I turned off my phone and stopped logging onto social media (except for promoting events with a work account) for 12 days (and I am only returning now with one toe in the water).
In those 12 days I:
- Read all of Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid in <16 hours
- Biked 4 miles on a Monday
- Watched Heavy Metal Parking Lot
- Read more chapters of the Emily Wilson translation of the Odyssey, slowly. Took breaks to think about it and talk about it, with someone with a smart brain I love a lot.
- Took a walk at the park and didn’t use a step-counter.
- Received a vaccine dose! Truly a miracle. And … recovered.
- Ate meals and didn’t scroll
- Toasted a baguette, slathered it in Nutella, then sank into a yummy vampire story on a Friday night.
- Turned old plastic containers into planters and sprouted seeds.
- Put music on and just … listened. Lately I’ve been playing this game: What did I do in 2006, before I had a smart phone? I wasted a lot of time for sure (MYSPACE!), and also I was a full-time student. But also. I watched DVDs of live concerts repeatedly (Like Rockers to Swallow by Yeah Yeah Yeahs), and really, truly watched and listened. And I spent time with music, listening to an album start to finish, truly paying attention.
- Wasted time. Daydreamed. Spaced out. Imagined. Remembered. Listened to the birds. Sat in an armchair with the sun warming my skin.
I debated on whether or not to post this. THESE ARE NOT PRODUCTIVITY METRICS. This is not about measuring what my time is “worth!” Time has felt different without scrolling; it lasts a little longer. I lose less of it.
SEEDS:
Laura Eppinger 