Blog Post: A DIFFERENT DIET

I have made but a single resolution this New Year. I’m going on a diet. Not cutting my intake of calories or carbs but of ‘cookies’, ‘bytes’ and ‘bits’.

Call me crazy, but this year I resolve to learn how to productively use technology. I have slowly come to the realization that continually checking email doesn’t make me more productive. It disrupts the flow of whatever real work I’m trying to accomplish if I immediately drop everything at the sound of “you’ve got mail” to see what gem just hit the in-box (only to find out the arrival would be better classified as germ than gem).

Instant access to information makes me feel guilty if I haven’t read or at least scanned the on-line versions of both local area newspapers, the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal. And news aggregator sites. And the websites of the industry groups I belong to. And of course the blogs and podcasts of the ‘thought leaders’ in my industry. During all the link clicking and site tripping, I inevitably run across random tidbits that have no bearing on anything but the headlines catch my eye and tickle my curiosity.

I learn a lot in my ‘travels’ however very little of it has any use in my life or my work. Truthfully, wallowing in the latest dramas of over –publicized celebrities may make me feel better about the sorry state of my own existence some days, but it’s not ‘need to know’ info.

I admit I am a huge believer in choices and the ‘abundance mentality’, so I may take it a bit farther than most but I doubt I’m alone in my information overload. How many of you have started out, innocently enough, with the most productive of intentions, Googling for a single piece of information, only to regain consciousness after hours of link hopping and viral video wandering, wondering what it was you initially set out looking for? It’s like someone slipped a Rufie in my browser when I wasn’t looking…

Recent technology enhancements have enabled me to fritter away my time even when I am away from my computer. My new cell phone is equipped with email, IM and a web browser. Imagine how much fuller my life is now that my phone shrilly trills at 2 am to alert me that my team won after 18 innings. And I never again have to miss an offer of quality replica watches while I scan the 500 items in my bulk folder for legitimate IMPORTANT emails that were erroneously trashed by the spam blocker – all while navigating rush hour traffic. And taking cell phone video of the maniac motorist endangering the lives of all my fellow commuters (with the intention of posting it on my blog or social networking site)…you get the idea…

I seem to have forgotten technology is a tool. The servant has become the master. Like some sort of bad horror movie, the stupefied masses have been transformed into ‘net zombies - with no need to plug directly into the USB port thanks to wireless technology and Bluetooth. Thank goodness those unsightly and unwieldy cords are a thing of the past…

But I feel compelled to ask - am I really better off for having seen dozens more ‘cute kittens frolicking’ videos, having access to graphic photos of what happens after small cars collide with big semi trucks or forwarding emails (after checking Snopes) of touching sentiments (accompanied by clever animations) attributed (simultaneously) to Mahatma Gandhi, the Dali Lama, Warren Buffett and Maxine??

And so in 2008 I commit to a data diet. While I have no intention of giving the internet up entirely, I will exercise moderation in my surfing. I will be intentional about what information I consume and ruthlessly eliminate the excesses of mindlessly munching on every juicy but empty tidbit that looks tempting.

 I think I’m ready to pursue a life less virtual. Who’s with me?