When Less is More: Choosing a Simpler Lifestyle

Technology: Gain or Drain?

“The more we connect online, the more isolated we become offline.” — Douglas Rushkoff

I’m beginning a tech fast—or really more of a tech diet, since I still need to stay in touch with my publisher, post my weekly blog, and pay my bills. For the next week or so, I want to be more mindful about how I spend my time: scrolling less social media, less news—especially political news—and more intentional about reducing the quantity and quality of what I take in online.

Let me explain why this sudden resolve.

Last Tuesday, I took my cellphone to the store where I’d purchased it. Though I’d owned for less than two years, I was constantly needing to recharge the battery.

It required all of one minute for the technician to diagnose the problem: An app was continually running in the background, draining the battery.

He switched off the app, then told me something that hit between the eyes: “You need to turn your phone off at least once a week. Just a few seconds off every few days will extend the battery’s life.”

This statement had me thinking about the ‘apps’ in our lives and the ways they have affected society: the dearth of silence; the constant distractions and interruptions that rob of us focus; and the technology that is meant to simplify our lives but, in the end, consumes us.

It is growing more and more difficult to shut off ambient noise and shut down technological tools. We have become, as Henry David Thoreau so aptly put it, “tools of our tools.”

In the process, we are missing those ‘down times’ that offer opportunities to wonder and reflect, to grow relationships, to deepen our spiritual walk, and “explore the deeper levels of who we are—and who we can become” (The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers; Spiritual Insights from the World’s Most Beloved Neighbor, by Amy Hollingsworth/by the way, I highly recommend this book!)

 This week, I would challenge you to join me in shutting off the noise and shutting down distractions (for you authors out there, here’s a little bit of trivia that might encourage you to silence your phones while you’re working: according to research conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, it takes anywhere from 8 to 25 minutes to regain focus after an interruption, depending on the complexity of your task).

Here are a few practical steps you can take today:

Silence your phone.

Turn off the television.

Take a walk in nature. Spend time in the garden. Plant flowers, grow vegetables.

Set up a coffee date with a friend.

Be present.

Have an honest talk with God; He already knows what you are thinking so you won’t hurt his feelings—then listen for His voice.

Treasure the silence.

Though it might not ‘extend your life’—as in the case of my cellphone battery—it will definitely deepen and strengthen every part of it.