10 Reasons for Paring Down to Free Myself Up
Renay Intisar Jihad
Reason 1 — Managing my time in front of a screen requires navigating a vast vortex of online venues: Zoom, webinars, YouTube videos, Facebook posts, Tweets, and Instagram to name a few. There are also mounds of email or text messages to read daily for work, play, or to survive.
Reason 2 — Logging on to the computer means making second-by-second focused and conscious decisions. Skim this. Scan that. File this. Delete that. Asking myself — Is this a need to know or a nice to know column, blurb, blog, or tweet? Is this urgent or can it wait? How can engaging with this material help me become a better wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, friend, or person? How will this improve or preserve my cognitive ability as I approach the septuagenarian stage of life?
Reason 3 — Like me you probably read, sort, categorize, file, recycle, mute, or ignore your marching band of online data? Mental clarity versus mental clutter relies upon dealing with this cesspit of junk daily. Don’t get me started with the books I wish time would permit me to enjoy. I love, but haven’t got the time, to fully enjoy the litany of Podcasts, movies, documentaries, and talk shows available today. My fast-forward button is worn out.
Reason 4 — Fellow authors on Medium deserve to be read, understood, responded to, and appreciated. Clicking the “follow” button to offer claps requires a commitment. I try to avoid skimming over material. Most of us scan over the poems, stories, essays, reviews, and advice columns in order to enjoy more submissions. Writers are artists. Their words matter. Clicking on a story, paying attention to the words shared, and responding to the message often usurps my writing time. It’s definitely a juggling act.
Reason 5 — I must notice what I notice while writing and reading stuff on the screen or risk feeling overwhelmed. The endless maze of multi-sensory data competes for a simulated kinesthetic reaction. If I notice what I notice this dilemma, don’t you? The enabler in me (was a teacher and coach in my other life) tells me–learn how to say more with fewer words. Brevity works, most of the time. Don’t make people struggle to get the takeaways. Be transparent and obvious. Prod folks along to the finish line. Meet them halfway. Respect people’s time.
Reason 6 — Restasis and artificial tears sit to the left of my keyboard while my right palm clutches the mouse, poised to tap the delete or mute button as soon a whiff of nonsense is detected. I must preserve my eyesight.
Reason 7 — My new sport, becoming an expert at instinctively discerning what’s worth my focus, is still in the beta testing mode. Attention requires attending. While off the grid I daydream.
Wouldn’t it be nice to auto- immune react to what bleeds on the screen? An innate response would help separate the important from the mundane. Swift intuitive glances that require no complicated device settings. The images and letters pursuing my attention would become a non-issue. My own personalized Artificial Intelligence apparatus. Yes. A personally tailored filtering and monitoring program. One that wears me better than the hair on my head and the ash on my feet. My A1 would sort out and cut out noise, nonsense, propaganda, cunning ads, and junk mail. Fake news, corrupt charities, piggy backers, fence stragglers, and culture vultures — poof, evaporated. Fogged and clogged screens would become as translucent as a sunny summer sky in Maine. OK. Stop fantasizing. For now, remember to wash my hands and use my eye drops.
Reason 8 — I write for printed media outlets. You can’t edit, remove, revise, reformat, and change what you’ve written once it’s published and publicly distributed. My choice to spend more time on the print format is both ethical and practical. At least I know my audience. People pay for and read the publications.
Reason 9 — I want to learn how to share big ideas using simpler words. Experts do this well. Their knowledge and experience run wide and deep. They make sure their message is concise and user-friendly. Medium writers tackle a myriad of subjects. How much effort one allots to covering a topic depends on the breadth and depth of their experience and ability. Expertise plays a role in tailoring the message they want to deliver. From what I’ve sampled thus far, most popular Medium writers share big ideas using simple language with an entertaining delivery.
Reason 10 -I have changed. Now I see myself as a reflector, more than a writer. As a reflector, a “hit it and quit” formula is doable and practical. I trust my instinct. Writing from a holistic/spiritual soulful source energizes, rather than depletes, my energy. This mindset requires pruning and cultivating too. This mindset works, sometimes. I still get sidetracked, hoodwinked, and lured down the beaten path of ridiculous highways and byways. Once I recover from the stupor, I work hard time to regain my composure. I may call it a day, take a walk to clear my head, pray, and start over.
Discovered — My internal filtering method, (read-create-reflect), is helping me sift through the screen-time clutter. Reading, creating, and reflecting while employing my inner voice is not perfect method, but it helps. The goal, to get back to writing lengthier Medium submissions. Writing with brevity is hard. It is even harder when the mind is working overtime in the quest to purge before focusing on what is important.
