Still Here
Some of you sent mail asking whether I was going to stop blogging. Short answer: no. I could just as much stop blogging as I could stop breathing. For over ten years (a decade!), I have been writing my thoughts and ideas down onto the Internet for people to take away, change, challenge, and adapt. Not because I just want to give ideas away, but because you enrich me with your thoughts and points of view, and because I love seeing where you go with the things I put out for consideration.
Some of you asked me what book it was that I read on the plane that helped me gain my most recent perspective. The book is called CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! Strategies for Handling Your Fast-Paced Life, by Dr Edward Hallowell (who happens to be from Massachusetts, btw). It appeals to people who want to better understand how modern living (especially all of us online) can give us true ADD-like symptoms (Attention Deficit Disorder is a medical condition, but Dr. Hallowell says we can develop symptoms that are pretty darned close to the real thing).
So, if the book seems like something you want to check out, here’s an Amazon link (or use your local library).
But I’m still here. A more thoughtful post about social media and the like comes later.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
You’re definitely not alone in this struggle Chris, and I think it’s going to get tougher as the very tools that we promote become more powerful and ubiquitous.
It’s crucial that we each do some deeper reflection about a)our longer terms goals and values, b)how technology is helping or hindering those goals and values, and c)what boundaries with technology we wish to maintain.
As some of you know, Spark Northwest got a lot of press around our Soul Tech workshop (eventually aired on the Today Show). I think this was/is because its hitting some deep global nerves:
-why can it be so hard to slow down and unplug?
-are we becoming too technocentric?
-how is it effecting our relationships, health, spirit, etc.?
-are we in denial about some of the ‘costs’?
Anyway, if you or other readers want, we put together a free ebook that summarizes the steps we use in the workshop to help people get clear about their goals and how they want to create a healthy/balanced relationship with technology. You can click the above link or just go to http://www.SparkNW.com to get it.
I bought that book months ago but I’ve been too busy to read it. I’m considering this post my official wake up call to dive into it!
[...] inspired by yet another how-to book on the seat of the car, just checked out of the library at the recommendation of a friend. Having looked at it overnight, I am planning to dig into it more. In fact, one statement is [...]
Oh man, for all of you without ADD, go buy the book. And for those of you with it (like me), his other books are amazing. “Driven to Distraction” is the first one and is wonderful for those with ADD to get validation of their experience (I cried when I read the “cough drop story”) and great for those without to get a better understanding of those with. Third book “Delivered from Distraction” had method after method for everyday living, and even exercises for improving mental functioning (mostly frontal lobe/working memory).
If I had a personal blog and not just a work blog (which I have left sadly neglected of late) I would have ADD tags on half my entries. Maybe I should start? But in the meantime, I’m going to go buy this book to add to my Ned Hallowell shelf. Thanks, Chris, for the recommendation.
Glad to hear you’re still alive and doing well. It’s always good to take some time off every once and a while and get some perspective.