  This will be a little tricky as I feel that my family needs to get hold of me.  In reality, if there is a little delay it will be okay. 
• At a certain point each day  I need to put the technology down and pick up some low tech- a book, magazine, or paper. 
• Each week I will try and have a technology sabbath.  It might just have to be a part of a day rather than a whole day but still a time when I am away from the computer and cell phone. Generally I feel better when I counterbalance the high tech with the low tech of being outdoors. 

What about you?  Are you bothered by all the blinks, dings, flashing lights and messages of modern devices? Do you find that any type of red marker gets you anxious?  How do you handle it?  What strategies do you employ to keep the technology beast at bay?  Do they work?   

Wired

One of my favorite actors is Ewan McGregor.  I enjoy some of his body of work but I really enjoy his interviews on various talk shows.  He just seems to have a joie de vive and a generous spirit. He embodies the adage, "do what you love and love what you do". He takes such delight in his environment, what he is doing, and the people whom he meets. 

I heard him once discuss his experience on giving up smoking.  He was a heavy smoker and finally had enough.  He said that he spent so much time looking for his smoking accoutrements-lighter, cigarettes, ashtray-every time he sat down that he just  couldn't  sit down. He had to make sure that he had all his "stuff" and he would fiddle with all those things.  He couldn't leave the house without checking and rechecking that he had all his smoking paraphernalia. There was so much activity just to keep the habit going.  Now that he is not smoking he says that he is at peace. He has a sense of tranquility.  When he sits down now, he can just sit and enjoy the experience. 

Collection of known usable wires that keep us "connected".  In addition, there is a box somewhere that contains cords and wires to those electronic devices which have gone to the great beyond. 

I feel that way with all the cords and wires to keep us electronically connected. Every time we go on a trip we have added to our checklist litany, 'Do you have your chargers- for the phone, the laptop, all your devices?"   

One summer we were packing up from our stay at our rented vacation cottage.  For reasons that take too long to explain, my one son had put all his electronic cords, mouth retainer and other (expensive)  sundries into a plastic grocery bag.  The four of us in the family were doing our respective "getting ready to leave" jobs: final vacuum through, packing the back of the car, loading the bikes onto the roof rack and collecting the trash which was in a plastic grocery bag like the one my son used as his "luggage". You can only guess what happened.  We did not discover the switch until we were ten hours away, dropping off this son at his college apartment. The restful and peaceful feeling of our two week vacation was immediately shattered with the seemingly innocent inquiry, "Mom, where did you put the white plastic grocery bag?"

Somedays I wish I could quit the habit of the electronic devices and the need (seemingly)  to be connected all the time.   Somedays it seems as if the cost of the devices- keeping track of their whereabouts, keeping them charged, updating the information, figuring out how to use them properly- far outweighs any benefit.  Somedays the red circle or ding of a reminder that I have a text message, a notification or an email is anxiety producing.  I can feel my heart rate increase. The red is too reminiscent of the red marker from school. "What did I miss?,  Did I do something wrong? Have I broken something?"

When I get anxious I know that I need to take an electronic fast.  I need to take a deep breath and realize that I am not going to get an "F" for failing to respond to a message or alert immediately.  I need to set the electronics aside so that peace and tranquility can reign in my heart. 

I have an acquaintance who makes a point of taking an electronic sabbath one day a week or at least a good part of one day. She and her husband have agreed not to look at emails, turn on the computer or respond to text messages.  Admirable.  To be honest, I think I might have a tough time not being electronically connected for a whole day.  Although the times when I couldn't be connected to an electronic device for whatever reason (current location has no service, attending a workshop or meetings, on a trip), I have felt such lightness of being, kind of like a snow day.  I always feel rejuvenated and ready to come back to the "electronic age".  

What about you?  Are you too wired?  Do you get frustrated with all the cords, wires and connections of which you need to keep track? How do you handle it?  Physically and emotionally? Have you ever not been connected?  What was the reason?  How did you feel when you finally "reconnected"?   Have you ever taken an electronics fast?

Aren't we fortunate to be living in an age where we can choose how we use the tools that improve our lives?  I just need to remember that the electronic devices are to be used and not to let them use me.  I need  to choose peace and tranquility.   I need to choose not to be "wired".