It’s true, I need a digital detox. Sometimes I go from looking at the little screen (my phone), to the large screen (my laptop), all while watching a movie on the biggest screen (my television). In total, I spend six to ten hours a day looking at glowing surfaces and my head is throbbing.
I need a digital detox; time away from the artificial light in favor of fresh air and paperback books. I know it’s time for a detox when I have to sit at my computer and type with my eyes closed because they ache. And yes, my eyes are closed right now as I write this post.
I’m reminded of a Thoreau quote:
“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.” – Henry David Thoreau
It’s not that I am working too much, it’s that I’m spending too much of that working time in front of glowing computers. I’m going to set an outrageous goal for myself next week. Usually, I read for one hour each morning, and then fill in the cracks of the day with a few pages here and there. Next week, I’m going to block off a four-hour chunk of time each day to read critical texts that I’ve been meaning to study – most of that time will be spent on Aristotle’s Nichmachean Ethics.
This feels right. Instead of getting distracted with busy work, I’m going to go All in on my studies. Wish me luck. I’m going to hit the calendar right now and get this on the schedule.
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This is going to be harder than I thought. My wife just came in to ask me what I wanted to do tonight, and without thinking, I said, “Let’s watch a movie.” I have a long way to go on my path toward Aristotle’s eudomania, but I’m working on it.
