Technology today is an immersive experience, and as professionals in the space we tend to be above average in terms of our adoption and interconnectivity. Today we have an app for nearly every idea imaginable, providing significantly more value-add to our daily lives than the generations that preceded us. Technology however can be a double-edged sword, and the potential value-add and ease of access to so many options can lead to behaviors detrimental to our well-being. Doom-scrolling is a solid example of this, where apps have created such a focus on retaining attention that we spend an unhealthy amount of time glued to our screens.
In the early 2010s, I had come to this realization as I learned from the successes (and many, many failures) of my 20s, and actively began to seek out low/no technology counter-balances to foster healthier long-term personal growth.
For myself, these counter balances came in a variety of forms over the years, some that come to mind:
- Note taking using Moleskine notebooks
- Indoor gardening
- Marathon training
Have you found yourself needing to counter-balance our technology-focused lives with low/no tech? Share your own experience and ways you've created a balanced lifestyle in the comments below ⬇️
I combine high tech and low tech in the same activities because they have both pros and cons but they are different.
For example often I have been writing my TODO list in a kind of website and not actually used it afterward.
Writing on paper and putting it on the wall is much more efficient and in my face so it often works better for me.
On the other hand I like to keep track on the progress I have made during the last weeks so I write down my journal in Obsidian, high tech.
But sometimes writing is difficult on a computer, because there are so much distractions.
Paper is very much distraction free, so it's a great way to get started and brainstorm, which for me is a very important step.
Now once i have the structure of my article on paper, I will probably not do that on paper, because when I did that it usally stayed in the notebook for months.
Or maybe I will actually write on paper.
But then after that I will take a picture and sync it with all my devices.
So when I join back my computer, I know exactly where to start.
I think you got the point :)