The emergence of modern technology such as smart phones, laptops, tablets and with those, twenty four hour access to the internet has added to our lives in so many different ways. The internet has turned a very large world into something much more intimate. People are on hand at any point of the day.
Blackberry revolutionized the work email market and Skype is now the way forward for business meetings, whether you are across the county or across the world.
You can send that forgotten email to your client at 2.00am, an interesting conversation when you are wracked with insomnia is only a tweet away and for those hours of your commute to work, catching up with what people are doing on Facebook or reading the Times online is now only a click away.
I love technology and the options that it affords me. Working full time and also running a blog takes so much of my time and any assistance I can get to pull back some of that time is always something I strive to do. Sometimes however I feel that I am a little too connected. Like humans are used as batteries in The Matrix, occasionally I feel like the system is feeding on me.
The first twenty minutes after I wake up are spent checking my various email accounts, replying to any emails on different time zones, noting down others that I need to respond to later. I check Twitter, have a look on Facebook; check the weather forecast; cast an eye on my bank balance; check my calendar and my to-do list. After these daily checks have made, I can then start to get ready for work.
My commute to work is spend writing emails, drafting blog posts and writing down notes for future articles. My lunch time is much the same. I get home in the evening and the morning checks are repeated. I chat to people on Twitter, see what people I know are talking about on Facebook. I write, I have a look around on the net and suddenly, it's 11.30pm. My entire day has been taken over by work and the internet.
The majority of the time this is what makes me happy. I love being organised and the technology I use helps me to do that.
Sometimes though I think that, now and again, it is important to be able to step away from it all and just be. Unplug from the system. This is what I intend to (try) and do this Christmas time. My goal is to try to relax, de-stress and take a much needed break away from not only work and my blog; but all distractions too.
There will be an "away for a while" note on my Twitter and Facebook, emails will have an automatic reply, my blog will have a "Merry Christmas, I am not here" message. My plan is to sleep in, read, see friends; check in with family. Do nothing at all. It will be wonderful.
I have ten days off in which to accomplish my peaceful plans. How long do you think that I will last without all of the above? I give myself three days. At the outside. But I am hopeful. I think that a Christmas detox is just what I need.