I know I generally take a more political slant on this blog, but I'd like to change pace a bit for the time being. I'm having a really difficult time trying to keep up with the day-to-day minutia of the current political climate, and it's really been wearing me down. On my recent trip across the country, which I discussed on my personal blog, I made the conscious decision to avoid all political podcasts and talk, and turned instead to expanding my mind through NPR's TED Radio Hour Podcast.
Last week I listened to two very interesting episodes about Why We Work and What Makes Us Happy. The two were more intertwined than one might initially believe. To begin with, it turns out we work because we need to find meaning in life. Finding meaning in life is also something that makes us happy. We want to be appreciated, which also makes us happy. Essentially, the idea of a work/family split doesn't exactly match the human experience.
I like these new ideas and I've been looking into ways to put some of them to work for me and the company I work for. In my day-to-day life I look for ways to go out of my way to put effort into my routines. Things that I have always done relatively mindlessly or without really caring about the outcomes are things that I've been allowing my mind to wander during. Well, as it turns out, allowing one's mind to wander contributes to unhappiness. Just spending my time paying attention to what I'm doing has been incredibly life changing.
Beyond that, it's contributed to helping me feel better about my work. Because I'm paying more attention to what I'm doing, I feel more confident in my work. I feel like I've accomplished more, and I see the effect my work is having. Suddenly things that I've done for years without caring about or thinking about are important to achieving goals for myself and my company.
Another episode that really challenged my thinking was actually a two-part episode about how technology is changing our lives. Listening to those two episodes made me re-evaluate the way that I've been interacting with screens for a long time. For example, I never realized until recently how much attention I give to screens. When I walk into a room, I find the screens, even if they're not pertinent to me. I watch any screen with a picture on it, even if I'd rather be having a conversation with a person right in front of me. I also have begun to notice just how much time other people spend paying attention to screens. I spent a day at the mall without my phone, and I was completely taken aback by how many people were on their phones. People would walk with phones in their hands. Kiosk personnel were scrolling through their devices while waiting for customers. I was so taken aback by one of the sales people making eye contact with me that I actually allowed her to make her whole pitch to me; usually I would have just brushed that off.
I think that, perhaps, our screens are helping to contribute to our wandering minds. When we are eating, we are on our phone or computer or watching TV. When we're watching TV, we have a phone in our hands. Just about every aspect of our lives has had a screen injected in it recently. Even right now while I'm writing this, I am listening to a TV that is on right behind me. I am consciously trying to ignore it, but it is stealing some of my attention even now. My phone is sitting on the table next to me, and a single notification would take me away from writing this post. I have got to learn to be less focused on my screens.
To that end, I am looking for a some time to go off the grid for a bit a few times this year. I am planning a few hikes where my phone would only be in my bag for emergency usage. I am looking at spending a few days away in a cabin without any screens at all. I think that it will help me live more in the moment, pay more attention to my work, and generally break my dependence on screens. All of these should make me a happier person.
